Patent ID: 7923071

Claim:
A method for patterning a radiation-curable polymer supported on a plastic substrate, comprising the steps of depositing a radiation-curable polymer onto a plastic substrate; and imagewise exposing to curing energetic radiation, at least a portion of said radiation-curable polymer to provide a cured polymer region and an unexposed polymer region, wherein said plastic substrate is shielded from said radiation by one or more shielding means selected from the group consisting of: i) an additive designed to absorb said energetic radiation; and ii) a barrier layer opaque to said energetic radiation, wherein said barrier layer is between said radiation-curable polymer and said substrate, wherein said plastic substrate is chosen from a group consisting of: polyethylene terephthalate and a polycarbonate, wherein said radiation-curable polymer is a siloxane polymer; and allowing the shielding means to shield the plastic substrate from the radiation to prevent gap filling between cured polymer regions or undesirable roughness at the boundary of said cured polymer regions.