Scientific Photography and Applied Imaging

15 Photofabrication

15.1 Introduction

Photofabrication is a general term for the working and shaping of materials such as metals and plastics to make components and devices using techniques of photography. In outline, the basic technique involves coating the substrate material with a thin layer of photoresist, which, after suitable exposure to a photomaster pattern and processing, forms a surface stencil that is resistant to an etchant or solvent for the substrate (Figure 15.1). Hence patterns such as printed circuits may be produced (Horne, 1983). The various stages in the process are shown in Figure 15.2.

Figure 15.1 Stencil formation (a) ...