Submicron electrically conducting wires produced in polyimide by ultraviolet laser irradiation

Abstract

An array of permanently electrically conducting lines with a width of 0.5 μm and a period of 0.9 μm 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 value of less than 0.5 Ω cm, while the resistivity perpendicular to the structures exceeds this value by more than a factor of 107. The temperature dependence of the conductivity in these wires is found to be similar to that found for macroscopic regions of polyimide which show laser induced conductivity.