Book reviews 359

Chapter two considers the problems associated with spinning thin uniform layers of resist materials. The physical problems governing optical resolution and imaging are considered in chapter three. Non-optical lithography, electron beam, focussed ion beam and X-ray methods are considered in chapter four. Chapter five covers dry processing from the point of view of plasma etching of the resist and also the substrate. The depth of understanding which now exists of the various factors influencing each of the above processes is illustrated by the fact that numerical models can be used to aid the selection and optimization of process performance. The last two chapters cover recent advances in Japan and Europe and review topics such as contrast enhancement, excimer laser beam lithography, silicon containing resists and other special topic areas.

The text provides a very useful illustration of the practical application of a wide range of polymer chemistry and physics. I can recommend this book as a teaching text for a course a t post or undergraduate level in microlithography.

R. A. Pethrick

Atlas of polymer morphology Arthur E. Woodward, Hanser Publishers, Munich, Vienna, New York, 1989. pp. 531, price E108.40. ISBN 3-446-15175-3

This book is like a breath of fresh air in the scientific book literature and in that of physical polymer science in particular. It is completely unpretentious and at the same time aesthetically beautiful. There is nothing like it!

The book is a collection of micrographs, mostly electron, some optical, arranged in chapters by subject matter. Each chapter starts with an introductory text which, together with diagrams and references, amount to 3-1 2 pages according to subject area. These are followed by the micrographs themselves, each with captions containing description, explanation and reference. There are twelve chapters with titles as follows: I Polymer Science Introduction; I1 Sample Preparation Tech- niques and Investigative Methods; 111 Polymers Crystallized from Solution; IV Crystallization from the Melt; V Crystallization during Polymerisation; VI Block Copolymers; VII Liquid Crystal Polymers; VIII Processing Effects; IX Polymer Blends and Composites; X Effects of Mechanical Deformation; XI Fracture; XI1 Effects of Chemicals and Other Agents.

The Introductions lucidly define and explain the subject areas and lay the groundwork for the illustrations to follow. Of course these introductions are not sufficient to teach the subjects in question yet provide adequate orientation for the non-specialist. Further, thcre is a thread of welcome continuity from one to the next. The pictures themselves are a joy to behold. They must have been affectionately selected by the investigators ap- proached and are most knowledgeably compiled by the author of the book. Their quality is generally superb, both as original pieces of research and as reproductions for the book. They are all laid out on the right hand side pages with the captions on the largely unfilled lcft hand side next to each. This uncluttered lay- out may well be regarded as wasteful in terms of space, yet I feel it is well conceived: it rests the eye when going from one item to the next aiding to absorb the visual message.

Finally and chiefly, one may query the purpose of it all.

Personally, I have no doubt of my own: it provides the full primary source from which, in the normal course of events, verbal and/or mathematical formalisations are extracted for the subsequent conventional publications. Here the reader can go back to the source, make his own comparisons, form his own visual associations and make his own deductions. The sparse texts aid but d o not restrict. If you disagree with some points it is the images which speak providing both information and pleasure. The book is recommended for specialist researchers in each field covered, for microscopists, for the practitioner in polymer science, and for the curious in general.

A. Keller

Cross-linked polymers: chemistry, properties and applications American Chemical Society Symposium Series No. 367 Edited by R. A. Dickie, S. S. Labana and R. S. Bauer, American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 1988. pp. ix + 492, price El 19.95. ISBN 0-8412-1471-9

Cross-linked polymers, with their characteristic three- dimensional interconnected molecular network systems, are widely used in a variety of applications, including automobile, aerospace, building construction, and many consumer product application. These can also include surface coatings, adhesives, composites and elastomers, especially where high mechanical performance with resistance to temperature and solvents is required.

The contents of this volume, originally presented to the Division of Polymeric Materials, Science and Engineering of the American Chemical Society in April 1987, discuss many important theoretical and practical aspects of this important part of polymer science, including current topics in network theory and the structure of polymer networks, in relation to molecular architecture and properties. The introductory chapter, on ‘Cross-linking and Structure of Polymer Networks’ (by Dusek and MacKnight) is an excellent overview of network formation theories, their experimental verification and appli- cation to more complex systems of industrial importance. The rest of this section includes discussion of the behaviour of different polymers, including elastomers, star-branched Nylon 6, urethane and melamine-formaldehyde coatings, epoxy struc- tural adhesives and thermosets. The deformation, fatigue, and fracture properties of certain cross-linked polymers, mainly epoxy-resins of several types, are considered in the second part of the book. The final section (some 240 pages) discusses a range of high-performance polymer networks, including applications of novel systems of several different types, including triazine thermosets, interpenetrating coatings based on polyurethanes with acrylics or with vinyl chloride copolymers, esterified oligomers, bismaleimide resins, modified condensation polyimides, hydroxyacrylate and -methacrylate copolymers, and cross-linkable aldehyde-functional amide-blocked copolymers.

The 32 contributions, published in camera-ready form, are an excellent account of many topics of theoretical and potential industrial importance where a knowledge of cross-linked polymers and their performance contributes to satisfactory understanding of the relationship between network structure and application properties.

C. A. Finch

BRITISH POLYMER JOURNAL VOL. 22, NO. 4, 1990