SUBMICRON ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING WIRES PRODUCED IN POLYIMIDE BY ULTRAVIOLET-LASER IRRADIATION

An array of permanently electrically conducting lines with a width of 0.5 mum and a period of 0.9 mum has been produced in polyimide with a KrF laser using a holographic technique. The electrical resistivity of these submicron structures shows an ohmic characteristic and has a va lue of less than 0.5 OMEGA cm, while the resistivity perpendicular to the structures exceeds this value by more than a factor of 10(7). The temperature dependence of the conductivity in these wires is found to be similar to that found for macroscopic regions of polyimide which sh ow laser induced conductivity.