Method of preparing a patterned film with a developing solvent

1. A method of preparing a patterned film on a substrate, said method comprising the steps of:

applying a silicone composition onto the substrate to form a film of the silicone composition;

exposing a portion of the film to radiation to produce a partially exposed film having an exposed region and a non-exposed region;

heating the partially exposed film for a sufficient amount of time and at a sufficient temperature to substantially insolubilize the exposed region in a developing solvent comprising a siloxane component with the non-exposed region remaining soluble in the developing solvent; and

removing the non-exposed region of the partially exposed film with the developing solvent to reveal a film-free region on the substrate and to form the patterned film including the exposed region that remains on the substrate with the film-free region substantially free of residual silicone from the developing solvent due to the presence of the siloxane component in the developing solvent.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the siloxane component includes a siloxane having the following formula:

wherein R 1 -R 8 are independently selected from the group of hydrogen, alkenyl groups, alkyl groups, phenyl groups, and combinations thereof, and n is from 0 to 100.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the siloxane component has a number average molecular weight of from 162 to 8000 g/mol.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the siloxane component comprises hexamethyldisiloxane.

5. A method as set forth in claim 4 wherein the siloxane component further comprises at least one of octamethyltrisiloxane and decamethyltetrasiloxane.

6. A method as set forth in claim 5 wherein the hexamethyldisiloxane is present in an amount of at least 50 parts by volume based on the total volume of the siloxane component present in the developing solvent.

7. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein the hexamethyldisiloxane is present in the developing solvent in an amount of at least 50 parts by volume based on the total volume of the developing solvent.

8. A method as set forth in claim 4 wherein the siloxane component further comprises a cyclic siloxane.

9. A method as set forth in claim 1 where the radiation has a wavelength of from 150 to 450 nm.

10. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising the step of soft-baking the film of the silicone composition on the substrate.

11. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising the step of heating the patterned film for an amount of time and at a temperature sufficient to cure the exposed region in the patterned film.

12. A method as set forth in claim 11 further comprising the step of etching the patterned film with plasma.

13. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising the step of removing edge beads of the silicone composition from the substrate with the developing solvent comprising the siloxane component.