Apparatus and methods for contact-printing using electrostatic nanoporous stamps

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11396196-B2
Application number	US-201816959721-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2018
Priority date	Jan 5, 2018
Publication date	Jul 26, 2022
Grant date	Jul 26, 2022

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for contacting printing via electrostatic force. In one example, an apparatus for contact printing using an ink includes a substrate, a conductive layer disposed on the substrate, and a group of microstructures disposed on the conductive layer. Each microstructure includes a group of conductive porous medium extending from the conductive layer. The apparatus also includes a dielectric layer conformally disposed on the microstructures and configured to electrically insulate the microstructures from the ink during use. The conductive layer is configured to apply a voltage on the group of microstructures to facilitate the loading and dispensing of ink.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for contact printing using an ink, the apparatus comprising:
a substrate;
a conductive layer disposed on the substrate;
a plurality of microstructures disposed on the conductive layer, each microstructure including a porous medium comprising a conductive material; and
a dielectric layer conformally disposed on the plurality of microstructures and configured to electrically insulate the plurality of microstructures from the ink during use.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the conductive layer includes Titanium Nitride (TiN).

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the conductive layer includes a plurality of conductive electrodes, each electrode in the plurality of conductive electrodes being disposed under a corresponding microstructure in the plurality of microstructures.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each microstructure has a lateral size of about 1 μm to about 100 μm.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes a plurality of metal nanowires.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes a plurality of aligned carbon nanotubes.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes a plurality of aligned metal nanowires.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes a plurality of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes a plurality of vertically aligned metal nanowires.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium has a top section having an average pore size of about 100 nm or less.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes or a plurality of conductive fibers, and an average spacing between adjacent nanotubes or adjacent conductive fibers is about 100 nm or less.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium includes carbon-based aerogels, metal aerogels, or metal-oxide aerogels.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the porous medium has an average void size of about 1 nm to about 100 nm.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer comprises a hydrophobic material.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer includes a polymer or an oxide.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer has a thickness of about 50 nm or less.

18. A method of contact printing using a nanoporous print stamp, the method comprising:
contacting the nanoporous print stamp with an ink;
applying a voltage between a conductive layer in the nanoporous print stamp and the ink to load the ink into a dielectric-coated porous medium disposed on the conductive layer based at least in part on an electrostatic force between the nanoporous print stamp and the ink, the dielectric-coated porous medium including a conductive porous medium conformally coated with a dielectric layer;
contacting the nanoporous print stamp with a target substrate; and
adjusting an amplitude of the voltage between the conductive layer and the ink to release the ink from the nanoporous print stamp and onto the target substrate so as to form a pattern.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
changing the amplitude of the voltage between the conductive layer and the ink to change an amount of the ink loaded into a dielectric-coated porous medium.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the conductive layer includes a periodic two-dimensional (2D) array of electrodes, the conductive porous medium includes a 2D array of microstructures, and each electrode in the 2D array of electrodes is disposed under a corresponding microstructure in the 2D array of microstructures.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein applying the voltage comprises applying the voltage to a subset of electrodes in the array of electrodes so as to load the ink onto a corresponding subset of microstructures in the array of microstructures, the corresponding subset of the microstructures representing a shape of the pattern.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein adjusting the amplitude of the voltage comprises removing the voltage from a subset of electrodes in the array of electrodes so as to release the ink from a corresponding subset of microstructures in the array of microstructures, the corresponding subset of the microstructures representing a shape of the pattern.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein adjusting the amplitude of the voltage comprises decreasing the voltage from a subset of electrodes in the array of electrodes so as to control the amount of ink to be transferred from a corresponding subset of microstructures in the array of microstructures to the target substrate, the corresponding subset of the microstructures representing a shape of the pattern.

24. The method of claim 20 , wherein applying the voltage comprises applying a first voltage to a first subset of electrodes in the array of electrodes to print a first pattern, and the method further comprises:
applying a second voltage to a second subset of electrodes in the array of electrodes to print a second pattern different from the first pattern.

25. The method of claim 18 , wherein the porous medium has a top section having an average pore size of about 100 nm or less.

26. The method of claim 18 , wherein porous medium includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes.

27. The method of claim 18 , wherein the dielectric layer comprises a hydrophobic material.

28. The method of claim 18 , wherein the dielectric layer has a thickness of about 20 nm or less.

29. An nanoporous print stamp for contact printing using an ink, the stamp comprising:
a substrate;
an array of electrodes disposed on the substrate;
an array of microstructures, each microstructure being disposed on a corresponding electrode in the array of electrodes, each microstructure including a plurality of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes extending from the corresponding electrode, the plurality of carbon nanotubes having: (a) a top section having an average pore size of about 100 nm or less, and (b) a lateral size of about 1 μm to about 100 μm; and
a dielectric layer conformally disposed on the array of microstructures and configured to electrically insulate the plurality of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes of each microstructure in the array of microstructures from the ink during use.

Assignees

• Massachusetts Inst Technology

Inventors

• Hart Anastasios John
• Kim Sanha

Classifications

• B41N1/12 Primary

  non-metallic other than stone {, e.g. printing plates or foils comprising inorganic materials in an organic matrix (B41N1/003, B41N1/006 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B41M1/42 Primary

  Printing without contact between forme and surface to be printed, e.g. by using electrostatic fields {(using a stencil or screen B41M1/125)} · CPC title

• B41M1/04

  Flexographic printing · CPC title

• B41M1/00

  Inking and printing with a printer's forme · CPC title

• B41N1/00

  Printing plates or foils; Materials therefor · CPC title