Patent ID: 8859196

Claim:
A method of synthesizing an array of polymers, the method comprising: (a) providing a substrate, wherein a surface of the substrate comprises functional groups protected by photolabile protecting groups; (b) deprotecting the functional groups within selected regions of the surface, wherein deprotecting comprises illumination of the selected regions with light that is photolytic to the photolabile protecting groups, and wherein the selected regions correspond to locations on the surface where features of the array of polymers are synthesized; (c) coupling monomers to the functional groups within the selected regions, wherein the monomers are protected by photolabile protecting groups; and (d) repeating steps (b)-(c) for one or more repetitions to synthesize the array of polymers, wherein steps (b)-(c) occur within a synthesis system, wherein the synthesis system comprises a light source and an anti-reflective coating, and wherein the anti-reflective coating reduces reflected illumination within the synthesis system such that the features of the array of polymers are smaller than 1 μm.