Articles with lamination transfer films having engineered voids

• US 9,731,473 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2016
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Benson, Jr., Olester, Shenoy, K. Raveesh, Schwartz, Evan L., Meyer, Justin P., Collier, Terry O., Free, Michael Benton, Kamrath, Robert F., Mazurek, Mieczyslaw H., Olson, David B., Wolk, Martin B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Malsawma, Lex
• Application Number:
  US15/206,757
• Publication Number:
  US 20160318277A1
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00788 Producing optical films
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2083/00 Use of polymers having silicon, with or without sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon only, in the main chain, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0018 having particular optical properties, e.g. fluorescent or phosphorescent
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2037/1253 curable adhesive
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2250/02 2 layers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2309/10 linear, e.g. length, distance, width
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2310/0831 using UV radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2419/00 Buildings or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2457/00 Electrical equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2457/12 Photovoltaic modules
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/308 comprising acrylic (co)polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/263 characterised by a layer having non-uniform thickness
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 37/18 involving the assembly of discrete sheets or panels only
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/0036 Heat treatment for heating or cooling of layers during lamination B32B37/06, B32B37/08
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/06 Embossing
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/1858 using vacuum
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/091 characterised by antireflection means or light filtering or absorbing means, e.g. anti-halation, contrast enhancement
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/3023 Direction of light emission
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/3026 Top emission
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/858 comprising refractive means, e.g. lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/86 : Arrangements for improving contrast, e.g. preventing reflection of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/879 : comprising refractive means, e.g. lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/50 : Forming devices by joining two substrates together, e.g. lamination techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/10 : Substrates, e.g. flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/10 : Methods of surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24521 : with component conforming to contour of nonplanar surface

Abstract

Transfer films, articles made therewith, and methods of making and using transfer films to form bridged nanostructures are disclosed.

Claims

1. An article comprising:

a substrate; and

a transfer film laminated to the substrate, wherein the transfer film comprises;

a sacrificial template layer having a first surface and a second surface having a structured surface opposite the first surface;

a thermally stable backfill layer conforming to the structured surface of the sacrificial template layer;

wherein a portion of the sacrificial template layer proximate the first surface has a greater concentration of a thermally stable molecular species than a portion of the sacrificial template layer proximate the second surface.

2. The article according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises glass.

3. The article according to claim 2, wherein the glass includes display mother glass, display cover glass, lighting mother glass, architectural glass, roll glass or flexible glass.

4. The article according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises metal.

5. The article according to claim 4, wherein the metal includes a metal part, a metal sheet or a metal foil.

6. The article according to claim 1, wherein the substrate includes sapphire, silicone, silica or silicon carbide.

7. The article according to claim 1, wherein the sacrificial template layer comprises a layer of thermally stable molecular species and the layer of thermally stable molecular species is separated from the structured surface of the sacrificial template layer by a layer of sacrificial material.

8. The article according to claim 7, wherein the layer of sacrificial material consists essentially of sacrificial material.

9. The article according to claim 1, wherein the sacrificial template layer comprises a gradient of thermally stable molecular species and the gradient comprises a concentration of thermally stable molecular species that changes as a function of a distance from the structured surface along a thickness direction of the sacrificial template layer.

10. The article according to claim 9, wherein the concentration of thermally stable molecular species increases as a distance from the structured surface increases.

11. The article according to claim 10, wherein the concentration of thermally stable molecular species is greatest about the first surface.

12. The article according to claim 1, wherein the thermally stable molecular species comprises silicon, aluminum, hafnium, barium, strontium, titanium, or zirconium.

13. The article according to claim 1, wherein the thermally stable molecular species comprises a metal or metal oxide or metal oxide precursor.

14. The article according to claim 1, wherein the thermally stable molecular species comprises an organosilicon polymer.

15. The article according to claim 9, wherein the sacrificial template layer comprises a (meth)acrylic polymer.

16. The article according to claim 15, wherein the (meth)acrylic polymer comprises a majority of polyether segments or a majority of ethoxylated segments.

17. The article according to claim 1, wherein the thermally stable molecular species migrates from the thermally stable backfill layer into the sacrificial template layer.

18. The article according to claim 1, wherein the sacrificial template layer is capable of being baked out while leaving engineered voids defined by a bridging layer and the structured surface of the thermally stable backfill layer, wherein the bridging layer is formed from the thermally stable molecular species within the sacrificial template layer and the bridging layer is disposed on the structured surface.