June 2004
Fine Lines in High Yield: Dry Film Photoresist Components and Their Functions
Non-chemists involved in printed wiring board
(PWB) fabrication are often mystified by the
variety of chemistries employed in numerous
processing steps such as surface preparation,
imaging, development, stripping and plating.
This is not helped by the fact that most of the
chemical compositions are “proprietary,” and
the suppliers are often reluctant to share even
fundamental infonnation in a qualitative way.
The compositions of photoresists are no
exception to this scenario. So it seems to me it
may be useful to provide some insight into the
components of dry film resists and their
functions. This is by means a daring endeavor
since it draws on information that resides in the
public domain (references 1-9), is somewhat
dated, but nevertheless is still quite relevant.
Dr. Karl H. Dietz, Dupont Electronic Materials Laboratory
