Programmable mask and method of fabricating biomolecule array using the same

• US 7,948,564 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2008
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Park, Se Ho, Shin, Dong Ho, Kim, Young Jun, Choi, Chang Auck, Jung, Moon Youn, Pyo, Hyeon Bong
• Primary Examiner(s): Dudek; James A
• Application Number:
  US12/213,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20080273128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 349/4, 349/130
• US Class Current: 349/4
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1393 the birefringence of the liquid crystal being electrically controlled, e.g. ECB-, DAP-, HAN-, PI-LC cells G02F1/1396, G02F1/141 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70291 Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70566 Polarisation control

Abstract

The present invention relates to a programmable mask used in a photolithography process for fabricating a biomolecule array and a method of fabricating a biomolecule array using the same and, more particularly, to a programmable mask which can increase a contrast ratio of transmittance versus shielding of light incident to a liquid crystal which constitutes each pixel by irradiating parallel ultraviolet (“UV”) light generated from an external parallel light exposure device to a certain cell and using a vertically aligned liquid crystal panel or an LC panel having no spacer, and a method of fabricating a biomolecule array using the same.

Claims

1. A programmable mask, the mask comprising:

an upper substrate;

a lower substrate;

a liquid crystal panel positioned between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, a liquid crystal of the liquid crystal panel being vertically aligned and configured to be driven in a vertical alignment mode; and

a parallel light exposure device, the device comprising;

a light source arranged to emit UV-light having a predetermined wavelength;

a first reflector positioned within the light path and configured to reflect the UV-light received from the light source;

at least one intermediate reflector positioned within the light path and configured to reflect the UV-light received from the first reflector; and

a second reflector positioned within a light path and configured to reflect the UV-light received from the intermediate reflector to the upper substrate,

wherein predetermined distances between the first, the intermediate, and the second reflectors are configured to eliminate non-parallel light.

2. The programmable mask of claim 1, wherein the vertical alignment is formed of a silicon oxide layer having reliability to ultraviolet light or a diamond-like-carbon (“

DLC”

) layer.

3. The programmable mask of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal constitutes each pixel of the liquid crystal panel, the liquid crystal being configured to receive parallel and homogeneous ultraviolet light.

4. The programmable mask of claim 1, further comprising a microlens installed on a top surface of the liquid crystal panel corresponding to a liquid crystal portion which constitutes a pixel of the liquid crystal panel, wherein the microlens is configured to collect the ultraviolet light incident to the liquid crystal portion.

5. A method of fabricating a biomolecule array according to a pattern of a programmable mask using the programmable mask of claim 1.

6. The programmable mask of claim 1, further comprising a reflecting mirror positioned at one side of the light source to reflect the UV-light to another side of the light source along the light path.

7. The programmable mask of claim 1, further comprising two polarizer films, one among the two polarizer films being installed on top surface of the liquid crystal panel, and the other among the two polarizer films being installed on bottom surface of the liquid crystal panel.

8. The programmable mask of claim 1, wherein as components of the vertical alignment mode, vertical alignment films, transparent electrodes, the upper and lower substrates, and upper and lower polarizer films are sequentially arranged on top and bottom surfaces of the liquid crystal panel.

9. The programmable mask of claim 1, further comprising a gate insulating layer positioned beneath the lower substrate.

10. The programmable mask of claim 9, further comprising more than one gate electrodes positioned within the gate insulating layer, each one of the gate electrodes having a source electrode and a drain electrode.

11. The programmable mask of claim 10, further comprising more than one light shielding layers positioned on the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel and positioned to vertically shield each of the gate electrodes.

12. The programmable mask of claim 10, further comprising more than one lower pixel electrodes positioned between the gate electrodes and each one of the pixel electrodes connecting to the corresponding drain electrode.

13. The programmable mask of claim 12, further comprising more than one upper pixel electrodes positioned on the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel and each corresponding to the position of one of the lower pixel electrodes.

14. A method of fabricating a biomolecule array according to a pattern of a programmable mask using the programmable mask comprising:

an upper substrate;

a lower substrate;

a liquid crystal panel positioned between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, one or more liquid crystals of the liquid crystal panel being vertically aligned and configured to be driven in a vertical alignment mode; and

a parallel light exposure device comprising;

a light source arranged to emit UV-light having a predetermined wavelength;

a first reflector positioned within the light path and configured to reflect the UV-light received from the light source;

at least one intermediate reflector positioned within the light path and configured to reflect the UV-light received from the first reflector; and

a second reflector positioned within a light path and configured to reflect the UV-light received from the intermediate reflector to the upper substrate,

wherein predetermined distances between the first, the intermediate, and the second reflectors are configured to eliminate non-parallel light, the method comprising;

selecting at least one of the liquid crystals of the liquid crystal panel, the selected liquid crystal constituting a pixel to be switched; and

vertically and repeatedly irradiating UV-light via the liquid crystal panel to a composition to synthesize the biomolecule array from the composition, the composition comprising;

source materials having a protecting group; and

a deprotecting solution.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the irradiating comprises irradiating the composition comprising the source materials, the source materials including DNA bases.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the irradiating comprises:

shielding the composition from the UV-light, responsive to a ground voltage applied to both an upper and a lower side of the vertically aligned liquid crystal, or

allowing transmission of the UV-light, responsive to a voltage applied to the upper and the lower side of the vertically aligned liquid crystal.