A photopolymer usually consists of monomers, oligomers and photo-initiators, which cross-link to form a network structure when exposed to light, often in the ultraviolet (UV) or visible region (VIS) of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Photocuring is a relatively rapid process compared to thermal curing and therefore the process can be used for selective curing using high-energy light sources, which makes the process suitable for printing circuit boards and fabricating microchips.

Photo-polymers are widely used in medical, 3D-printing, coating, adhesive and proto-resist technologies.