Non-contact transfer printing
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
InventorsJohn A. Rogers, Placid M. Ferreira, Reza Saeidpourazar
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Abstract
A transfer printing process that exploits the mismatch in mechanical or thermo-mechanical response at the interface of a printable micro- or nano-device and a transfer stamp to drive the release of the device from the stamp and its non-contact transfer to a receiving substrate are provided. The resulting facile, pick-and-place process is demonstrated with the assembling of 3-D microdevices and the printing of GAN light-emitting diodes onto silicon and glass substrates. High speed photography is used to provide experimental evidence of thermo-mechanically driven release.
Claims84
A method of transferring ink from a donor substrate to a receiving substrate, said method comprising:
- providing a transfer device having a transfer surface;
- providing said donor substrate having a donor surface, said donor surface having said ink thereon, wherein said ink is a micro-sized or nano-sized prefabricated electronic, optical or electro-optical device or component thereof;
- contacting at least a portion of said transfer surface with at least a portion of said ink;
- separating said transfer surface from said donor surface, wherein said ink is transferred from said donor surface to said transfer surface;
- positioning said transfer surface having said ink disposed thereon into alignment with a receiving surface of said receiving substrate, wherein a gap remains between said ink disposed on said transfer surface and said receiving surface;
- and actuating said transfer device, said ink, or both of said transfer device and said ink by generating a force that releases said ink from said transfer surface while maintaining at least a portion of said gap, thereby transferring said ink to said receiving surface and retaining the structure of the ink.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.