Stencils for High-Throughput Micron-Scale Etching of Substrates and Processes of Making and Using the Same

A process for preparing a stencil, the process comprising:

• disposing a lift-off layer onto a master that includes at least one light-blocking region that forms an optically transparent pattern;
• disposing a photoimageable elastomeric formulation onto the lift-off layer;
• illuminating and developing the photoimageable elastomeric formulation to form a contact layer comprising a photoimaged elastomer having at least one opening there through that defines a pattern in the stencil having at least one lateral dimension of 50 μm or less;
• disposing a photoimageable formulation onto the contact layer;
• contacting a flexible porous backing with at least a portion of the photoimageable formulation;
• illuminating the photoimageable formulation to form a stability layer affixed to both the contact layer and the flexible porous backing, wherein the stability layer has a Shore Type D harness of 50 or more, and has lateral dimensions substantially the same as the contact layer;
• and
• removing the stencil from the master by separating or removing the lift-off layer from the stencil.

A stencil comprising:

• a first layer comprising a flexible mesh;
• and
• a second layer affixed to the first layer, the second layer comprising a plurality of nanowires, the nanowires having a diameter of 80 nm to 10 μm,
• wherein a pattern having at least one lateral dimension of 500 μm or less is present in or on the second layer, and
• wherein the flexible porous backing has a permeability suitable for flowing an etch paste there through and the pattern is impermeable to the etch paste.