Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
134 words
Process for fabricating arbitrarily shaped through holes in a component, comprising the steps of: A. producing photoresist mask on the front and back side of a substrate by: (a) applying photoresist layers (2) to the front and back side of a substrate (1) of polymeric material, wherein the polymeric material comprises polyoxymethylene (POM) homo- or copolymers; (b) simultaneously generating the desired pattern by imagewise exposure on the front and the back side of the photoresist layers (2); (c) developing the photoresist layers (2); B. fabricating the through holes by reactive ion etching (RIE) of the polymeric substrate (1), first from the front and then from the back side, each time until a predetermined etch depth has been obtained; C. stripping the photoresist masks from the front and the back side of polymeric substrate (1)
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
134 words
Process for fabricating arbitrarily shaped through holes in a component, comprising the steps of: A. producing photoresist mask on the front and back side of a substrate by: (a) applying photoresist layers (2) to the front and back side of a substrate (1) of polymeric material, wherein the polymeric material comprises polyoxymethylene (POM) homo- or copolymers; (b) simultaneously generating the desired pattern by imagewise exposure on the front and the back side of the photoresist layers (2); (c) developing the photoresist layers (2); B. fabricating the through holes by reactive ion etching (RIE) of the polymeric substrate (1), first from the front and then from the back side, each time until a predetermined etch depth has been obtained; C. stripping the photoresist masks from the front and the back side of polymeric substrate (1)
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
Process according to claim 1 wherein the step of generating the desired pattern is accomplished by providing masks which are aligned to each other with an accuracy of about ±1 to 2 μm.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
Process according to claim 1 wherein the thickness of each photoresist layer is about 2 to 10 μm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate has a thickness of about 0.1 to 2 mm.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
Process according to claim 4 characterized in that the substrate has a thickness of about 0.5 to 1 mm.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
Process according to claim 4, further comprising treating the photoresist layers, after development and exposure, with a cyclic organosilicon compound and postbaking to increase their resistance in oxygen plasma during RIE.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
Process according to claim 6, further comprising treating the photoresist layers with a solution of hexamethylcyclotrisilazane in xylene for about 90 min. at 40° C. and then postbaking for about 5 min. at 90° C.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
Process according to claim 6, further comprising, after RIE, stripping the resulting silicon-containing photoresist masks in a stripper bath of about 44 percent KOH, while remaining in the bath for about 60 minutes at a bath temperature of about 70° C.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
Process according to claim 1 characterized in further comprising treating the surfaces of the substrate materials (1) with about 40 percent by volume sulphuric acid to improve the adhesion of the photoresist.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
Process according to claim 1, characterized in that a phenolformaldehyde resin with a 3,4-dihydroxybenzophenone-4-[naphthoquinone(1,2)diazide(2)]-sulfonate as reactive constituent is applied as a photoresist.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
Process according to claim 10 wherein the photoresist is postbaked for about 15 minutes at 80° C.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
40 words
Process according to claim 10, further comprising developing the exposed photoresist layers in a 1:4 DI water diluted sodium borate and sodium hydroxide based developer and subsequently blanket irradiating with UV-light in a wavelength range of 200 to 450 nm.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
Process according to claim 4, characterized in that a naphthoquinone-diazopolysiloxane is used as a photoresist.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
26 words
Process according to claim 13, further comprising developing the exposed photoresist layers with 10 percent aqueous KOH or a 10 percent solution of tetramethylammoniumhydroxide in alcohol.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
32 words
Process according to claim 13, further comprising postbaking the exposed photoresist layers for about 2 minutes at 80° C., subsequently removing the non-exposed regions of the photoresist layers with an organic solvent.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
40 words
Process according to claim 13, further comprising after RIE, stripping the silicon-containing photoresist masks in a stripper bath of about 44 percent KOH, while remaining in the bath for about 60 minutes at a bath temperature of about 70° C.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
29 words
Process according to claim 1, characterized in that imagewise exposure of the photoresist layers (2) with UV radiation is effected in a wavelength range of 200 to 450 nm.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
17 words
Process according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined etch depth is about 2/3 of the substrate thickness.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
Process according to claim 1, wherein multilayer ceramic chip carrier, circuit board or guide plate for fine metal wires used to build electrical test heads is produced.