Patterning techniques microcontact printing

Microcontact printing (pCP) is a technique that uses an elastomeric stamp with relief on its surface to generate patterned SAMs on the surface of both planar and curved substrates [87,88]. SAMs are highly ordered molecular assemblies that form spontaneously by chemisorption of functionalized long-chain molecules on the surfaces of appropriate substrates [79,89]. Well-established systems of SAMs include alkanethiolates on coinage metals (Au, Ag, Cu) [90] alkyl-siloxanes on hydroxyl-terminated surfaces (Si/Si02, glass) [91] carboxylic and... 

Unconventional patterning techniques, such as soft lithography (e.g., microcontact printing), nanoimprint lithography, and scanning probe lithography, are increasingly used for the cost-effective fabrication of nanostructures. They are particularly attractive because they can be performed even without cleanroom facilities. 

Pattern fabrication is an important issue in many fields ranging from microelectronics to biological microarray production and nanotechnology.64 Soft and probe lithography techniques such as microcontact printing (pCP) and dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) are frequently used to pattern surfaces.65 Conventional pCP is an efficient and... 

Microcontact printing ( J,CP) [17,29,30] is part of a set of nonphotolithographic fabrication techniques known as soft lithography. In iCP, features are patterned with inexpensive, elastomeric PDMS stamps (see Section 5.5.2 for details on stamp fabrication). Consequently, [iCP can be less expensive in terms of capital and operation costs compared to photolithography for patterning large-area micron- or submicron-sized, features [31,32]. 

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