PRINTHEAD WITH NANOTIPS FOR NANOSCALE PRINTING AND MANUFACTURING

摘要

A nanoprinthead including an array of nanotip cantilevers, where each nanotip cantilever includes a nanotip at an end of a cantilever, and a method for forming the nanoprinthead. Each nanotip may be individually addressable through use of an array of piezoelectric actuators. Embodiments for forming a nanoprinthead including an array of nanotip cantilevers can include an etching process from a material such as a silicon wafer, or the formation of a metal or dielectric nanotip cantilever over a substrate. The nanoprinthead may operate to provide uses for technologies such as dip-pen nanolithography, nanomachining, and nanoscratching, among others.

主权项

1. A method for forming a nanoprinthead comprising a nanotip cantilever array including a plurality of nanotip cantilevers, the method comprising:
forming a patterned first mask comprising a first pattern over a surface of a substrate; etching a plurality of grooves within the surface of the substrate using the patterned first mask as a pattern, and removing the patterned first mask; forming a nanotip cantilever layer within the plurality of grooves and over the surface of the substrate, wherein the forming of the nanotip cantilever layer forms a plurality of nanotip cantilevers each comprising a nanotip within one of the plurality of grooves and a cantilever over the surface of the substrate, wherein the plurality of nanotip cantilevers are physically interconnected; etching the nanotip cantilever layer to separate the plurality of nanotip cantilevers that are physically interconnected into a plurality of discrete nanotip cantilevers and to form the nanotip cantilever array; attaching the nanotip cantilever array to an array of actuation devices, wherein the array of actuation devices is configured to move each nanotip in a direction toward a surface to be contacted by the nanotip, and each nanotip cantilever of the nanotip cantilever array is individually addressable; and releasing the plurality of discrete nanotip cantilevers from the substrate.