Claims
- 1. A sheet comprising a thermoplastic layer of a thermoplastic material having a thickness of 1000 microns or less and micro-sized architecture formed in the thermoplastic layer;
wherein the architecture includes at least one micro-via extending through the thickness of the layer of thermoplastic material; wherein the micro-via has a maximum cross-sectional area with a dominating dimension that is less than the thickness of the thermoplastic material and/or in a range of about five to twenty microns.
- 2. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the dominating dimension is less than the thickness of the thermoplastic material and is also in the range of about five to twenty microns.
- 3. A sheet as set forth in claim 2, wherein the dominating dimension is less than the thickness of the thermoplastic material and less than five microns.
- 4. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the dominating dimension is in the range of about 0.10 microns to about three microns.
- 5. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the thermoplastic layer is in the range of about fifteen to about three hundred microns.
- 6. A sheet as set forth in claim 5, wherein the thickness of the thermoplastic layer is in the range of about ten to about thirty microns.
- 7. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic material comprises polyolefins, polyamides, polystyrenes, polyurethanes, polysulfones, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonates, acrylic polymer and/or copolymers.
- 8. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic layer has a generally planar geometry with a length L and width W, and wherein:
the length L is substantially longer than the width W, whereby the sheet resembles a continuous web; or the length L has a predetermined distance in the same general range as the width W.
- 9. A sheet as set forth in claim 8, wherein the thermoplastic layer is formed in a roll.
- 10. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the via has an axial dimension equal to the thickness of the thermoplastic layer, a first axial end, and a second axial end, and wherein the cross-sectional area of the first axial end corresponds to the maximum cross-sectional area of the via, and the cross-sectional area of the second axial end corresponds to the minimum cross-sectional area of the via.
- 11. A sheet as set forth in claim 10, wherein the first axial end and the second axial end have a similar geometry.
- 12. A sheet as set forth in claim 10, wherein the first axial end and the second axial end have dissimilar geometries.
- 13. A sheet as set forth in claim 10, wherein the first axial end and/or the second axial end have a polygonal geometry.
- 14. A sheet as set forth in claim 10, wherein walls connecting the first and second axial ends have a constant slope.
- 15. A sheet as set forth in claim 10, wherein walls connecting the first and second axial ends have a changing slope.
- 16. A sheet as set forth in claim 15, wherein the changing slope is continuous.
- 17. A sheet as set forth in claim 15, wherein the changing slope is discontinuous.
- 18. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the via provides an electrically conductive path through the thickness of the thermoplastic layer.
- 19. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the microstructure architecture further comprises at least one recess which does not extend through the thickness of the thermoplastic layer.
- 20. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a lid over the thermoplastic layer, forming a cover of the via.
- 21. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a microstructure block positioned within the via.
- 22. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic layer has via-defining walls, formed by the thermoplastic material flowing around a projection and then solidifying around the projection.
- 23. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the architecture comprises a plurality of said vias and wherein each of the plurality of vias has a maximum cross-sectional area with a dominating dimension that is less than the thickness of the thermoplastic material and/or in a range of about five to twenty microns.
- 24. A sheet as set forth in claim 23, wherein adjacent vias are separated by a distance in the range of about thirty to about seventy microns.
- 25. A sheet as set forth in claim 23, wherein the plurality of said vias are positioned in an array-arrangement of rows and columns.
- 26. A sheet as set forth in claim 25, wherein the array arrangement comprises aligned rows and/or aligned columns.
- 27. A sheet as set forth in claim 25, wherein the array arrangement comprises staggered rows and/or staggered columns.
- 28. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the sheet comprises a plurality of thermoplastic layers and wherein the at least one micro-via extends through the thickness of the plurality of thermoplastic layers.
- 29. A sheet as set forth in claim 28, wherein the plurality of thermoplastic layers comprises co-extruded layers and/or laminated layers.
- 30. A sheet as set forth in claim 28, wherein at least some of the plurality of layers are made of the same thermoplastic material.
