U.S. patent application number 13/736992 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-10 for container for the transport and transfer of nanomaterials.
This patent application is currently assigned to BLUESTONE GLOBAL TECH LIMITED. The applicant listed for this patent is BLUESTONE GLOBAL TECH LIMITED. Invention is credited to Xuesong Li, Yu-Ming Lin, Yijing Yin Stehle, Chun-Yung Sung.
Application Number | 20140190979 13/736992 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51060217 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140190979 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stehle; Yijing Yin ; et
al. |
July 10, 2014 |
CONTAINER FOR THE TRANSPORT AND TRANSFER OF NANOMATERIALS
Abstract
Aspects of the invention are directed to a container comprising
a tub, a basket, and a lid. The tub is adapted to hold a liquid and
comprises a bottom and a tub sidewall having an upper rim defining
an opening in the tub. The basket is disposed on the bottom of the
tub and comprises a base and a basket sidewall. The base defines a
perimeter, and the basket sidewall runs along at least a portion of
this perimeter. The lid contacts the upper rim and comprises a
filler piece. The filler piece occupies a volume inside the tub
between the base and a plane defined by the upper rim. The
container is adapted to hold a sensitive film stack without damage
or degradation to the film stack. The container is further adapted
to facilitate the easy transfer of the film stack to a new
substrate.
Inventors: |
Stehle; Yijing Yin;
(Wappingers Falls, NY) ; Li; Xuesong; (Wappingers
Falls, NY) ; Lin; Yu-Ming; (West Harrison, NY)
; Sung; Chun-Yung; (Poughkeepsie, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BLUESTONE GLOBAL TECH LIMITED |
Wappingers Falls |
NY |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
BLUESTONE GLOBAL TECH
LIMITED
Wappingers Falls
NY
|
Family ID: |
51060217 |
Appl. No.: |
13/736992 |
Filed: |
January 9, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/660 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/660 |
International
Class: |
B65D 81/00 20060101
B65D081/00 |
Claims
1. A container comprising: (a) a tub, the tub adapted to hold a
liquid and comprising a bottom and a tub sidewall having an upper
rim defining an opening in the tub; (b) a basket, the basket
disposed on the bottom and comprising: (i) a base, the base
defining a perimeter; and (ii) a basket sidewall, the basket
sidewall running along at least a portion of the perimeter; and (c)
a lid, the lid contacting the upper rim and comprising a filler
piece, the filler piece occupying a volume inside the tub between
the base and a plane defined by the upper rim.
2. The container of claim 1, wherein the base comprises a
fabric.
3. The container of claim 1, wherein the lid covers the opening in
the tub.
4. The container of claim 1, wherein the filler piece defines a
lower surface, the lower surface disposed inside the tub and facing
the bottom.
5. The container of claim 4, wherein the lower surface defines a
beveled edge.
6. The container of claim 1, wherein the basket sidewall runs along
only a portion of the perimeter.
7. The container of claim 1, where the base describes four edges
and the basket sidewall runs along only three of the four
edges.
8. The container of claim 1, wherein the basket sidewall defines an
aperture therein.
9. The container of claim 1, wherein the basket is adapted such
that it can be suspended in the tub from the tub sidewall.
10. The container of claim 1, wherein the basket further comprises
a tab, the tab adapted to be positioned such that it extends
outwardly from the basket sidewall.
11. The container of claim 1, wherein the container encloses a film
stack, the film stack disposed between the base and the filler
piece.
12. The container of claim 11, wherein the film stack comprises a
nanomaterial.
13. The container of claim 12, wherein the nanomaterial comprises
graphene.
14. The container of claim 12, wherein the nanomaterial is at least
partially covered by a polymer coating.
15. The container of claim 14, wherein the polymer coating is
operative to be stripped by acetone.
16. The container of claim 14, wherein the polymer coating
comprises poly(methyl methacrylate).
17. The container of claim 11, wherein the film stack floats when
placed in the liquid.
18. The container of claim 11, further comprising a cover sheet,
the cover sheet disposed between the film stack and the filler
piece.
19. The container of claim 18, wherein the cover sheet comprises a
fabric.
