HIGH RESOLUTION PATTERNING METHOD

摘要

This invention relates to a method of forming high resolution patterns of material on a substrate by way of catalytic reactions. There are many types of catalytic reaction, such as for example autocatalytic coating reactions, that take place over the surface of a substrate material and such reactions can be used to increase the rate of or activate reactions in gas, liquid or solid environments. Generally in such reactions the catalytic material used is either applied to or is effective over the whole of the substrate material and as a consequence the reaction takes place over the whole of the substrate. Therefore if the reaction is only required to take place over part of the surface of the substrate then additional processes such as etching or photolithography need to take place. These add to the complexity of the reaction, have cost implications and also result in wasted material. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of preparing a substrate material such that it is capable of initiating a catalytic reaction over a pre-determined area of its surface that alleviates some of the above-mentioned disadvantages.