Article
Article
DISCLAIMER: This article is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at last review, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information.
Dip-pen nanolithography
Article By:
Mirkin, Chad A. Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Last reviewed:2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB060120
Dip-pen nanolithography tm (DPN tm ) is a direct-write method for nanoscale patterning in which material is transferred from a scanning probe microscope tip onto a surface. Analogous to the 4000-year-old quill pen, DPN uses an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip as a nanoscale “nib,” a solid-state substrate as “paper,” and molecules with a chemical affinity for the substrate as “ink.” In the case of a gold substrate, the ink molecules are typically alkylthiols or arylthiols. When the thiol-coated tip comes in contact with the gold surface, molecules are delivered to the substrate via a solvent meniscus (in most cases, water), which, under ambient conditions, naturally forms between the tip and surface. The meniscus serves as a bridge over which the thiol molecules migrate from the tip to the gold surface, where they anchor chemically and form monolayer patterns (Fig. 1).
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
