The disclosure relates to methods of printing indicia on a substrate using a tip array comprised of elastomeric, compressible polymers. The tip array can be prepared using conventional photolithographic methods and can be tailored to have any desired number and/or arrangement of tips. Numerous copies (e.g., greater than 15,000, or greater than 11 million) of a pattern can be made in a parallel fashion in as little as 40 minutes.

/pdf/polymer-pen-lithography-3xqlofaiu2.pdf

Polymer pen lithography

Fourier transform IR measurements of Langmuir–Blodgett monolayers have been made with both grazing incidence reflection and transmission techniques. The reflection arrangement at incident angles from 85° to 88° has the electric field component perpendicular to the substrate surface while the standard transmission arrangement has the electric field component in the plane of the film. These techniques were used to explore the anisotropic arrangement of cadmium arachidate molecules perpendicular and parallel to the monolayer plane. The implication of these results for characterizing the orientational anisotropy of chemical groups in thin polymer films is also discussed. In addition, the question of uniaxial and biaxial orientation in the monolayer plane was addressed because of the importance of intermolecular packing on both the extent and rate of polymerization in unsaturated fatty acid monolayer components which form synthetic membranes.

Anisotropic orientation in molecular monolayers by infrared spectroscopy

The removal of copper oxide using acetic acid at low temperatures was investigated. Acetic acid removes a variety of copper oxides, including cuprous oxide, cupric oxide, and cupric hydroxide without attacking the underlying copper film. The removal of these oxides was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Acetic acid can tolerate up to 4 vol % water dilution without hindering the oxide removal while producing an oxide-free surface. However, if a deionized water rinse is performed after an acetic acid treatment, a surface film of cupric hydroxide forms immediately. An acetic acid treatment at 35°C without a water rinse removes the native copper oxide and produces an oxide-free, streak-free copper surface.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.1409400/pdf

A Novel Method of Etching Copper Oxide Using Acetic Acid

The history of internal reflection spectroscopy (IRS), also known as attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (ATR), began nearly two centuries ago with the observation by Newton [l] of an evanescent field in a lower index of refraction medium in contact with a higher index of refraction medium in which a propagating wave of radiation undergoes total internal reflection (TIR). However, the exploitation of this phenomenon for the production of absorption spectra did not begin until the pioneering development work of Harrick [2, 31 and Fahrenfort [4]. After the disclosure on the technique in the literature in 1960, a flurry of publications exploiting it for a wide variety of applications ensued. By 1967 a large body of literature existed which was sufficient to justify a monograph by Harrick [5] and a review by Wilks and Hirschfeld [6], These publications thoroughly reviewed the history and applications of IRS up until that time. Although the IRS technique appeared to promise a ready solution for a...

Internal Reflection Spectroscopy

The invention encompasses reagents comprising particles with at least one Raman dye and a specific binding members bound thereto and methods of using such reagents. The invention also encompasses reagents of a specific binding member and two or more different Raman dyes and methods for using such reagents. New types of particle probes having a specific binding member bound thereto are described. These reagents are used in a novel detection strategy that utilizes the catalytic properties of the Au nanoparticles to generate a silver coating that can behave as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) promoter for the dye-labeled particles that have been captured by target and an underlying chip in microarray format. The strategy provides the high sensitivity and high selectivity attributes of grey-scale scanometric detection but provides a route to multiplexing and ratioing capabilities since a very large number of probes can be designed based upon the concept of using a Raman tag as a spectroscopic fingerprint in detection. These spectra are used as fingerprints to differentiate oligonucleotide or other targets in one solution. This method has been used to distinguish six dissimilar DNA targets with six Raman labeled nanoparticle probes, and also two RNA targets with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Nanoparticle probes with Raman Spectroscopic fingerprints for analyte detection

The adsorption and reaction of acetic acid have been studied using the technique of reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy. Evaporated copper films on both glass and gold substrates have been oxidized to cuprous oxide and allowed to interact with gaseous acetic acid. The results indicate that at ambient temperatures acetic acid adsorbs on cuprous oxide to form a vacuum stable (10−7 Torr), thick (several hundred angstrom) film having an ionic lattice comprised primarily of discrete protons and acetate ions. At higher temperatures (near 200°C) incorporation of copper ions into the film occurs with apparent partial decomposition of the acetate ion. The general implications of these results on the understanding of the mechanisms of attack of organic acids on metal-metal oxide surfaces is discussed.

The study of the gas—solid interaction of acetic acid with a cuprous oxide surface using reflection—absorption spectroscopy

Reflection spectroscopic techniques in the infrared region have been applied to a study of the mechanism of the early stages of oxidation of a copper—polyethylene laminate. The combination of internal reflection and reflection—absorption techniques shows that between 57 and 75°C in the presence of 1 atm of oxygen, one of the most important components of the oxidation is a surface reaction which occurs directly at the copper-polyethylene interface. Copper carboxylate salts, potential catalysts for the oxidation of the polyethylene, are formed early in the reaction and are concentrated initially on the metal surface. These carboxylates appear to decompose at higher temperatures and their ability to persist may be responsible for the increasing role of copper catalysis as temperatures are lowered. The relevance of these results to mechanisms of inhibition by copper deactivators is discussed briefly.

Infrared reflection studies of the mechanism of oxidation at a copper—polyethylene interface

A compact vacuum cell and associated optics used to obtain a single‐reflection infrared spectrum of a thin film on a metal surface is described. Reflection‐absorption spectroscopy, in the past, has usually involved multiple reflections. Single reflection setups offer advantages of simplicity, the ability to generate and/or clean the sample surface, and the ability to use other surface studies techniques along with ir. An optical setup is described which will allow the above three advantages to be obtained, and in addition is simple and compact. Along with the optics, a vacuum cell housing the sample is described. This cell fits conveniently with a standard infrared spectrometer and no additional modification to the spectrometer is required.

David L. Allara

Papers

The study of the gas—solid interaction of acetic acid with a cuprous oxide surface using reflection—absorption spectroscopy

Infrared reflection studies of the mechanism of oxidation at a copper—polyethylene interface

A vacuum cell and associated optics for obtaining a single‐reflection infrared spectrum using reflection‐absorption spectroscopy