Preparation of copper containing methacrylic polymers and their application for the copper patterns

• Copper containing methacrylic polymers were successfully synthesized.
• Copper nano-networks and/or nanoparticles could be obtained by chemical reduction using copper containing polymers as precursors.
• Copper patterns were prepared through an electron beam lithography process.

Copper containing methacrylic polymers were prepared by the polymerization of a copper methacrylate complex (Cu[CH2C(CH3)COO](COD), where COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) with different methylmethacrylate and methacrylic acid compositions. These polymers were found to be soluble in many organic solvents including THF and chloroform. Copper nano-networks or aggregated nanoparticles were obtained when a THF solution of the polymers was reduced using an aqueous sodium borohydride solution. When a thin film of the polymers coated on a silicon wafer was irradiated with an electron beam, nanoparticles were produced on the irradiated area, while the non-irradiated areas could be washed away with a weak base developer, such as a tetramethylammoniumhydroxyde (TMAH) aqueous solution, to produce a copper pattern through an electron beam lithography process.

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