Water soluble electrically conducting polymers

Abstract

Polyaniline is a family of electrically conducting polymers. Most of the polyanilines to date have been processed in organic solvents. This paper will introduce a novel series of polyaniline derivatives, PanAquas, which are water soluble in the conducting form and thus, eliminate environmental concerns of organic solvents. As these materials can be easily applied and removed in water, they can be used as removable charge dissipators in a number of lithographic areas replacing metals which often need to be sputtered or plated. By incorporating cross-linkable functionality on the backbone of these derivatives, the polyanilines can be made to cure upon irradiation. The cured polymers are no longer soluble and thus can be used as permanent conducting coating for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. They can be applied as coating on electronic component carriers replacing metals and carbon filled materials. The cross-linkable polyanilines can also be made into water developable conducting resists. Submicron images will be shown that have been fabricated with elecron beam lithography.