Present microelectronic photoimaging applications employ onium salts for deep UV (I-line, 365 nm) photolithography. Since most onium salts do not absorb at this wavelength, photosensitizers are commonly employed. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons are the most efficient known examples of electron-transfer photosensitizers for onium salts. However, they have serious drawbacks that limit their use, such as they are expensive, toxis, and poorly soluable in most reactive monomers and polymer systems.

Carbon nanotubes are a nanostructured material that promises to have a wide range of applications. However, the present techniques used to build nanotube architectures have several deficiencies, such as the inability to precisely and controllably align the nanotubes. This invention is a novel and powerful method to assemble carbon nanotubes on planar substrates to build and control highly organized 1-to-3D architectures.

This technology relates to nanofilled polymeric materials with a tunable refractive index without increased scattering or loss. The tunability allows the creation of hybrid nanocomposites that combine the advantages of organic polymers (low weight, flexibility, good impact resistance, and excellent processability) and inorganic materials (high refractive index, good chemical resistance and high thermal stability).

For most types of gelatin-based imaging elements, surface abrasion and scratching results in reduction of image quality. Thus, processing the image and, later, casual handling of the image can easily mark or disfigure the image. There is, therefore, a need for an imaging element having improved scratch resistance over materials currently used.