Patent ID: 7504038

Claim:
A method of processing workpieces, comprising: molding a fixture from silicone rubber or poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) such that the fixture is flexible, the fixture having pockets separated by ridges, wherein adjacent ones of the ridges define grippers for mechanically gripping workpieces; bending the fixture to open the grippers; positioning workpieces in the open pockets by elastically deforming the fixture, the workpieces being loaded into the fixture while it is elastically deformed; unbending the fixture to close the grippers such that the grippers mechanically grip the workpieces with the ridges and the workpieces are mechanically engaged by and mechanically retained in the pockets of the fixture; performing spincoat and projection lithography on surfaces of the workpieces; patterning the surfaces of the workpieces; forming structural features on the surfaces of the workpieces; and then elastically deforming the fixture to reopen the grippers to mechanically release and mechanically debond the workpieces from the pockets of the fixture.