20. The container of claim 11, wherein the film stack is
substantially held immobile against the base.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to containers, and,
more particularly, to containers for use in handling sensitive
materials such as nanomaterials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Nanomaterials are presently the target of intense study
because of their many interesting and useful mechanical, optical,
and electrical properties. Graphene, for example, can exhibit very
high electron- and hole-mobilities and, as a result, may allow
graphene-based electronic devices to display extremely high
switching speeds. Moreover, because graphene is planar, it is
compatible with many well-developed semiconductor processing
techniques. Graphene may also be used as an electrode material in
energy storage devices, as a membrane material in electromechanical
systems, as a pressure sensor, as a detector for chemical or
biological molecules or cells, and in a multiplicity of other such
technical applications.
[0003] Presently, high quality and large area graphene can be
formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Such CVD processes
typically involve exposing a copper foil substrate to hydrogen and
methane in a CVD tube furnace reactor. Once so formed, the graphene
can be transferred from the copper foil deposition substrate to
another substrate for use in whatever application is of interest.
That said, because of the delicate nature of graphene, such a
"substrate transfer" process must be handled very carefully to
avoid film damage and degradation. In fact, the transfer of the
graphene from its copper deposition substrate to a new substrate is
typically a multi-step process. In one methodology, for example,
substrate transfer is initiated by depositing a thin polymer
coating on a graphene-copper film stack and then floating the
resulting polymer-graphene-copper film stack on a bath of a liquid
copper etchant to remove the copper foil deposition substrate. The
resultant polymer-graphene film stack is then cleaned several times
by sequentially floating the film stack on several baths of
deionized water. After being sufficiently cleaned, a new substrate
is immersed in a water bath under the floating polymer-graphene
film stack and lifted upward and out of the water bath so as to
place the film stack on top of the new substrate. The polymer layer
is then stripped by rinsing the polymer-graphene-substrate film
stack with an appropriate etchant. After some further cleaning and
drying, the desired graphene-substrate film stack is finally
achieved.
[0004] Because of the above-described nature of the substrate
transfer process for graphene, a recipient who buys graphene from a
graphene manufacturer with the graphene still on its original
copper deposition substrate must have a certain amount of expertise
in wet chemical processing in order to transfer the received
graphene to whatever substrate that recipient wishes to utilize.
Many recipients do not have this kind of expertise, nor do they
necessarily have the required wet chemical processing
infrastructure. The alternative, that is, for the recipient to send
its substrate to the graphene manufacturer and have the
manufacturer perform the substrate transfer process at the
manufacturer's site, is also not particularly attractive. Shipping
substrates back and forth is burdensome and time consuming.
Moreover, because of the proprietary nature of many applications,
these recipients are not interested in exposing their substrates to
inspection offsite.
[0005] For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for apparatus
that allow a nanomaterial such as CVD graphene to be shipped to a
recipient site without damage or degradation, and, once at the
recipient site, facilitate the recipient in transferring that
nanomaterial to whatever new substrate the recipient desires
without requiring that the recipient perform numerous or complex
processing steps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Embodiments of the present invention address the
above-identified needs by providing a container that both serves to
protect a film stack containing a nanomaterial during transport,
and to ease the transfer of the nanomaterial in the film stack to a
new substrate after the nanomaterial reaches its destination.
