Method of selective removal of organophosphonic acid molecules from their self-assembled monolayer on Si substrates

摘要

A scanning probe based method to selectively remove self-assembled organic molecules from their self-assembled monolayer (SAM) prepared on a conducting/semiconducting substrate having a hydrophilic surface. This technique involves the use of a conductive probe tip scanning a SAM with a thickness of not more than a few nanometers under an electric field applied by the scanning tip with a field strength of about 10⁹ V/m between the tip and the surface of the conducting/semiconducting substrate. The patterned SAM can be used a device mould for the development of a nano-lithography technology or a device element in the fabrication of a nano-device. The present invention accommodates the trend of ever-decreasing size of devices.