Layered aligned polymer structures and methods of making same
First Claim
1. A method of producing a thin film of oriented polymer structures, comprising the steps of:
- controlling the flow of a polymer solution into a device having a substrate, the device generating a shear flow to induce alignment of polymer structures;
controlling a plurality of parameters during polymerization; and
generating a layer of oriented polymer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention includes a method of producing a thin, oriented layer of polymer material. The material is preferably produced by the method of introducing a shearing flow to a free surface in a predominantly monomeric solution of the self-assembling polymer sub-units, and inducing polymerization or growth of the monomer while in this shearing flow. The system for forming the oriented layer of material provides relative movement between a delivery system and the substrate on or over which the material is deposited. The rate of flow of the material from the delivery system and the relative velocity between the deposition surface and the material as it is delivered to the surface are controlled to properly orient the material at the desired thickness. These rates can be adjusted to vary the properties of the film in a controlled manner. Preferred embodiments include either angular or linear relative movement between the delivery system and the substrate.
73 Citations
79 Claims
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1. A method of producing a thin film of oriented polymer structures, comprising the steps of:
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controlling the flow of a polymer solution into a device having a substrate, the device generating a shear flow to induce alignment of polymer structures;
controlling a plurality of parameters during polymerization; and
generating a layer of oriented polymer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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79. A system to align polymerizing polymer chains in a layer such that polymers are predominantly aligned parallel to each other, comprising:
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an apparatus to generate shear flow;
a plurality of sensors to monitor a plurality of parameters; and
a processor to modulate a plurality of control parameters.
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Specification