An electrochromic printhead and a method of construction thereof in which the printhead is fabricated from an array of spaced, precisely positioned, small glass tubes. The array of glass tubes defines an array of cylindrical apertures extending through the printhead to form a printing pattern at a printing surface. Each cylindrical aperture has a conductor therein as an active electrode, which defines one dot of an array or matrix of dots possibly formed by the electrochromic printer. An additional conductor is provided as a reference electrode, such that a voltage may be applied between selected active electrodes and the reference electrode to define a particular printing pattern. Electrode wear is substantially eliminated by applying a coating of rutenium oxide crystals on each active electrode at the printing surface. In one disclosed embodiment, each active electrode is formed by a conductive coating applied along the interior surface of each cylindrical aperture. In a further disclosed embodiment, each active electrode comprises a cylindrical wire positioned within each cylindrical aperture. In yet another embodiment, each active electrode is formed by a conductive filler placed within each cylindrical aperture.
The present invention includes an apparatus for and method of creating electrically modifiable images using a computer printer. In one embodiment, one or more ink reservoirs of a printer cartridge are filled with an electrochromic ink. The printer thus prepared can be used to print electrochromic patterns on a surface using standard ink application methods. In certain embodiments, more than one ink reservoir is filled with electrochromic ink. In these embodiments, separate reservoirs are filled with separate ink formulations so that the characteristics of the electrochromic pattern can be varied.
An electrostatic or thermal printhead and method of fabrication is provided in which dielectric material is disposed in a row of spaced depressions or in a single recess along the upper surface of an edge of a dielectric-coated conductive sheet. Electrodes are disposed along the edge of the sheet over the dielectric material and terminate at associated conductive pads or printhead circuitry on the sheet. In one embodiment, the edge is trimmed and left bare to form an inexpensive electrostatic printhead. In an alternate embodiment, resistive material is disposed over the edge to connect the electrodes to the conductive sheet to form an inexpensive thermal printhead.
A method of analyzing the sequence of a polynucleotide analyte. The method includes contacting the analyte with a position-addressable array of oligonucleotides, each anchored to a solid support and having a 5'proximal and 3'-distal orientation. The hybridized oligonucleotides are then extended by strand-directed polymerase, to produce labeled, extended oligonucleotides at positions of the array corresponding to sequence matches between the array oligonucleotides and analyte regions. The pattern of label in the array is used to analyze analyte sequence.
A method for fabricating a molecular matrix print head for use in nonimpact electrolytic printers. Green ceramic sheets are stacked and laminated, then embossed with insulators and screened with ruthenium dioxide. The assembly is then co-sintered at less than 1000.degree. C. and the resulting structure smoothed by lapping and finished in a convention fashion.
Method and apparatus for producing combinatorial position-addressable libraries of different-sequence oligomers or different-substituent small molecule compounds are disclosed. The method employs massive parallel synthesis by stepwise subunit addition or substituent addition in a dense capillary-tube array. The libraries allow high throughput screening of library compounds in either solid phase or solution phase, and position-related identification of active library compounds.
