Design and development of high precision five-axis positioning system for roll-to-roll multi-layer microcontact printing

摘要

Microcontact printing is based on the use of elastomeric stamps to transfer ink onto a substrate taking advantage of the self-assembly process. Features as small as 300nm can be easily printed over an extended area. The accuracy and the speed of the process make it suitable for many industrial applications in areas such as the manufacture of flexible displays and electronics. In 2008, a group of MIT mechanical engineering students built a prototype machine that demonstrated the advantages of the roll-to-roll paradigm in terms of high throughput, convenient material handling and conformal contact propagation. The prototype machine, although characterized by defects such as air trapping at very high speed, was able to print at speeds as high as 400 fpm with contact times of 7 ms, over an 8"x 8" substrate area. This year, an improved quality printing output and multilayer printing process were set as goals. To achieve the objectives, a device that could cast a flat stamp with little variance was designed and machined.