The present invention provides a resist underlayer film material used in a multilayer resist method, the material containing: (A) a resin having a structural unit shown by the following general formula (1); and (B) an organic solvent. The resin content is 20 mass % or more. This provides: a resist underlayer film material having excellent filling property and adhesiveness, and favorable planarizing property; and a patterning process and a method for forming a resist underlayer film which use the material.

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Systems and processes for making a flexo plate, and plates made thereby. Non-printing indicia defined by areas of resence and absence of polymer in the plate floor are readable downstream of the washing or other non-cured-polymer-removal step but do not print in the printing step. The non-printing indicia may define a repeating pattern of alphanumeric characters, non-text graphics, or a combination thereof.

A method of manufacturing a synthetic nanopore device for DNA sequencing disclosed herein includes providing a base template, forming a guiding layer on top of the base template, and forming a photoresist layer on top of the guiding layer. The photoresist layer is patterned, and the guiding layer is etched for form a guiding pattern. The photoresist layer is removed to form a guiding template and a self-assembled monolayer is deposited on at least a portion of the guiding template to form a patterned template. The patterned template is exposed to one or more etch processes to form a nanoimprint lithography template. A membrane is imprinted with the nanoimprint lithography template to form an array of nanopores in the membrane.

A resist underlayer film material contains (A) a resin having a compound shown in the following general formula (1A), and (B) an organic solvent. Mw/Mn of the compound shown in the general formula (1A) is 1.00≤Mw/Mn≤1.25. This provides: a resist underlayer film material having all of favorable dry etching resistance, heat resistance to 500° C. or higher, and high filling and planarizing properties; and methods for forming a resist underlayer film and patterning processes which use the material.

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A method produces a liquid crystal display. The display includes a plurality of pixels having sub-pixels that include one opening and one color layer. Some of the sub-pixels having the same color are continuously spaced in one direction. In the method, overlapping photolithographic patterns produce mask openings in which a color layer in two spaced adjacent sub-pixels is to be formed. The mask openings each have a size corresponding to two or more adjacent sub-pixels; and the number of sub-pixels of the same color that are continuously arranged in the one direction is at least twice the total number of sub-pixels of the same color included in each of the pixels.

Apparatus and method for exposing a printing plate having a photosensitive polymer to curing radiation. A plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are arranged in an array of columns and rows, including at least two, and more preferably at least three, different species, each species having a different center emission wavelength, preferably in the UV spectrum. The LEDs species are disposed adjacent one another in a repeating sequence. A controller connected to the array is configured to activate the array and to independently control each of the species to cause them to emit radiation towards the printing plate simultaneously with emissions patterns of adjacent members overlapping one another on the plate. A linear or planar source may comprise a plurality of independently controllable arrays.

A pattern formed body, including a cured resin layer 12 having a low surface free energy region a and a high surface free energy region b on a base 11, in which a difference in surface free energy between the low surface free energy region a and the high surface free energy region b is greater than 6 mJ/m.sup.2, and the low surface free energy region a and the high surface free energy region b are optically leveled surfaces. Accordingly, an ink is applied on the pattern formed body to easily color code.

What is provided is a pattern forming method for forming a pattern on a surface to be processed of an object, the method including: a first layer forming step of forming a first layer containing a compound having a protective group that is decomposable by an acid and also decomposable by light, on the surface to be processed; a second layer forming step of forming a second layer containing a photoacid generator that is configured to generate an acid by exposure, on the first layer; an exposure step of exposing the first layer and the second layer to form a latent image including an exposed region and an unexposed region, on the first layer; and a disposition step of disposing a pattern forming material in the exposed region or the unexposed region.

A method for applying a pattern on a mask layer includes obtaining an image file representing pixels with a first pixel size in a first direction parallel to an edge of the pixel, and a second pixel size in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, where the first and second pixel size are the same or different, treating the mask layer such that a plurality of areas with altered physical properties are created in the mask layer, the plurality of areas corresponding to a plurality of pixels of the image file, where the treatment is done such that a first and/or a second area size of an area of said plurality of areas, seen in said first and/or said second direction, is smaller than the first and/or second pixel size, respectively.

An apparatus for exposure of a relief precursor having a first side and an opposite second side includes a light source to expose the relief precursor during relative movement between the light source and the relief plate precursor; a moving means to cause a first relative movement between the light source and the relief precursor to expose the first side of the relief precursor, to cause a second relative movement between the light source and the relief precursor to expose the second side of the relief precursor, and to move the light source between a first position and a second position. The first and second positions are on opposite sides of a plane of the relief precursor. At least one of the first and the second relative movement is a reciprocating movement.