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Procedures - Two applications on one platform

Micro-Contact Printing and Nano-Imprint-Lithography to be done with PDMS stamps on µ-CP3.0 and PVM-A.

Stamping Principle

How to transfer tiny features from a planar surface to another one? The GeSiM Micro-Contact Printers feature PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) stamps.
With gas pressure inside, the print head rises and the membrane is bulged out, like a balloon.  For printing, this "balloon" is slowly moved towards the substrate until the entire membrane is in contact with the surface. Patent pending
Finally each position of the stamp contacts the corresponding position of the target reproducibely, at well defined pressure, without air bubbles and voids.

 

Stamp Manufacturing

The semielastic PDMS stamps are reusable. On the other hand, the soft material is subject to a certain degradation over the time. The automatick pick-and-place mechanism of µ-CP3.0 and PVM-A enables the quick replacement of the stamp in order to avoid cross contamination when working with different samples.

Fresh stamps are available from the casting station (delivered with µ-CP3.0 and PVM-A). It comprises a set of tools and consumables, e.g. the liquid PDMS, keeping the operational costs at an affordable level. Your uniqe layout is etched into a silicon master chip . Typical microfluidic layouts are available off the shelf. Please ask.

Insertion of the silicon master chip		Stamp holder (Polycarbonate) and a PMMA plug close the molding chamber above the master chip				Injection of the liquid PDMS; hardening				Removal of the PMMA plug

 

Stamp is ready - What's next?

Placing of stamp(s) and substrate(s) on the instrument
2D µ-CP print process		3D NIL stamp process
Alignment stamp#1 to the substrate		Dispense of NIL-resist
Print run #1		Stamp run #1
Alignment stamp#2 to the substrate		Resist curing with UV-light
Print run #2		2nd dispene of NIL resist
....		Stamp run #2
		Resist curing with UV-light		Res 600x450px video, More details

 

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