Forming nanoscale patterned thin film metal layers
First Claim
1. A method for forming a thin film pattern on a surface of a substrate comprising:
- depositing a transfer layer on the surface of a patterned stamp, the transfer layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, with the lower surface contacting the surface of the patterned stamp;
treating one or both of the upper surface of the transfer layer and the surface of the substrate to activate the one or both thereof; and
placing the upper surface of the transfer layer and the surface of the substrate in contact to transfer the transfer layer from the patterned stamp to the substrate.
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Abstract
The specification describes a contact printing technique for forming patterns of thin films with nanometer resolution over large areas. The procedure, termed here “nanotransfer printing (nTP)”, relies on tailored surface chemistries for transferring thin films, typically metal films, from the raised regions of a stamp to a substrate when these two elements are brought into intimate physical contact. This technique is purely additive, it is fast (<15 s contact times), and the printing occurs in a single processing step at room temperature in open air. nTP is capable of producing patterns with a wide range of features with sizes down to ˜100 nm, and edge resolution better than 25 nm. Electrical contacts and interconnects have been fabricated for high performance organic thin film transistors (TFTs) and complementary inverter circuits, to demonstrate one of the many potential applications for nTP.
89 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for forming a thin film pattern on a surface of a substrate comprising:
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depositing a transfer layer on the surface of a patterned stamp, the transfer layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, with the lower surface contacting the surface of the patterned stamp;
treating one or both of the upper surface of the transfer layer and the surface of the substrate to activate the one or both thereof; and
placing the upper surface of the transfer layer and the surface of the substrate in contact to transfer the transfer layer from the patterned stamp to the substrate. - 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)
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25. A method for forming a thin film metal pattern on a surface of a substrate comprising the steps of:
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preparing the substrate by forming a raised pattern on the surface of the substrate;
preparing a stamp by steps comprising depositing a metal transfer layer on the surface of the stamp, the metal transfer layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, with the lower surface contacting the surface of the stamp;
treating one or both of the upper surface of the transfer layer and the surface of the substrate to activate the one or both thereof; and
placing the upper surface of the transfer layer and the surface of the substrate in contact to transfer the metal transfer layer from the stamp surface to the raised pattern on the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification