AVS 49th International Symposium
    Nanometer Structures Wednesday Sessions
       Session NS+EL-WeA

Paper NS+EL-WeA4
Fabrication of Molecular Nanostructures by Scanning Near-Field Optical Lithography

Wednesday, November 6, 2002, 3:00 pm, Room C-207

Session: Nanolithography & Self Assembly
Presenter: K.S.L. Chong, University of Sheffield, UK
Authors: K.S.L. Chong, University of Sheffield, UK
S. Sun, University of Sheffield, UK
G.J. Leggett, University of Sheffield, UK
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Nanoscale patterns of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold and silver can be fabricated by a new technique called scanning near-field photolithography (SNP).@footnote 1@ In SNP, a 244 nm laser coupled to a scanning near-field optical microscope is used to carry out nanometre scale photopatterning of SAMs. The photooxidised SAMs can be dipped into a solution of a different thiol, which displaces the oxidised material and adsorbs at the surface. Chemical patterns with linewidths of 40 nm were routinely obtained though patterns as small as 25 nm have been observed by friction force microscopy. The oxidised pattern can also be transferred to the underlying substrate by wet etching where linewidths of 80 nm have been obtained on gold substrates. Because of the ease by which SAMs can be patterned by this method, SNP can be routinely used to create nanoscale molecular patterns. Nanoscale patterns in SAMs can be used as templates for the attachment of biomolecules offering another approach to the miniaturisation of biological devices. Preliminary data have shown that proteins may be successfully immobilised to micron-scale patterned monolayers created using similar photochemistry. These methods are currently being combined with SNP in order to create biological nanostructures. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@Shuqing Sun, Karen S.L. Chong and Graham J.Leggett, J.Am.Chem.Soc, 2002, 124, 2414.