[0007] Aspects of the invention are directed to a container
comprising a tub, a basket, and a lid. The tub is adapted to hold a
liquid and comprises a bottom and a tub sidewall having an upper
rim defining an opening in the tub. The basket, in turn, is
disposed on the bottom of the tub and comprises a base and a basket
sidewall. The base defines a perimeter, and the basket sidewall
runs along at least a portion of this perimeter. The lid contacts
the upper rim and comprises a filler piece. The filler piece
occupies a volume inside the tub between the base and a plane
defined by the upper rim.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood with regard to the
following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings
where:
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a container enclosing a
film stack, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the
invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the FIG. 1 container and
film stack with the lid removed;
[0011] FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the FIG. 1
container and film stack;
[0012] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view the FIG. 1 film stack on the
basket of the FIG. 1 container;
[0013] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the FIG. 1 film stack on
the basket of the FIG. 1 container;
[0014] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of one of the tabs of the
basket of the FIG. 1 container;
[0015] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the lid of the FIG. 1
container;
[0016] FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of the lower surface of the
lid of the FIG. 1 container;
[0017] FIG. 9 shows another exploded perspective view of the FIG. 1
container and film stack;
[0018] FIG. 10 shows a sectional view of the FIG. 1 container and
film stack with the container in its closed state;
[0019] FIG. 11 shows a magnified sectional view of a lower corner
of the FIG. 1 container and film stack with the container in its
closed state;
[0020] FIG. 12 shows a magnified sectional view of a lower central
region of the FIG. 1 container and film stack with the container in
its closed state;
[0021] FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of the FIG. 1 container and
film stack with the lid, cover sheet, basket, and film stack
removed from the tub, and the tub being filled with water;
[0022] FIG. 14 shows a partially cutaway perspective view of the
FIG. 1 film stack and the basket of the FIG. 1 container being
placed into the water-filled tub of the FIG. 1 container;
[0023] FIG. 15 shows a sectional view of the FIG. 1 film stack
rising to float on water in the tub of the FIG. 1 container;
[0024] FIG. 16 shows a magnified sectional view of the FIG. 1 film
stack floating on water in the tub of the FIG. 1 container;
[0025] FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of a recipient's substrate
being inserted into the basket of the FIG. 1 container below the
floating FIG. 1 film stack;
[0026] FIG. 18 shows a perspective view of the recipient's
substrate resting on the basket of the FIG. 1 container below the
floating FIG. 1 film stack;
[0027] FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of the basket of the FIG. 1
container being removed from the tub of the FIG. 1 container such
that the FIG. 1 film stack becomes positioned onto the recipient's
substrate;
[0028] FIG. 20 shows a sectional view of the FIG. 1 film stack
disposed on the recipient's substrate on the basket of the FIG. 1
container; and
[0029] FIG. 21 shows a side elevational view of the FIG. 1 film
stack disposed on the recipient's substrate with the protective
film being removed by acetone.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] The present invention will be described with reference to
illustrative embodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications
can be made to these embodiments and the results will still come
within the scope of the invention. No limitations with respect to
the specific embodiments described herein are intended or should be
inferred.
[0031] FIGS. 1-8 show various aspects of a container 100 enclosing
a nanomaterial-containing film stack 200, in accordance with an
illustrative embodiment of the invention. The container 100 can be
conceptually separated into four base elements: a tub 105, a basket
110, a cover sheet 115, and a lid 120. When the container 100 is in
its closed state, these four base elements nest to form a unified
structure in which the film stack 200 can be shipped to a remote
recipient without damage or degradation. Once at the recipient's
site, the container 100 is adapted to come apart to form a "kit"
that facilitates the recipient in transferring the nanomaterial
from the film stack 200 to whatever new substrate the recipient
desires. The illustrative container 100 thereby serves at least two
separate functions: 1) safe transport of the film stack 200; and 2)
eased transfer of the nanomaterial in the film stack 200 to a new
substrate.
[0032] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the container 100 and the
film stack 200 while the container 100 is in its closed state. In
addition, FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the container 100 and
the film stack 200 with the lid 120 removed, and FIG. 3 shows an
exploded perspective view of the container 100 and the film stack
200. In the present illustrative embodiment, the tub 105 comprises
a bottom 125 that is substantially square in shape. A tub sidewall
130 is attached to the bottom 125 and forms a watertight volume
therewith, which allows the tub 105 to hold a liquid (e.g., water)
without leakage. An upper rim 135 at the top of the tub sidewall
130 defines an opening 140 in the tub 105. The tub 105 is
preferably transparent. The tub 105 may be formed, for example,
from a transparent thermoplastic polymer such as polycarbonate,
polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polypropylene, and a multiplicity of
other materials.
