Force feedback leveling of tip arrays for nanolithography
First Claim
1. A method of leveling a pen array, comprising:
- (a) contacting a pen array with a surface and measuring a total force exerted on the surface by the pen array, whereinthe surface has first and second axes, the first and second axes being parallel to the surface and perpendicular to one another,the pen array comprises a plurality of tips fixed to a common substrate layer, the tips and the common substrate layer being formed from an elastomeric polymer or elastomeric gel polymer, and the tips having a radius of curvature of less than about 1 μ
m, andthe pen array is disposed at a first angle with respect to the first axis of the surface and a second angle with respect to the second axis of the surface;
(b) tilting one or both of the pen array and the surface to vary the first and second angles of the pen array with respect to the surface;
(c) measuring the total force exerted by the tilted pen array of step (b) on the surface; and
(d) repeating steps (b) and (c) until a global maximum of the total force exerted on the surface by the pen array is measured, thereby determining first and second angles which correspond to a leveled position of the pen array with respect to the surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of leveling a polymer pen array includes contacting a pen array with a surface and measuring a total force exerted on the surface by the pen array, the pen array being disposed at a first angle with respect to a first axis of the surface and a second angle with respect to a second axis of the surface; tilting one or both of the pen array and the surface to vary the first and second angles of the pen array with respect to the surface; measuring the total force exerted by the tilted pen array on the surface; and repeating the tilting and measuring steps until a global maximum of the total force exerted on the surface by the pen array is measured, thereby determining first and second angles which correspond to a leveled position of the pen array with respect to the surface.
17 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method of leveling a pen array, comprising:
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(a) contacting a pen array with a surface and measuring a total force exerted on the surface by the pen array, wherein the surface has first and second axes, the first and second axes being parallel to the surface and perpendicular to one another, the pen array comprises a plurality of tips fixed to a common substrate layer, the tips and the common substrate layer being formed from an elastomeric polymer or elastomeric gel polymer, and the tips having a radius of curvature of less than about 1 μ
m, andthe pen array is disposed at a first angle with respect to the first axis of the surface and a second angle with respect to the second axis of the surface; (b) tilting one or both of the pen array and the surface to vary the first and second angles of the pen array with respect to the surface; (c) measuring the total force exerted by the tilted pen array of step (b) on the surface; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) until a global maximum of the total force exerted on the surface by the pen array is measured, thereby determining first and second angles which correspond to a leveled position of the pen array with respect to the surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 27, 28, 29)
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18. A method of forming a pattern comprising pattern elements having a predetermined pattern element size on a substrate surface, comprising:
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choosing a pattern element size; coating a tip array with a patterning composition, the tip array comprising a compressible elastomeric polymer comprising a plurality of non-cantilevered tips each having a radius of curvature of less than about 1 μ
m;choosing, based on a theoretical model, a contacting pressure for contacting the coated tip array with the substrate to achieve the chosen pattern element size; and contacting the substrate surface at the chosen contacting pressure with the coated tip array to deposit the patterning composition on the substrate and form the pattern having pattern elements with the chosen pattern element size. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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30. A method of leveling a cantilevered pen array, comprising:
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(a) contacting a cantilevered pen array with a surface and measuring a total force exerted on the surface by the cantilevered pen array, wherein the surface has first and second axes, the first and second axes being parallel to the surface and perpendicular to one another, the cantilevered pen array comprises a plurality of cantilevers supported by a common support structure, and the cantilevered pen array is disposed at a first angle with respect to the first axis of the surface and a second angle with respect to the second axis of the surface; (b) tilting one or both of the cantilevered pen array and the surface to vary the first and second angles of the cantilevered pen array with respect to the surface; (c) measuring the total force exerted by the tilted cantilevered pen array of step (b) on the surface; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) until a global maximum of the total force exerted on the surface by the cantilevered pen array is measured, thereby determining first and second angles which correspond to a leveled position of the cantilevered pen array with respect to the surface. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification