The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 22, 1996
Filed:
Apr. 03, 1995
Steven G Morton, Oxford, CT (US);
Other;
Abstract
A method for manufacturing ultra high resolution images, especially transmissive images, is described that is capable of fabricating images where each pixture element (pixel) has an intrinsic gray-scale, the gray-scale has a wide dynamic range, there are no voids between pixels, fabrication is not limited by the wavelength of light, and the pixels can be so tiny that their appearance is diffraction-limited. As a result, life-size images of cytology specimens can be fabricated with sufficient spatial and shading detail to show the details of the cell nuclei, and high-density, non-volatile, optical memory devices can be made. The method applies the tools of the semiconductor and optical device fabrication industries, and places registration marks on a substrate, repetitively: (1) masks the substrate, (2) places a layer of thin film upon the masked substrate, precisely registering each mask with the registration marks on the substrate, and (3) removes the mask and removes the thin film that did not land on the substrate or upon previously deposited thin film; where: (1) the optical transmission of the thin film varies from one layer to the next and is chosen from a set of transmission values, (2) the optical transmission of a given pixel is the composite of zero, one or a few thin film layers, (3) some of the thin film layers are used to form many of the pixels and some are not, and (4) the set of thin film optical transmissions is chosen in such a fashion as to give many shades while using a small number of manufacturing steps.