Direct-write nanolithography with stamp tips: fabrication and applications

摘要

A novel method for fabricating polymer, e.g., polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS),-coated dip-pen nanolithographic (DPN) stamp tips. This kind of tip adsorbed chemicals ("inks") easily and was used to generate DPN nanopatterns which were imaged with the same tip after DPN process. This method built a bridge between micro-contact printing (muCP) and DPN, making it possible for one to easily generate smaller structures of any molecules which have been patterned by the muCP technique. The easy tip-coating and writing process enriches the state-of-the-art DPN technique. The sub-100 nm DPN resolution obtained by using this kind of novel tip is comparable to that with a conventional Si₃N₄ probe tip. Importantly, the unique stamp tip was able to transfer solvent (e.g., liquid "ink") onto a substrate, resulting in fabrication of hollow nanostructures with only one DPN holding/writing step. Inks comprising metals and sol-gel materials are noted, as well as applications in photomask repair, enhancement, and fabrication.