Silicone elastomer stamp with hydrophilic surfaces and method of making same
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsAndre Bernard, Emmanuel Delamarche, Christian Donzel, Jöns G. Hilborn, Bruno Michel, Richard Stutz, Heiko Wolf
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Abstract
A method for fabricating silicone elastomer stamps with hydrophilic surfaces is provided. The concept of polymer grafting is used to produce the stamps. The stamps thus produced have the great advantage that grafting of a thin hydrophilic polymer on a hydrophobic PDMS surface can render PDMS stamps permanently hydrophilic. With such stamps it becomes possible to print aqueous or highly polar inks reproducibly over days and weeks.
Claims21
Method for modifying a surface of a silicone elastomer stamp by means of fixing a pre-built polymer to said surface, comprising the steps of:
- a) activating the surface of said stamp using only a plasma;
- and
- b) reacting said activated surface with a hydrophilic polymer, wherein said reaction stops when said activated surface is entirely occupied by said hydrophilic polymer.
Method for modifying a surface of a silicone elastomer stamp by means of fixing a pit-built polymer to said surface, comprising the steps of:
- a) activating the surface of said stamp using only a plasma;
- and
- b) reacting said activated surface with a hydrophilic polymer by immersing said activated surface in a hydrophilic polymer solution comprising one of triethoxysilane-groups and trimethoxysilane-groups dissolved in ethanol, wherein said reaction stops when said activated surface is entirely occupied by said hydrophilic polymer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.