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Make New Connections with Masterless Soft-Lithography

Detailed Technology Description

Masterless Soft-Lithography (m-SL) allows for the patterning of substrate surfaces through the adhesion of poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) to silicon oxide, silanes, and similar chemical functionalities.

Countries

United States

Application No.

7662545

*Abstract

Masterless Soft-Lithography (m-SL) allows for the patterning of substrate surfaces through the adhesion of poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) to silicon oxide, silanes, and similar chemical functionalities. This enables the transfer of a polymer pattern into a surface through its physical contact with a lithographically modified PDMS stamp.

DESCRIPTION/DETAILS 

The dependence of photolithography on projection optics and harsh chemical reagents hinders its ability to pattern non-planar surfaces and sensitive materials, such as cells and proteins. 

Soft lithography is also limited because pattern fidelity will be compromised if the distance of features from one another exceeds certain critical dimensions. New and useful methods of pattern formation in microfabrication can be achieved with (m-SL) while realizing the advantageous design rules of photolithography. 

This new soft-lithographic patterning method uses a compound photomask to generate site-specific modifications on the surface of a non-patterned sheet of PDMS and allows the bonding of the modified sheet to essentially any substrate. 

When peeled away, PDMS structures suitable for use as a resist for film patterning are transferred in the image of the irradiated region. The composite contact mask defined photo-oxidation can also be used to define secondary patterns in the PDMS resists and thin-film microstructures transferred by the Decal Transfer Lithography (DTL). 

In this embodiment, a sub-section of a DTL-patterning tool can be photochemically activated in a patterned form and incorporated into the transferred polymer pattern. Finally, the reactive microenvironments created by the compound photomask provide a new capacity for modifying other polymer and adsorbate-bearing surfaces with sub-micron resolution.

APPLICATIONS 

• Lithography Silicon thin-film transistors 
  • cameras 
  • displays 
  • monitors 

BENEFITS 

• Faster - Shortens the patterning process by rendering the molding step optional. 
• Independent - Independent of a prior rendering of a conventional photoresist, m-SL creates a new capacity for generating masters for patterning PDMS tools for soft lithography. 
• More design options - This technology permits the patterning of surfaces with continuous or discreet features, the overlay of one or more patterns using the same molded stamp, and the expanded ability to separate features without a loss of pattern fidelity 
• Pattern Creation - Creates photolithographic patterns on the PDMS stamp, which may be modified by chemical reactions for various applications, including the transfer of materials other than PDMS.

For more information about this technology, please contact the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Technology Management at otm@illinois.edu.

*IP Issue Date

None

*IP Type

Utility

Country/Region

USA