Patent ID: 8641954

Claim:
A method for fabricating a soft mold comprising: forming a master mold in a container, the master mold having side surfaces and a patterned upper surface; introducing a pre-polymer mixture into the container to cover the patterned upper surface and the side surfaces of the master mold, the pre-polymer mixture having a hydrophobic compound; soft-hardening the introduced pre-polymer mixture to form a pre-polymer gel, a front surface of the pre-polymer gel contacting the patterned upper surface of the master mold and a rear surface of the pre-polymer gel opposing the front surface being exposed to air; applying water onto the rear surface of the pre-polymer gel to increase surface energy at the rear surface beyond a surface energy at the front surface of the pre-polymer gel, thereby moving the hydrophobic compound to the front surface of the pre-polymer gel; hardening the pre-polymer gel while said water remains on the rear surface thereof to form a patterned soft mold; removing the water from the soft mold; and separating the soft mold from the master mold.