US Patent 7504199 Method of forming metal pattern having low resistivity

Disclosed herein is a method for forming a metal pattern with a low resistivity. The method comprises the steps of: (i) coating a photocatalytic compound onto a substrate to form a photocatalytic film layer; (ii) coating a water-soluble polymeric compound onto the photocatalytic film layer to form a water-soluble polymer layer; (iii) selectively exposing the two layers to light to form a latent pattern acting as a nucleus for crystal growth; and (iv) plating the latent pattern with a metal to grow metal crystals thereon. According to the method, a multilayer wiring pattern including a low resistivity metal can be formed in a relatively simple manner at low cost, and the metals constituting the respective layers can be freely selected according to the intended application. The low resistivity metal pattern can be advantageously applied to flat panel display devices, e.g., LCDs, PDPs and ELDs.