Introduction. Scope of this Article

Photopolymerization is a technique which allows the rapid conversion at room temperature of liquid materials into rubbery or glassy products. 

It is widely applied in several branches of the electronics industry. Applications range from optical waveguides to coatings for resistors, from lenses for laser light pens to integrated circuits. 

Since 1982 more than 100 review articles have appeared on various aspects of photo-polymerization. Applications as well as fundamental aspects are reviewed annually in the Specialist Periodical Reports on Photochemistry The chapters on Polymer Photochemistry in these reports contain a section on photopolymerization as well as a review of,parts of the patent literature. 

This review focuses on the relation between network formation and product properties. 

In its most restricted sense, the term photopolymerization should be reserved for step polymerization processes in which each reaction step requires the absorption 

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