Appeal 2006-2571
Application 09/759,179
to unstamped areas in a controlled manner to result in regions that are very
closely spaced, as illustrated in FIGs. 1a-d (id. col. 7, l. 4, to col. 9, l. 30; see
also col. 3, l. 64, to col. 4, l. 7, and col. 4, l. 64, to col. 5, l. 15). The pattern
of stamp 20 shown in FIG. 1a is provided by a plurality of indentations 24
and stamping surfaces 26, and “includes closely-spaced features” wherein
“the indentations are closely-spaced and this results in the presence of
closely-spaced protrusions” and stamping surfaces 26 are “a plurality of
elongated ridges” (id., col. 7, ll. 10-18, and col. 8, l.. 66, to col. 9, l. 1). The
indentations 24 and stamping surfaces 26 are shown as having uniform
width and depth. The stamping surfaces 26 remain in contact with the
surface of the article to allow the molecular species to spread to uncontacted
areas of the surface to form an increasingly narrow uncoated gap 38 between
the areas of molecular species (id., col. 7, l. 32, to col. 8, l. 31, and FIGs. 1b-
c). The width between stamp indentations 24 separating protrusions
defining stamping surfaces 26 is 3 microns, and gap 38 between the adjacent
regions of the self-assembled monolayer that have spread toward each other
is 0.1 micron (id., col. 8, ll. 41-49, and FIG. 1d). Patterns formed with this
method are illustrated in FIGs. 1e-f (id. col. 8, l. 51-65). Patterns formed by
applying stamp 20 in several orientations are illustrated in FIGs. 2a-e (col. 9,
ll. 1-30).
We find Whitesides illustrates another embodiment in FIGs. 3a-c in
which stamp 20 is deformed by compressive forces 44,46 applied parallel
and perpendicular, respectively, to the printing surface prior to and/or during
transfer of the species to the surface, resulting in, inter alia, the reduction of
the dimensions of indentations 24 and the spacing between stamping
8
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