Apparatus and method for microcontact printing using a pressurized roller

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-8950324-B2
Application number	US-201013514170-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 17, 2010
Priority date	Dec 22, 2009
Publication date	Feb 10, 2015
Grant date	Feb 10, 2015

Abstract

An apparatus and method for microcontact printing are described. The microcontact printing apparatus includes a planar stamp and a pressurized roller. The pressurized roller includes an inflatable bladder that can be inflated by a fluid to a pressure that reduces printing defects such as voids and stamp collapse. A substrate is disposed between the pressurized roller and a stamp coated with an ink of functionalizing molecules. As the pressurized roller moves over the substrate, at least a portion of the functionalizing molecules are transferred from the stamp to the substrate in the desired pattern.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of microcontact printing, comprising:
providing a planar inked stamp comprising functionalizing molecules;
orienting a first surface of a substrate towards a surface of the inked stamp;
contacting the first surface of the substrate to the surface of the inked stamp;
rolling a pressurized roller over a second surface of the substrate; and
transferring at least a portion of the functionalizing molecules from the surface of the planar inked stamp to the first surface of the substrate, wherein the pressurized roller includes an inflatable bladder that is pressurized by a fluid, the inflatable bladder comprising an outer wall that contacts the second surface of the substrate when the pressurized roller is rolled, and wherein the inflatable bladder does not include internal supports within an interior volume of the inflatable bladder.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inflatable bladder is pressurized to less than about 20 psi.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the outer wall of the inflatable bladder comprises an elastomeric wall having a thickness of between about 0.1 millimeter and about 3 millimeters.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a material of an outer surface of the inflatable bladder has a durometer in a range of about 30 to about 80 Shore A.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein rolling the pressurized roller over the second surface of the substrate imparts a pressure of less than 20 psi to the surface of the stamp.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
contacting the surface of the inked stamp to the first surface of the substrate comprises forming a contact front between the first surface of the substrate and the surface of the inked stamp at the point of contact, and wherein a tangent to a portion of the first surface of the substrate that is adjacent to a point of contact between the surface of the inked stamp and the first surface of the substrate makes an angle with the plane of the stamp.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein rolling the pressurized roller over the second surface of the substrate comprises propagating a contact front between the first surface of the substrate and the surface of the inked stamp during the rolling.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the pressure applied to the surface of the inked stamp by the pressurized roller by one or both of adjusting a pressure of the fluid within the pressurized roller and adjusting a distance between an outer surface of the pressurized roller and the surface of the inked stamp.

9. A microcontact printing apparatus, comprising:
a planar stamp;
a roller, comprising an inflatable bladder configured to be pressurized by a fluid, the inflatable bladder comprising an outer wall that is an outer surface of the roller, and wherein the inflatable bladder does not include internal supports within an interior volume of the inflatable bladder; and
an actuator configured to provide relative movement between the pressurized roller and the stamp in a direction substantially parallel to a surface of the stamp while the pressurized roller applies pressure to the planar stamp.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a distance between the outer surface of the pressurized roller and the surface of the stamp.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the actuator comprises a control system configured to automatically provide the relative movement.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the pressurized roller rotates during the relative movement and the actuator comprises a motorized drive mechanism configured to rotate the roller.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the planar stamp comprises a relief pattern on the surface of the stamp, the relief pattern having raised regions and recessed regions, and a minimum lateral dimension of the raised regions is less than about 10 microns, a maximum lateral separation between adjacent raised regions is at least about 50 microns, and a height of the relief pattern between the raised regions and the recessed regions is less than about 10 microns.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the inflatable bladder is configured to be pressurized by a fluid to less than about 20 psi.

15. A microcontact printing roller having a longitudinal axis, comprising:
an inflatable bladder comprising an elastomeric wall, the inflatable bladder configured to be pressurized by a fluid, wherein an outer surface of the roller is configured to have a height variation of less than 1 mm per 1 cm of width across a width of at least 5 cm along the longitudinal axis when the inflatable bladder is pressurized;
wherein: i) the elastomeric wall comprises an expandable foam; or
ii)
the elastomeric wall is disposed between an expandable foam layer and an outer wall that expands away from the elastomeric wall when the bladder is pressurized.

16. The roller of claim 15 , wherein the inflatable bladder does not include internal supports within an interior volume of the inflatable bladder.

17. The roller of claim 15 , wherein the elastomeric wall comprises the expandable foam.

18. The roller of claim 15 , wherein the roller comprises one or more additional layers disposed over an outer surface of the inflatable bladder, wherein the elastomeric wall is disposed between the expandable foam layer and the one additional layer comprises the outer wall.

19. The roller of claim 15 , wherein a material of an outer surface of the inflatable bladder has a durometer between about 30 and about 80 Shore A.

Assignees

• Berniard Tracie J
• Frey Matthew H
• Behymer Lance E
• Pekurovsky Mikhail L
• Greger Richard W
• Meehan Daniel P
• O'Hare Jonathan J
• 3M Innovative Properties Co

Inventors

• Berniard Tracie J
• Frey Matthew H
• Behymer Lance E
• Pekurovsky Mikhail L
• Greger Richard W
• Meehan Daniel P
• O'Hare Jonathan J

Classifications

• B41F31/00 Primary

  Inking arrangements or devices (inking units for platen presses B41F1/40; inking units for cylinder presses B41F3/81) · CPC title

• G03F7/0002

  Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping · CPC title

• B41M3/00

  Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns ({printing apparatus or machines of special type or for particular purposes B41F17/00;} special designs or pictures per se B44F; manufacturing printed circuits using printing techniques H05K3/12 {; manufacturing organic semiconductor devices using printing techniques H10K71/13}) · CPC title

• B41K3/28 Primary

  and bearing a positive image · CPC title

• C23F1/14

  Aqueous compositions · CPC title