Claims
- 1. A method for manufacturing a self-supporting substrate having a plurality of spaced needles projecting outwardly from a major surface of said substrate, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a porous polycarbonate membrane having a plurality of pores extending therethrough wherein said pores have a diameter of about 0.1 to 5 microns; and wherein said membrane has a thickness of about 5 to 10 microns;
- (b) depositing a metal onto a major surface of said membrane in a manner such that a layer of the metal is formed on said major surface of said membrane, and wherein the metal extends into the pores to form said plurality of spaced needles wherein said membrane is disposed at an angle relative to the metal being deposited, and rotated such that said formed needles comprise nucricaoukkarues; and
- (c) dissolving said membrane in solvent to leave a self-supporting metal substrate with said needles projecting outwardly therefrom.
- 2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, gold, tungsten, nickel, and silver.
- 3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said metal is deposited on said membrane by means of chemical vapor deposition.
- 4. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said metal is deposited on said membrane by means of evaporation from a metal source.
- 5. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said metal is deposited on said membrane by means of sputtering.
- 6. A method for manufacturing a self-supporting substrate having a plurality of spaced needles projecting outwardly from a major surface of said substrate, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a porous polycarbonate membrane having a plurality of pores extending therethrough wherein said pores have a diameter of about 0.1 to 5 microns; and wherein said membrane has a thickness of about 5 to 10 microns;
- (b) depositing a metal onto a major surface of said membrane in a manner such that a layer of the metal is formed on said major surface of said membrane, and wherein the metal extends into the pores to form said plurality of spaced needles, wherein said metal is deposited onto said surface of said membrane from a diffuse source such that said formed needles comprise microcapillaries; and
- (c) dissolving said membrane in solvent to leave a self-supporting metal substrate with said needles projecting outwardly therefrom.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 08/009,853, filed Jan. 27, 1993, now abandoned.
Government Interests
The United States Government has rights in this invention under Contract No. DE-AC02-83H10093 between the United States Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a Division of the Midwest Research Institute.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Martin et al., Template synthesis of organic microtubules, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 112:8976-8977 (1990). |
Brumlik et al., Template Synthesis of metal microtubules, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 113:3174-3175 (1991). |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
9853 |
Jan 1993 |
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