[0033] The basket 110 is perhaps the most complex element of the
container 100 because it comes into direct contact with the film
stack 200 during transport and also serves several functions during
the subsequent substrate transfer process. In a manner similar to
the tub 105, the basket 110 includes a base 145 that is in the
shape of a square. Nevertheless, the base 145 has dimensions (i.e.,
width and length) somewhat smaller than the bottom 125 of the tub
105 so that the basket 110 can rest on the bottom 125 of the tub
105 when the container 100 is in its closed state. A basket
sidewall 150 runs along three of the four sides of the base 145,
leaving one side of the basket 110 without the sidewall and open.
In so doing, the basket sidewall 150 can be described as running
along only a portion of the perimeter of the base 145. The basket
sidewall 150, moreover, defines a plurality of apertures 155
therein. Like the tub 105, the basket sidewall 150 may comprise a
clear thermoplastic polymer. The base 145 of the basket 110, in
contrast, preferably comprises a fabric comprising, for example,
polyester thread. The dissimilar materials of the plastic basket
sidewall 150 and the fabric base 145 may be attached to one another
by, for example, an adhesive strip (not specifically shown). FIG. 4
shows a perspective view of the basket 110 and the film stack 200
with the film stack 200 sitting on the base 145 of the basket 110,
as it would be during transport. FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of
the film stack 200 resting in this position.
[0034] In addition to the base 145 and the basket sidewall 150, the
basket 110 also includes two tabs 160. FIG. 6 shows a perspective
view of one of these two tabs 160. Each of the tabs 160 is
rotatably coupled to a respective side of the basket sidewall 150
via a respective screw 165. Each of the tabs 160 is thereby able to
be rotated so that it aligns with its respective sidewall portion
or projects outward from its respective sidewall portion. In this
manner, the tabs 160 allow the basket 110 to be suspended from the
upper rim 135 of the tub 105, which, as will be detailed below, is
a useful function during substrate transfer.
[0035] The cover sheet 115 in the present illustrative embodiment
is merely a sheet of fabric that acts to protect the upper surface
of the film stack 200. It may, as a result, be formed of the same
material as the base 145 of the basket 110 (e.g., a fabric formed
of polyester thread).
[0036] Lastly, the lid 120 comprises a cover 170 and a filler piece
175, and may be formed from the same material as the tub 105 (e.g.,
a transparent thermoplastic polymer). When the container 100 is
closed, the cover 170 is adapted to contact the upper rim 135 of
the tub 105 and thereby act to close the opening 140 in the tub
105. So positioned, the cover 170 may be removably fixated to the
tub 105 by one of several temporary fixation means such as a
relatively weak adhesive (e.g., rubber cement), elastic straps
(e.g., rubber bands), or external wrapping (e.g., cellophane) (none
of which is specifically shown in the figures). The filler piece
175 of the lid 120 defines a hollow square block that protrudes
downward from the cover 170. The filler piece 175 is dimensioned so
that, when the tub 105 is closed by the lid 120 with the basket 110
in place, the filler piece 175 occupies most of the volume inside
the tub 105 between the base 145 of the basket 110 and a plane 180
defined by the upper rim 135 of the tub 105 (shown in FIG. 3). That
is, the filler piece 175 has a width and length slightly smaller
than the base 145 of the basket 110, while having a height slightly
smaller than the distance between the base 145 and the plane 180.
In this position, a lower surface 185 of the filler piece 175 faces
the bottom 125 of the tub 105. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of
the lid 120 alone with the lower surface 185 clearly visible, while
FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of the lower surface 185 of the lid
120. In the present embodiment, the lower surface 185 is not
entirely flat but has beveled edges 190 that cause the lower
surface 185 to appear somewhat recessed or concave when viewed
looking up from the bottom 125 of the tub 105.
[0037] The above-described container 100 is suitable for handling
many different types of nanomaterials with different morphologies
(e.g., films, particles, rods, pills, cages, fibers, shells).
Nevertheless, for purposes of describing aspects of the invention,
the film stack 200 is assumed to comprise one or more layers of
graphene 205 coated by a protective coating 210 of
poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), a type of transparent
thermoplastic polymer easily stripped by acetone
((CH.sub.3).sub.2CO). These constituent members of the film stack
200 are explicitly labeled in the magnified sectional view in FIG.
