Scanning probe nanolithography

SPM is widely used as research tool and industrial measuring instrument, and has drawn attraction as nanoscale processing tool at nanometer order from the initial stage of development. The atomic operation became possible by SPM [54], and scanning probe nanolithography (SPNL) was developed at ca. 10 nm level [55]. There are three major categories for SPNL as follows ... 

R. Garcia, R. V. Martinez, and J Martinez, Nano-chemistry and scanning probe nanolithographies, Chem. Soc. Rev., 35, 29-38 (2006) and references therein. 

Paul, R, KnoU, A., Holzner, E, Despont, M., Duerig, U., 2011. Rapid turnaround scanning probe nanolithography. Nanotechnology 23, 385307. 

The potential applications of inorganic nanotubes as tips for scanning probe microscopy for the study of soft tissue rough surfaces and for nanolithography is further discussed in this chapter (Section VI). Most importantly, these kinds of nanoparticles exhibit interesting tribological properties, which are briefly discussed. 

Another important field where inorganic nanotubes can be useful is as tips in scanning probe microscopy (16). Here, applications in the inspection of microelectronics circuitry have been demonstrated and potential applications in nanolithography are being contemplated. A comparison between a WS2 nanotube tip and a microfabricated Si tip indicates that while the microfabricated conical-shaped Si tip is unable to probe the bottom of deep and narrow grooves, the slender and inert... 

For direct patterning on the nanometer scale, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based techniques such as dip-pen-nanolithography (DPN), [112-114] nanograftingf, nanoshaving or scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) based techniques such as electron induced diffusion or evaporation have recently been developed (Fig. 9.14) [115, 116]. The SPM based methods, allows the deposition of as-sembhes into restricted areas with 15 nm linewidths and 5 nm spatial resolution. Current capabihties and future applications of DPN are discussed in Ref. [117]. 

Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) is a variety of scanning probe lithography (direct-write) developed by Mirkin and coworkers, where components of interest are transferred from an AFM tip to a substrate.201 DPN has been used to pattern a wide variety of materials on surfaces, including small organic molecules (most commonly n-alkanethiols), DNA, nanoparticles, proteins, viruses, and precursors for inorganic thin films. 

The application of scanning probe lithography (SPL) has been widespread owing to its ability to modify substrates with very high resolution and ultimate pattern flexibility.96 Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN),97 high contact force AFM,98 and constructive nanolithography99 are some of the most commonly employed techniques, all of which aim to control the position and directed assembly of molecules and nanoparticles. 

In this chapter we provide a brief review of different nanolithography and nanomanipulation techniques. We discuss mainly such techniques as templated growth, dip pen lithography, anodic oxidation and scanning probe microscope based nanomanipulation. The chapter contains an introduction to the basic techniques followed by examples of such nanostructure growth. 

One of the innovative applications of scanning probe microscopy for nanolithography is dip pen nanolithography (DPN). In this special technique the water meniscus formed between the tip and the substrate acts as a medium for molecular transport. The technique depends on the key phenomenon that the molecule to be deposited on the substrate (which is referred as the ink ) can be transported in a controlled way from the tip (which is initially coated with the ink) to the substrate. The molecule (the ink) to be deposited on the substrate should interact with the substrate to form a chemical bond, leading to a stable structure [82]. 

Sugimura H, Nakagiri N (1996) Scanning probe anodization nanolithography using thin films of anodically oxidizable materials as resists. 1 Vac Sci Technol A 14 1223-1223... 

Recently, reactive platforms based on well-defined macromolecules, such as dendrimers [75,150], have been introduced as reactive layers that expose chemically accessible functional groups in high densities. These approaches can be extended to micro- and nanoscale patterns by means of microcontact printing (ftCP) [86-89] and scanning probe lithography (AFM tip-assisted deposition, also called dip-pen nanolithography , DPN) [90], as reviewed below (Fig. 13). 

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