Polymer manufacturing integration

DNQ-novolac resist chemistry has proved to have remarkable flexibility and extendibility. First used in electronic manufacturing applications in the 1960s, the performance of these materials has been continually improved by careful optimization of the polymer and DNQ dissolution inhibitor. Today, highly optimized DNQ-novolac resists are used to manufacture integrated circuits with device geometries on the 350-nm scale. 

Many food emulsions are stabilized by surface-active polymers that adsorb to droplet surfaces and form protective membranes. Some of these functional polymers are integral components of more complex food ingredients used in food manufacture (e.g. milk, eggs, meat, fish, and flour), whereas others have been isolated from their normal environments and possibly modified before being sold as specialty ingredients (e.g. protein concentrates or isolates, hydrocolloid emulsifiers). In this section, we will focus primarily on those surface-active polymers that are sold as functional ingredients specifically designed for use as emulsifiers in foods. 

Nylon is the generic term for any long-chain, synthetic, polymeric amide in which recurring amide groups are integral to the main polymer chain [3]. There is a wide choice of starting materials from which polyamides can be synthesized. The two primary mechanisms for polymer manufacture are condensation of a diamine and a dibasic acid or their equivalents or polymerization of monomeric substances. Nylons are identified by a simple numerical system. The words polyamide and nylon are followed by one or more numbers. One number indicates that... 

One step in a process to manufacture integrated circuits on silicon wafers (computer chips) involves etching the surface with a plasma. The metal layer on the silicon wafer is coated with a polymer template, such that portions of the metal are exposed. A plasma above the silicon wafer selectively etches the exposed metal. When the polymer is dissolved away, a pattern of the protected metal remains. This metal pattern connects electronic devices on the silicon surface, such as transistors and diodes. 

BASF had the broadest, most complete line of polymers in the world 10 years ago but since then, has been selectively reducing its presence in products that have become true commodities, such as polyolefins and styrenic polymers (described in more detail later). It has been a key element of its business philosophy to be, as much as possible, a fully integrated polymer manufacturer, all way back to basic chemical and petrochemical feedstocks. Certainly, there are others, notably such oil companies as Exxon and SABIC, that also have fully integrated product lines, but these are largely limited to polyolefins. BASF has a German term for this integration, "Verbund," and says on its website (viewed 11/01/12), as follows ... 

Trichloroethane and other chlorinated solvents are used for vapor degreasing (84—90). Other uses include cold metal cleaning, printed ckcuit board cleaning, and as a solvent for inks, coatings, adhesives, and aerosols. 1,1,1-Trichloroethane is an excellent solvent for development of photoresist polymers used in printed ckcuit board manufacture (see Integrated circuits Photoconductivepolymers). 

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