5. Graphene, as that term is used herein, refers to a planar sheet
of sp.sup.2-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a
honeycomb crystal lattice. High quality and large-area graphene
films (both single layer and multi-layer) can be synthesized by CVD
on metal substrates such as copper foil. U.S. Patent Publication
No. 2011/0091647, to Colombo et al. and entitled "Graphene
Synthesis by Chemical Vapor Deposition," hereby incorporated by
reference herein, for example, teaches the CVD of graphene on metal
substrates using hydrogen (H.sub.2) and methane (CH.sub.4) in an
otherwise largely conventional CVD tube furnace reactor. A copper
foil substrate is loaded into the CVD tube furnace and hydrogen gas
is introduced at a rate between 1 to 100 standard cubic centimeters
per minute (sccm) while heating the substrate to a temperature
between 400 degrees Celsius (.degree. C.) and 1,400.degree. C.
These conditions are maintained for a duration of time between 0.1
to 60 minutes. Next methane is introduced into the CVD tube furnace
at a flow rate between 1 to 5,000 sccm at between 10 mTorr to 780
Torr of pressure while reducing the flow rate of hydrogen gas to
less than 10 sccm. Graphene is synthesized on the copper foil
substrate over a period of time between 0.001 to 10 minutes
following the introduction of the methane.
[0038] Once synthesized on a copper foil, the one or more layers of
graphene 205 can be coated by the PMMA protective coating 210
utilizing conventional spray coating or spin coating techniques.
The copper foil can then be selectively removed by floating the
polymer-graphene-copper film stack with the PMMA facing up on a
bath of copper etchant comprising, for example, ferric chloride
(FeCl.sub.3), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and water. With the copper
foil removed, the polymer-graphene film stack 200 can be washed by
floating it on one or more baths of deionized water (H.sub.2O).
[0039] The resultant film stack 200 (i.e., PMMA-graphene) is then
in condition for placement in the container 100 and shipment to its
intended location. FIGS. 9-12 show various aspects of the container
100 and the film stack 200 during such transport. More
particularly, FIG. 9 shows an exploded perspective view of the
container 100 and the film stack 200, while FIG. 10 shows a
sectional view of the container 100 and the film stack 200 with the
container 100 in its closed state. In addition, FIGS. 11 and 12
show magnified sectional views of a lower corner region and a lower
central region, respectively, of the film stack 200 and the
container 100 in its closed state. In preparation for transport,
the film stack 200 is first placed on the base 145 of the basket
110 with the PMMA protective coating 210 facing up, and the basket
110 is then placed on the bottom 125 of the tub 105. The cover
sheet 115 is then placed on the film stack 200 and the base 145,
and finally, the lid 120 is removably attached to the upper rim 135
of the tub 105 so as to close the container 100. Configured in this
manner, the filler piece 175 of the lid 120 presses down on the
cover sheet 115 which, in turn, presses the base 145 of the basket
110 against the bottom 125 of the tub 105. At the same time, the
film stack 200 is firmly sandwiched between the cover sheet 115 and
the base 145 of the basket 110, where it is held immobile.
Advantageously, the slightly recessed shape of the lower surface
185 of the filler piece 175 causes the filler piece 175 to place
more of its pressing force on the peripheries of the cover sheet
115 and the base 145 of the basket 110, while placing less pressure
on the center of the cover sheet 115 and the base 145 where the
film stack 200 is located. Although the film stack 200 is still
firmly held in place, the chance of mechanical damage to the film
stack 200 caused by its enclosure in the container 100 is thereby
reduced.
[0040] Once safely received by the recipient, the container 100 is
then able to serve its second function, that is, to serve as a kit
for the easy transfer of the enclosed film stack 200 to a substrate
of the recipient's choosing (hereinafter, the "recipient's
substrate" 300). FIGS. 13-21 go on to show aspects of various
intermediate steps of this transfer process. In describing this
processing, the film stack 200 continues to be assumed for
illustrative purposes to be the graphene 205 coated with the PMMA
protective coating 210. The graphene 205 faces the base 145 of the
basket 110, and the PMMA protective coating 210 faces upward.
