Lithographic Patterning Processes For Organic Electronics And Biomaterials

Abstract

Organic electronics is a newly developed field that promises inexpensive, mechanically-flexible, large-area devices. Through the use of solution-processable organic materials, electronic devices can be fabricated on large-area, lightweight, flexible substrates to produce a new class of electronics. Patterning methods for organic electronics represents one of the major obstacles to be overcome in organic device fabrication. A high-resolution, high-throughput system with good registration capabilities is required to realize the potential for organic electronics, both in performance and commercialization. The well-established photolithographic patterning method has only been marginally useful in patterning organic electronic materials due to incompatibility issues between the organic materials and conventional lithographic processing solvents and resists. Many alternate patterning methods have thus been developed, however none of which are able to match photolithography in resolution and throughput. This thesis presents research performed toward the goal of developing lithographic patterning methods for organic electronic devices. Each section of this thesis describes a different resist system, which was developed for patterning organic electronic devices. All of the systems consist of fluorinated resist materials, which were designed and synthesized to be fully processable in hydrofluoroether solvents. These fluorinated materials and solvents can be used to lithographically pattern organic electronic devices in a high-resolution and highthroughput manner, without the typical incompatibility issues that exist between organic materials and conventional processing solvents and resists.