- 31. A sheet as set forth in claim 28, wherein at least some of the plurality of layers are made of different thermoplastic materials.
- 32. A sheet as set forth in claim 28, wherein the plurality of layers provide a gradient of surface properties along the z-axis of the via(s).
- 34. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the architecture includes at least one other indentation not extending through the thickness of the layer of thermoplastic material.
- 35. A sheet as set forth in claim 34, wherein the architecture includes a plurality of such indentations, including recesses, wells, and/or channels.
- 36. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the architecture includes at least one projecting structure.
- 37. A sheet as set forth in claim 36, wherein the microsized architecture includes a plurality of projecting structures, at least some of which are the same height.
- 38. A sheet as set forth in claim 36, wherein the microsized architecture includes a plurality of projecting structures, at least some of which are at different heights.
- 39. A stack of sheets including at least one sheet as set forth in claim 1.
- 40. A sheet as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a carrier layer superimposed with the thermoplastic layer.
- 41. A sheet as set forth in claim 40, wherein the carrier layer is made of a plastic material having a glass transition temperature greater than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic material.
- 42. A sheet as set forth in claim 40, wherein the carrier sheet has a recess aligned with each via in the thermoplastic layer.
- 43. A sheet as set forth in claim 42, wherein the recess extends at least partially through the carrier layer.
- 44. A sheet as set forth in claim 43, wherein the recess extends completely through the carrier layer.
- 45. A method of making the sheet set forth in claim 1, said method comprising the steps of:
providing the thermoplastic layer; providing a tool having a projection that is sized, shaped, and arranged to correspond to each via; heating the thermoplastic layer so that the thermoplastic material is sufficiently flowable; positioning the tool and the thermoplastic layer relative to each other so that the projections extend through the sufficiently flowable thermoplastic material; cooling the thermoplastic layer so that the thermoplastic material solidifies around the projection(s); and stripping the tool from the thermoplastic layer after sufficient solidification of the thermoplastic material.
- 46. A method of making a sheet having microsized architecture including at least one via, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a thermoplastic layer; providing a tool having a projection that is sized, shaped, and arranged to correspond to each via in the microsized architecture; heating the thermoplastic layer so that the thermoplastic material is sufficiently flowable; positioning the tool and the thermoplastic layer relative to each other so that the projections extend through the sufficiently flowable thermoplastic material; cooling the thermoplastic layer so that the thermoplastic material solidifies around the projection(s); and stripping the tool from the thermoplastic layer after sufficient solidification of the thermoplastic material.
- 47. A method as set forth in claim 46, wherein said heating step comprises heating the thermoplastic layer to at least the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic material.
- 48. A method as set forth in claim 47, wherein said heating step comprises heating the thermoplastic layer in excess of the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic material.
- 49. A method as set forth in claim 46, wherein the heating step comprises heating the thermoplastic layer in a range of about 325° F. to about 410° F. (about 160° C. to about 215° C.).
- 50. A method as set forth in claim 46, wherein depth registration is performed during said positioning step to assure appropriate positioning of the projection(s).
- 51. A method as set forth in claim 46, further comprising the step of winding the embossed thermoplastic layer onto a roll.
- 52. A method as set forth in claim 46, further comprising the step of sectioning the thermoplastic layer into desired lengths after said stripping step.
- 53. A method as set forth in claim 46, wherein said providing step comprises providing a web having at least the thermoplastic layer and a plastic carrier layer.
- 54. A method as set forth in claim 53, wherein said positioning step results in the projection(s) extending at least partially through the carrier layer.
- 55. A method as set forth in claim 54, wherein said positioning step results in the projection(s) extending completely through the carrier layer.
- 56. A method as set forth in claim 54, further comprising the step of removing the carrier layer from the thermoplastic layer.
- 57. A method as set forth in claim 56, wherein said removing step is performed before, during, or after winding and/or cutting steps.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/349,596. The entire disclosure of this earlier application is hereby incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60349596 |
Jan 2002 |
US |