[0041] The initial step of the substrate transfer process has the
recipient remove the lid 120 from the tub 105, and, with the lid
120 no longer in place, remove the cover sheet 115 and the basket
110 from the tub 105. The recipient is then instructed to deploy
the two tabs 160 on the basket 110 so that the tabs 160 extend
outward from the basket sidewall 150. The recipient is further
instructed to fill the tub 105 with deionized water 195. The
performance of these steps is shown by the perspective view of FIG.
13.
[0042] Next, the recipient is instructed to suspend the basket 110
from the upper rim 135 of the tub 105 (using the deployed tabs
160), as shown in in the partially cutaway perspective view in FIG.
14. This, in turn, causes the PMMA-graphene film stack 200 to float
off of the base 145 of the basket 110 to the surface of the water
195. Such a condition is shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, where FIG. 15
shows a sectional view of the film stack 200 rising to float on the
water 195 of the tub 105, and FIG. 16 shows a magnified sectional
view of the film stack 200 floating on the water 195 in the tub
105.
[0043] The recipient is then further instructed to place the
recipient's substrate 300 into the basket 110 so that the
recipient's substrate 300, which does not float, ultimately falls
onto the base 145 of the basket 110 below the floating
PMMA-graphene film stack 200. This insertion is facilitated by the
"missing" sidewall portion of the basket 110. FIG. 17 shows a
perspective view of the insertion of the recipient's substrate 300
into the basket 110 below the floating film stack 200. FIG. 18, in
turn, shows a perspective view of the recipient's substrate 300
positioned in the basket 110 below the floating film stack 200.
[0044] With the recipient's substrate 300 positioned in the basket
110 below the floating PMMA-graphene film stack 200, the recipient
is then instructed to lift the basket 110 from the tub 105 so that
the film stack 200 becomes positioned onto the recipient's
substrate 300. Venting of the water 195 while the basket 110 is
being lifted from the tub 105 is facilitated by the apertures 155
in the basket sidewall 150. The raising of the basket 110 in this
manner is illustrated in the perspective view in FIG. 19. The
resultant placement of the film stack 200 on the recipient's
substrate 300 is shown in the sectional view in FIG. 20.
[0045] Finally, the recipient is instructed to remove the
recipient's substrate 300 (on which is deposited the PMMA-graphene
film stack 200) from the basket 110 and to strip off the PMMA
protective coating 210 with an appropriate solvent. PMMA is, for
example, readily removed by acetone. FIG. 21 shows a side
elevational view of this processing step. In so doing, the
substrate transfer is completed and the recipient is left with the
bare graphene 205 on the recipient's substrate 300.
[0046] In this manner, the container 100, when combined with an
appropriately configured nanomaterial-containing film stack like
the film stack 200, serves dual functions. When in its closed
state, the container 100 forms a unified structure in which a
sensitive film stack can be shipped without degradation or damage.
Once at the recipient's site, the container 100 comes apart to form
a kit that facilitates the recipient in transferring the
nanomaterial to whatever new substrate the recipient desires. The
recipient needs have no special expertise in the transfer
processing but, instead, needs only follow simple instructions and
utilize readily available chemicals such as deionized water and
acetone. There is no need for the recipient to send its substrate
to the graphene manufacturer's site. Shipping times are saved and,
perhaps more importantly, the recipient's often-proprietary
substrate is not open to inspection offsite.
[0047] In closing, it should again be emphasized that the
above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be
illustrative only. Other embodiments can use different types and
arrangements of elements for implementing the described
functionality. As just one example, while the particular embodiment
of the container described above has a largely square footprint,
this shape is merely illustrative and any other suitable shape
(e.g., rectangular, circular, elliptical, hexagonal, etc.) would
also fall within the scope of the invention. In such a manner, a
container in accordance with aspects of the invention may easily be
adapted to accommodate different film stack shapes and recipient
substrate shapes. These numerous alternative embodiments within the
scope of the appended claims will be apparent to one skilled in the
art.
[0048] Moreover, all the features disclosed herein may be replaced
by alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar
purposes, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly
stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a
generic series of equivalent or similar features.
* * * * *