Hydraulically actuated micro-contact printing engines

Choonee, Kaushal; Syms, R.R.A.

doi:10.1088/0960-1317/21/8/085013

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…To overcome these problems, some authors proposed to avoid this shrinkage by either curing the PDMS at room temperature or to keep the soft PDMS always in bound with a stiff substrate. 16,17 Curing at room temperature will decrease mechanical properties and will be very sensitive to small changes in temperature. 18 Using a stiff substrate always in contact with the PDMS requires to perform some alignment between layers when the PDMS is transferred on another patterned substrate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reproducible method for μm precision alignment of PDMS microchannels with on-chip electrodes using a mask aligner

et al. 2017

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This paper describes a reproducible method for m precision alignment of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels with coplanar electrodes using a conventional mask aligner for lab-on-a-chip applications. It is based on the use of a silicon mold in combination with a PMMA sarcophagus for precise control of the parallelism between the top and bottom surfaces of molded PDMS. The alignment of the fabricated PDMS slab with electrodes patterned on a glass chip is then performed using a conventional mask aligner with a custom-made steel chuck and magnets. This technique allows to bond and align chips with a resolution of less than 2m.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reproducible method for μm precision alignment of PDMS microchannels with on-chip electrodes using a mask aligner

et al. 2017

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“…DCP can potentially be scaled up to pattern high-throughput, large-scale paper substrates by substituting the serial debossing method used here with a rotary debossing method as well as increasing the length of the printing roller and printing speed. Although DCP may not accommodate large, recessed areas due to unwanted contact with the inked roller, this limitation should be remedied by incorporating nonfunctional support structures, which is a strategy that has been used in microcontact printing to prevent roof collapse of soft polymer stamps. , Continued refinement of DCP will focus on quantifying key parameters of the ink formulation (viscosity, ink loading, and surface tension), exploring different types of paper substrates (density, thickness, hydrophobicity, roughness, and sheer strength), and optimizing printing process parameters such as the stiffness of the printing roller and printing speed. Developing DCP for the fabrication of multilayered devices, including those that incorporate different patterns, is an important future direction for this work as well as exploring other types of substrates beyond paper that can be debossed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debossed Contact Printing as a Patterning Method for Paper-Based Electronics

Mechael,

D’Amaral,

Carmichael

2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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The proliferation of printed electronic devices is feeding the growth of the Internet of Things, with devices deployed everywhere to collect and communicate data. At the same time, the increase in low-cost disposable devices is a cause for serious environmental concern. In particular, widely used plastic substrates such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) are persistent hazards to the environment. Paper is promising as a greener substrate for printed electronics because it is biodegradable and sourced from renewable materials as well as being low cost and compatible with roll-to-roll printing. However, the porous microstructure of paper promotes wicking of functional inks, leading to poor electrical performance and printing resolution. Hydrophobic coatings applied to the surface of paper create a planarized, printable surface, but these materials may compromise biodegradability and/or recyclability. This paper describes a new resist-free patterning method for printed paperbased electronics that takes advantage of the porous structure of paper. Debossed contact printing uses the pressure from a debossing tip to compress the porous structure of paper and create a patterned relief structure. Printing functional inks with an unpatterned roller deposits ink only on the raised regions of the relief structure. We demonstrate debossed contact printing of silver, carbon black, and conducting polymer inks and show that this new fabrication method is suitable for the fabrication of printed devices with dense features. We demonstrate the fabrication of antennas and patterned electrodes for RFID and smart wallpaper applications, respectively.

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