The SiPix Microcup®

The SiPix Microcup® is a microscale container which holds minute quantities of materials such as fluid and particles. Large arrays of Microcups® are fabricated through roll-to-roll© manufacturing processes which enable economy and scale. The material is flexible, is easily cut to size, and enables many custom applications such as electronic paper.

Structure

The Microcup® structure is typically 150 μm thin and is significantly resistant to impact and pressure due to its architecture of supporting walls. It is built upon a layer of flexible PET plastic, which may include a transparent conductor such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). The contents of the Microcup® are hermetically sealed to protect them from the environment.

roll-to-roll© Technology

Construction of the SiPix Microcup® is done using a high-speed roll-to-roll© embossing process (see diagram below). A continuous sheet of PET plastic, coated with a transparent conductor such as ITO, is fed through a coater which evenly distributes a proprietary resin across the surface. A microembosser then molds the three-dimensional structure of the Microcup® onto the resin. At this point, the Microcups® are filled with the desired materials and hermetically capped with a sealing layer. A removable layer then is applied to protect the Microcup® film until it may be attached to the backplane.

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Microembossed Patternings

The images below further illustrate the process on a micro scale. On the left, a three-dimensional profile of a section of an embosser mold is presented. On the right, a profile of embossed Microcups® is illustrated.

Embosser Mold	Embossed Microcups®

The Microcup® roll-to-roll© Manufacturing Process may use custom embosser mold shapes. For example, the embosser may have a square or rectangular grid as indicated by the images on the left. In another application, the embosser mold may utilize a hexagonal grid as illustrated by the images on the right.

Square Grid	Hexagonal Grid

To discover how this technology will enable display solutions for your current applications, please contact us.