Invited Paper NS+NC-TuM5
Linking Proteins, Particles, Wires and Dots with Ferroelectric Nanolithography

Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 9:20 am, Room 311

Self assembly is a powerful strategy that utilizes chemical and physical forces to fabricate ensembles of nanostructures. The ultimate goal for some device strategies is to co assemble a variety of nanostructures with differing properties in arbitrary but pre defined configurations. Chemical self assembly alone presents serious challenges in this regard since it operates on one type of nanostructure: a layer of molecules, a lattice of particles, templated wires, etc. Ferroelectric Nanolithography is a directed assembly approach that positions nanostructures of various compounds into predefined functional configurations. The process relies on domain specific surface electronic structure and consequent reactivity. Starting from an understanding of the atomic structures of ferroelectric oxide surfaces, the origin of domain specific chemical reactivity will be illustrated with in situ thermal and optical SPM observations and with the deposition of metal and oxide nanoparticles. The use of electron beams and local electrodes to pattern ferroelectric substrates will be explained in terms of relevant electron/solid interactions. A critical aspect of both understanding assembly processes and characterizing device behavior is the ability to probe local electric, dielectric and ferroelectric properties. Scanning probe based techniques that access the frequency dependence of local properties will be described. Finally the lithographic approach will be illustrated with the fabrication of a molecular opto-electronic device made of 3nm – 50 nm metal particles, optically active porphyrins, and functionalized peptide tetramers on an oxide substrate. The generalization of the approach to include, for example, integration in hybrid systems and applications in flexible electronics will be summarized.