A double-sided digital lithography or exposure system and method are provided. The system includes a first optical engine 110 for exposing a front side of a substrate 910, a second optical engine 120 for exposing the back side of the substrate 910, a control system 710 for generating a first exposure pattern and a second exposure pattern aligned on the front and back surfaces of the substrate 910 based on the position information of the first optical engine 110 and the second optical engine 120, and controlling the first optical engine 110 and the second optical engine 120 to expose the front and back surfaces of the substrate 910 with the first exposure pattern and the second exposure pattern.

The overall mechanism for creating the exposure may comprise a table having an outer frame 1110 that holds a transparent (e.g. glass) inner portion 1112. The upper 1120 and lower 1122 linear radiation sources (e.g. banks of LED point sources, optionally mounted inside a reflective housing) are mounted on a gantry system or carriage 1130. The radiation sources are connected to a power source, such as an electrical power cord having sufficient slack to extend the full range of motion of the carriage. Tracks (not shown) disposed on the outer frame portion provide a defined path for the gantry system or carriage to traverse. The carriage may be moved on the tracks by any drive mechanism known in the art (also coupled to the power supply and the controller), including a chain drive, a spindle drive, gear drive, or the like. The drive mechanism for the carriage may comprise one or more components mounted within the carriage, one or more components fixed to the table, or a combination thereof. A position sensor (not shown) is preferably coupled to the carriage to provide feedback to the controller regarding the precise location of the carriage at any given time. The control signal output from the controller for operating the radiation sources and for controlling motion of the carriage may be supplied via a wired or wireless connection. The controller may be mounted in a fixed location, such as connected to the table with a control signal cable attached to the sources similar to the power cable, or may be mounted in or on the carriage. The control system and drive mechanism cooperate to cause back/forth relative motion in a transverse direction between the light from the radiation sources and the plate. It should be understood that other embodiments may be devised in which the drive mechanism is configured to move the portion of the table containing the plate past stationary upper and lower linear radiation sources, as well as embodiments in which the radiation sources cover less than the full width of the plate and are movable in both the transverse and longitudinal direction to provide total plate coverage (or the plate is movable in both directions, or the plate is movable in one of the two directions and the sources are movable in the other direction to provides the full range of motion required to cover the entire plate).

The invention relates to a method for producing pictorial relief structures on a layer construction. The method comprises the provision of a layer construction having a substrate layer. After this, at least one fluid containing at least one first reactive component is applied pictorially to the substrate, wherein the pictorial application takes place in the form of a plurality of droplets with a droplet volume of less than 2 μl, and wherein the droplets are positioned pictorially. After this, there is an at least partial diffusing of the at least one first reactive component into the substrate layer for a predefined exposure time and/or an at least partial diffusing of at least one second reactive component into the pictorially positioned droplets of fluid for a predefined exposure time, wherein the substrate layer comprises the at least one second reactive component. The created relief is then fixed under the influence of heat and/or radiation via a reaction involving the first reactive component and/or the second reactive component. Further aspects of the invention relate to a pictorial relief structure produced according to the method and to the use of the pictorial relief structure as a printing form, as a microfluidic component, as a microreactor, as a phoretic cell, as a light-controlling element for color representation, as photonic crystals or as flexible parts of items of clothing.

A method of preparing a film negative including the steps of dispersing a UV ink in a desired pattern on a UV printing substrate; and curing the UV ink with a source of actinic radiation to crosslink and cure the UV ink and create the UV printed polymer layer in the desired pattern. The UV ink is at least substantially solvent-free and printing substrate does not contain an adhesive layer or an ink-receptive layer and is not been modified to be ink-receptive. The film negative may be used in a process of making a flexographic printing element.

A method of preparing a film negative including the steps of dispersing a UV ink in a desired pattern on a UV printing substrate; and curing the UV ink with a source of actinic radiation to crosslink and cure the UV ink and create the UV printed polymer layer in the desired pattern. The UV ink is at least substantially solvent-free and printing substrate does not contain an adhesive layer or an ink-receptive layer and is not been modified to be ink-receptive. The film negative may be used in a process of making a flexographic printing element.

Systems and methods for exposing photopolymer printing plate material located within a target area having first and second dimensions. A light source having LEDs arrayed coextensive with the first dimension moves relative to the second dimension, and emits different light intensities over the target area in at least one of the first dimension or the second dimension. The systems and methods may be used to determine exposure parameters for curing a selected plate by causing different sample units to receive different amounts of total energy exposure, exposure energy per exposure step, or a combination thereof, and visually evaluating each sample unit against a reference plate of the same type and thickness. The sample unit embodying a minimum acceptable total exposure energy and a maximum acceptable exposure energy per exposure step is then identified.

An indexing image for craft stamps that is opaque to the eye but transparent to UV light is produced by printing a wavelength-specific solvent-based ink on the stamp substrate. This eliminates the step of printing a separate adhesive-backed indexing image sheet and applying it to the substrate.

A method and apparatus to expose photosensitive printing plates with a predetermined radiation density from the main side (top) and a predetermined radiation density from the back side (bottom). The method comprises executing the main exposure with a time delay after the back exposure. The time delay between back exposure and main exposure is optimized to create smaller stable single dot elements on the photosensitive printing plate after processing and smaller single element dot sizes printed on the print substrate. The plate floor may be adjusted by performing a back-side-only exposure prior to executing the combined back and main exposure with the time delay.

A method and apparatus to expose photosensitive printing plates with a predetermined radiation density from the main side (top) and a predetermined radiation density from the back side (bottom). The method comprises executing the main exposure with a time delay after the back exposure. The time delay between back exposure and main exposure is optimized to create smaller stable single dot elements on the photosensitive printing plate after processing and smaller single element dot sizes printed on the print substrate. The plate floor may be adjusted by performing a back-side-only exposure prior to executing the combined back and main exposure with the time delay.

Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to methods of forming gratings. The method includes depositing a resist material on a grating material disposed over a substrate, patterning the resist material into a resist layer, projecting a first ion beam to the first device area to form a first plurality of gratings, and projecting a second ion beam to the second device area to form a second plurality of gratings. Using a patterned resist layer allows for projecting an ion beam over a large area, which is often easier than focusing the ion beam in a specific area.