1. A method of photolithography comprising the steps of:
providing a substrate and forming a layer of a photoresist on the substrate,
performing a first exposure in which a predetermined part of the layer of photoresist is irradiated through a mask having a pattern for forming a latent image of said pattern in the layer of the photoresist,
performing a pretreatment on the layer of the photoresist to remove a predetermined part of the latent image before performing a fixation, whereby a portion of the photoresist corresponding to a feature to be formed is modified, and
performing a fixation with which the latent image is converted into an image within the portion of the layer of photoresist that corresponds to the feature.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the fixation comprises maintaining of the layer of photoresist at a first temperature, which is equal to or above a threshold temperature, for a predetermined first period, and the pretreatment comprises maintaining of the layer of photoresist at a second temperature, which is lower than the threshold temperature, for a predetermined second period.
3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the latent image is a profile of a modification of the photoresist and the photoresist comprises a quencher, and wherein during the pretreatment the quencher diffuses through the layer of photoresist and is, at least partly, consumed in a process by which the modification is, at least partly, counterbalanced or cancelled out.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the photoresist comprises a photoactive compound for generating the modification in the form of a catalyst which catalyzes a transformation within the photoresist during fixation, and wherein during the pretreatment, the quencher disables the catalyst at least partly.
5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the catalyst is an acidic species and the quencher is a base.
6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the latent image is formed by a profile of a modification of the photoresist wherein the photoresist comprises a quencher precursor, which during the pretreatment provides a quencher that at least partly, counterbalances or cancels out, the modification.
7. A method according to 6 wherein the quencher precursor is a photoactive compound and that the pretreatment comprises performing a pretreatment exposure with actinic radiation by which the quencher precursor provides the quencher.
8. A method comprising:
forming a layer of photoresist on a substrate, the photoresist comprising a photoactive compound that releases a photoproduct upon exposure with actinic radiation, the photoproduct inducing a modification of the photoresist forming a latent image and the photoresist including a quencher configured and arranged to at least partly counterbalance or cancel out the modification in a process wherein the quencher is at least partly consumed, the quencher configured and arranged to diffuse through said layer of photoresist at higher rate than the photoproduct;
performing a first exposure in which a predetermined art of the layer of photoresist is irradiated through a mask having a pattern for forming a latent image of said pattern in the layer of the photoresist;
performing a pretreatment on the layer of the photoresist to remove a predetermined part of the latent image before performing a fixation, whereby a portion of the photoresist corresponding to a feature to be formed is modified; and
performing a fixation with which the latent image is converted into an image within the portion of the layer of photoresist that corresponds to the feature.
9. A method comprising:
forming a layer of photoresist on a substrate, the photoresist comprising a photoactive compound that releases a photoproduct upon exposure with actinic radiation, the photoproduct inducing a modification of the photoresist and the photoresist including quencher precursor that releases a quencher upon a physical stimulation to at least partly counterbalance or cancel out the modification;
performing a first exposure in which a predetermined part of the layer of photoresist is irradiated through a mask having a pattern for forming a latent image of said pattern in the layer of the photoresist;
performing a pretreatment on the layer of the photoresist to remove a predetermined part of the latent image before performing a fixation, whereby a portion of the photoresist corresponding to a feature to be formed is modified; and
performing a fixation with which the latent image is converted into an image within the portion of the layer of photoresist that corresponds to the feature.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An apparatus for encoding a stove usage time, the apparatus comprising:
a circuit comprising a processor and an internal timer;
a temperature switch communicatively linked to the circuit;
an input device, the input device electrically connected to the circuit and the input device configured to transmit a status request to the processor in response to receiving a user input;
an output device;
wherein the internal timer is configured to increment an accumulated time value of the internal timer by a usage time value, the usage time value based on a duration the temperature switch detects temperatures higher than the minimum threshold; and
wherein the processor is configured to:
access the incremented accumulated time value of the internal timer and store the incremented accumulated time value in a memory of the circuit;
read the incremented accumulated time value from the memory of the circuit;
encode the incremented accumulated time value into an encoded value; and,
in response to receiving the status request from the input device, cause the output device to produce the encoded value.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, in response to the temperature switch detecting temperatures higher than the minimum threshold temperature, the output device is configured to exhibit an indicator, the indictor indicating that the internal timer is being incremented.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the input device is a button;
the output device is a liquid crystal display (LCD);
the temperature switch is a temperature sensor; and
the temperature sensor is connected to the circuit by one or more electrical connections.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein:
causing the output device to produce the encoded value comprises causing the LCD to visually display the encoded value in numerical format.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the time value is an accumulated time indicating a duration of time for which a stove to which the apparatus is attached has been turned on.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the temperature switch is configured to transmit a first signal to the circuit in response to the temperature switch detecting temperatures higher than a minimum threshold temperature.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:
the temperature switch is configured to transmit a second signal to the circuit in response to the temperature switch detecting temperatures lower than a maximum threshold temperature.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, in response to receiving the status request from the input device, the processor is further configured to store the encoded value in the memory of the circuit.
9. A method for communicating stove usage times, the method comprising:
at a stove timer:
accessing a memory location storing an accumulated stove usage time value;
detecting a first temperature value;
determining that the first temperature value exceeds a minimum temperature threshold value;
starting an internal timer in response to determining that the temperature value exceeds the minimum threshold value, the internal timer incrementing the accumulated stove usage time value stored at the memory location;
displaying an indicator, the indictor indicating that the internal timer is running;
detecting a second temperature value, wherein the second temperature value is at a lower temperature than the first temperature value;
determining that a maximum temperature threshold value exceeds the second temperature value;
stopping the internal timer in response to determining that the maximum temperature threshold value exceeds the second temperature value;
accessing the memory location storing the incremented accumulated stove usage time value;
encoding the incremented accumulated stove usage time value into an encoded value; and
displaying the encoded value for transmission to a remote server.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
at a remote server:
receiving the encoded value;
decoding the encoded value into a decoded value;
storing the decoded value in a memory; and
determining a compensation value based on the decoded value.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the compensation value is a dollar amount applied to the telephone bill of a user associated with the stove timer.