A chemically amplified photosensitive polyimide based on polyhydroxyimide (PHI) from cyclobutane-tetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)bis(2-aminophenol), 4,4'-methylenebis[2,6-bis (hydroxymethyl)phenol] (MBHP) as a crosslinker, and (5-propylsulfonyloxyimino-5H-thiophen-2-ylidene)-(2-methyl-phenyl)acetonitrile (PTMA) as a photoacid generator was developed to obtain the abilities of low temperature patterning, low dielectric constant, and high sensitivity. The chemically amplified photosensitive polyimide, consisting of PHI (70 wt%), MBHP (20 wt%), and PTMA (10 wt%), showed a high sensitivity (DO.5) of 5.9 mJ/cm(2) and a good contrast (gamma(0.5)) of 3.9, respectively, producing a clear negative-tone line-and-space pattern with 6-mu m resolution. Furthermore, the chemically amplified photosensitive polyimide showed a high transparency in the i-line region and a low dielectric constant of 2.54. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl polym Sci 113:3605-3611, 2009