Microcontact printhead device

• US 20040233250A1
• Filed: 03/05/2004
• Published: 11/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Parallel Synthesis Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Parallel Synthesis Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Haushalter, Robert C., Vetcha, Srinivas
• Application Number:
  US10/795,188
• Publication Number:
  US 20040233250A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/54
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0819 Microarrays; Biochips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/025 tapping tip on substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0406 capillary forces
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0268 using pulse dispensing or spraying, eg. inkjet type, piezo actuated ejection of droplets from capillaries
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14 Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites

Abstract

A microcontact printhead device having a frame and an array of at least two printing elements unitarily formed with the frame. Each of the printing elements may include a printing tip, a printing fluid reservoir associated with the printing tip, and one or more flexible support members that attach the printing tip to the frame. Also, a method of fabricating the microcontact printhead device using micromachining and a method of using the microcontact printhead device for printing an array of spots.

Claims

1. A microcontact printhead device comprising:

a frame; and

an array of at least two printing elements formed in the frame.

2. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 1, wherein the at least two printing elements are unitary with the frame.

3. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 1, wherein the frame is formed from at least one substrate.

4. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 3, wherein the at least one substrate is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, silicon oxides, silicon nitride, germanium, germanium-silicon alloys, polymers, ceramics, and non-ferric alloys.

5. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 1, wherein each of the two printing elements includes a printing tip.

6. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 5, wherein each of the two printing elements further includes a printing fluid reservoir associated with the printing tip.

7. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 6, wherein each of the two printing elements further includes at least one support member that attaches the printing tip to the frame

8. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one flexible support member is flexible so as to spring bias the printing tip in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the frame during printing.

9. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 8, wherein the spring bias controls printing pressure.

10. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one support member forms a bottom of the reservoir.

11. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one support member has a spiral shape.

12. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 7, wherein each of the two printing elements includes a fluid dispensing channel in communication with the printing fluid reservoir.

13. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 1, wherein the two printing elements each includes a printing fluid reservoir.

14. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 5, wherein each of the two printing elements includes at least one support member that attaches the printing tip to the frame.

15. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 14, wherein the at least one support member is flexible so as to spring bias the printing tip in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the frame.

16. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 15, wherein the spring bias controls printing pressure.

17. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 14, wherein the at least one support member has a spiral shape.

18. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 5, wherein each of the two printing elements includes a fluid dispensing channel.

34. The microcontact printhead device of claim 1, wherein the at least two printing elements each print a fluid.

35. The microcontact printhead device of claim 34, wherein the fluid is a solution of a biological material selected from the group consisting of DNA, RNA and protein molecules.

36. The microcontact printhead device of claim 35, wherein the fluid is an organic material selected from the group consisting of an organic small molecule, an organic polymer, a solution of an organic polymer, a dye, an ink, and an adhesive.

37. The microcontact printhead device of claim 34, wherein the fluid is an inorganic material selected from the group consisting of a molten metal, a solder, a glass, and a ceramic oxide.

38. The microcontact printhead device of claim 1, wherein the at least two printing elements are each capable of printing a different fluid.

53. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one support member comprise a thin diaphragm.

54. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one support member has a width and a length, the width varying along the length to generate a capillary force that draws a printing fluid contained in the corresponding printing fluid reservoir to the printing tip during printing.

55. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one support member includes lateral interdigital texturing along a portion of a length of the at least one support member, the lateral interdigital texturing generating a capillary force that draws a printing fluid contained in the corresponding printing fluid reservoir to the printing tip during printing.

56. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the fluid dispensing channels is tapered to generate a capillary force that draws a printing fluid contained in the corresponding printing fluid reservoir into the fluid dispensing channel during printing.

19. A microcontact printhead device comprising:

a frame; and

an array of printing elements formed in the frame, each of the printing elements in the array including a printing tip.

20. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein the printing elements are unitary with the frame.

21. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein the array of printing elements has a printing tip density between about 2 and 100 printing tips per square centimeter.

22. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein the array of printing elements has a printing tip density between about 100 and 1000 printing tips per square centimeter.

23. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein the array of printing elements has a printing tip density between about 10³ and 10⁵ printing tips per square centimeter.

24. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein the array of printing elements has a printing tip density between about 10⁵ and 10⁷ printing tips per square centimeter.

25. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein the array of printing elements has a printing tip density between about 10⁷ and 10⁹ printing tips per square centimeter.

26. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein the array of printing elements has a printing tip density between about 10⁹ and 10¹⁴ printing tips per square centimeter.

27. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein each of the printing tips has a printing surface area of between about 5×

10⁷ and 10³ square micrometers.

28. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein each of the printing tips has a printing surface area of between about 10³ and 10² square micrometers.

29. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein each of the printing tips has a printing surface area of between about 10² and 10 square micrometers.

30. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein each of the printing tips has a printing surface area of between about 10 and 1 square micrometers.

31. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein each of the printing tips has a printing surface area of between about 1 and 10⁻

2 square micrometers.

32. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein each of the printing tips has a printing surface area of between about 10⁻

2 and 10<sup>−

4</sup> square micrometers.

33. The microcontact printhead device according to claim 19, wherein each of the printing tips has a printing surface area of between about 10⁻

4 and 10<sup>−

6</sup> square micrometers.

39. A method of fabricating a microcontact printhead device, the method comprising:

forming an array of at least two printing fluid reservoirs in a first surface of at least one substrate; and

forming an array of printing tips in a second surface of the at least one substrate, the array of fluid dispensing channels communicating with the array of the at least two printing fluid reservoirs.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein the array of at least two printing fluid reservoirs and the array of printing tips are formed by micromachining.

41. The method according to claim 39, wherein the array of at least two printing fluid reservoirs is formed by wet etching.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein the array of printing tips is formed by dry etching.

43. The method according to claim 39, wherein the array of printing tips is formed by dry etching.

44. The method according to claim 39, wherein the at least one substrate is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, silicon oxides, silicon nitride, germanium, germanium-silicon alloys, polymers, ceramics, and non-ferric alloys.

57. The method according to claim 39, wherein the at least one substrate comprises a glass substrate and a silicon.

58. The method according to claim 39, wherein the at least one substrate comprises two silicon substrates.

45. A method of fabricating a microcontact printhead device, the method comprising:

forming an array of at least two printing fluid reservoirs in a first surface of at least one substrate;

forming an array of printing tips in a second surface of the at least one substrate, the array of fluid dispensing channels communicating with the array of the at least two printing fluid reservoirs; and

forming at least one support member at a bottom of each of the at least two reservoirs.

46. The method according to claim 45, wherein the array of at least two printing fluid reservoirs, the array of printing tips, and the at least one support members are formed by micromachining.

47. The method according to claim 45, wherein the array of at least two printing fluid reservoirs is formed by wet etching.

48. The method according to claim 47, wherein the array of printing tips is formed by dry etching.

49. The method according to claim 48, wherein the at least one support members are formed by dry etching.

50. The method according to claim 45, wherein the array of printing tips is formed by dry etching.

51. The method according to claim 45, wherein the at least one support members are formed by dry etching.

52. The method according to claim 45, wherein the at least one substrate is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, silicon oxides, silicon nitride, germanium, germanium-silicon alloys, polymers, ceramics, and non-ferric alloys.

59. The method according to claim 45, wherein the at least one substrate comprises a glass substrate and a silicon substrate.

60. The method according to claim 45, wherein the at least one substrate comprises two silicon substrates.

61. A method of printing an array of spots, the method comprising;

providing a microcontact printhead device having a frame and an array of at least two printing elements formed in the frame, the at least two printing elements including a printing tip and a printing fluid reservoir;

filling each of the printing fluid reservoirs with one of at least two sample solutions; and

touching a surface with the printing tips to deposit quantities of the sample solutions onto the surface, the quantities of the sample solutions forming the array of spots.

62. The method according to claim 61, wherein the quantity of each of the sample solutions comprises 10⁻

10 picoliters to 10 nanoliters.

63. The method according to claim 61, wherein the filling is performed with an active fluid transfer device.

64. The method according to claim 63, wherein the active fluid transfer device comprises one of a manual pipetting system and an automated pipetting system.

65. The method according to claim 61, wherein the filling is performed by:

placing a droplets of the at least two sample solutions onto a hydrophobic surface; and

dipping each of the printing tips into corresponding droplets.

66. The method according to claim 61, where the surface comprises a flat glass microscope slide.