Approaching Rapid, High‐Resolution, Large‐Area Patterning of Semiconducting Polymers Using Projection Photothermal Lithography

Patterned semiconductors are essential for the fabrication of nearly all electronic devices. Over the last two decades, semiconducting polymers (SPs) have received enormous attention due to their potential for creating low-cost flexible electronic devices, while development of scalable patterning methods capable of producing sub-μm feature sizes has lagged. A novel method for patterning SPs termed Projection Photothermal Lithography (PPL) is presented. A lab scale PPL microscope is built and it is demonstrated that rapid (≈4 cm² h⁻¹) and large single exposure area (≈0.69 mm²) sub-μm patterns can be obtained optically. Polymer domains are selectively removed via a photo-induced temperature gradient that enables dissolution. It is hypothesized that commercial-scale patterning with a throughput of ≈5 m² h⁻¹ and resolution of <1 μm could be realized through optimization of optical components.