Patent ID: 8921236

Claim:
A method of producing a patterned thin film element comprising: providing a substrate; providing a polymeric inhibitor that retains its ability to inhibit atomic layer deposition after exposure to a highly reactive oxygen process; depositing a thin layer of the polymeric inhibitor on the substrate; providing a patterned mask having open areas on the thin layer of the polymeric inhibitor; patterning the thin layer of the polymeric inhibitor by removing inhibitor from areas exposed by the open areas of the patterned mask using a highly reactive oxygen process; depositing an inorganic thin film layer on the substrate only in areas exposed by the removal of the thin layer of the polymeric inhibitor using an atomic layer deposition process to form a patterned inorganic thin film layer on the substrate; removing the printed patterned mask after exposure to the highly reactive oxygen process; and exposing the patterned thin layer of the polymeric inhibitor to a second highly reactive oxygen process after the printed pattern mask is removed, wherein providing the patterned mask includes printing the patterned mask on the thin layer of the polymeric inhibitor.