Pad microprinting device and methods, and pad for this device

摘要

This pad microprinting device comprises:
a multi-level pad (34) wherein the printing pattern is made out of elastomeric material for which the Young's modulus is between 0.1 and 100 MPa, anda stop mechanism (62-64) capable of keeping an incompressible space of a thickness Dn between the nth flat bottom (122B) and the face of the substrate (32) on which an imprint has to be printed, when the pad is compressed against the face of the substrate to print off the imprint, the thickness Dn being between hn/2 and hn+100 nm where hn is the height of the protrusions of the printing pattern.

主权项

1. A pad comprising:
a layer of elastomeric material having a first flat bottom from which there protrude n successive levels of embossed patterns, classified in descending order of height hi, where n is an integer greater than or equal to two, and wherein i is an index that represents the pattern level, with i being equal to one for the pattern for which the height hi is the greatest, a first pattern level, said first pattern level being a conformation level, enabling the first flat bottom to be coarsely parallelized with a face of a substrate, said pattern being formed by several protrusions of a height hi, said protrusions defining at least three non-collinear support points on said face and around the first flat bottom, the height hi being measured relative to said first flat bottom and in a direction perpendicular to said first flat bottom, and an nth pattern level, said nth pattern level being a printing level, capable of coming into contact with the face of the substrate solely after the (n−1)th pattern level has thus been put into contact with said face, to print the imprint on the face of the substrate, said pattern being formed by one or more protrusions having a height hn projecting perpendicularly from an nth flat bottom that is the same as or is parallel to the first flat bottom and that is situated between the three supporting points of the first pattern level, the height hn being between hn−1/2 and 0.5×SFQRmax, where SFQRmax (Max Site Frontside least sQuare focal plane Range) is a standardized measurement of flatness of the substrate, the height hn of each protrusion being measured relative to the nth bottom plate and perpendicularly to said nth bottom plate, wherein for each pattern of height hi with i strictly smaller than n, an exclusion zone of width Zi surrounding each protrusion of height hi and in which no lower pattern is located, the width Zi being greater than or equal to 15hi, and wherein the printing pattern is made out of an elastomeric material having a Young's modulus between 0.10 and 100 MPa.