Provided herein is an apparatus, including a substrate; an etch stop layer overlying the substrate, wherein the etch stop layer is substantially resistant to etching conditions; and a patterned layer overlying the etch stop layer, wherein the patterned layer is substantially labile to the etching conditions, and wherein the patterned layer comprises a number of features including substantially consistent feature profiles among regions of high feature density and regions of low feature density.

Provided herein is an apparatus, including a substrate; an etch stop layer overlying the substrate, wherein the etch stop layer is substantially resistant to etching conditions; and a patterned layer overlying the etch stop layer, wherein the patterned layer is substantially labile to the etching conditions, and wherein the patterned layer comprises a number of features including substantially consistent feature profiles among regions of high feature density and regions of low feature density.

A die assembly and a method of forming a vinyl record are provided. The assembly includes a base circular-shaped plate having an outer ring-shaped gasket groove, an inner O-ring groove, and a plurality of concentric grooves extending from a primary surface into the base circular-shaped plate. The assembly includes an O-ring that is disposed in the inner O-ring groove, and an outer ring-shaped gasket disposed in the outer ring-shaped gasket groove. The assembly includes a contacting circular-shaped plate having an engagement surface and a plurality of concentric channels such that a plurality of concentric finger portions are formed on the contacting circular-shaped plate. The plurality of concentric finger portions are partially disposed in the plurality of concentric grooves and contact the base circular-shaped plate.

Arrays of integrated analytical devices and their methods for production are provided. The arrays are useful in the analysis of highly multiplexed optical reactions in large numbers at high densities, including biochemical reactions, such as nucleic acid sequencing reactions. The integrated devices allow the highly sensitive discrimination of optical signals using features such as spectra, amplitude, and time resolution, or combinations thereof. The arrays and methods of the invention make use of silicon chip fabrication and manufacturing techniques developed for the electronics industry and highly suited for miniaturization and high throughput.