AVS 49th International Symposium
    Organic Films and Devices Wednesday Sessions
       Session OF+EL+SS+SC-WeM

Paper OF+EL+SS+SC-WeM8
Dip Pen Nanolithography on Insulating Substrates

Wednesday, November 6, 2002, 10:40 am, Room C-102

Session: Metal-Organic Interfaces
Presenter: S.E. Kooi, Naval Research Laboratory
Authors: S.E. Kooi, Naval Research Laboratory
P.E. Sheehan, Naval Research Laboratory
L.J. Whitman, Naval Research Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
Methods of assembling nanoscale components at chosen locations on a surface are needed to produce nanoscale electronic and sensor devices. Dip pen nanolithography (DPN) has been successful in producing such features as small as ~10 nm wide and one monolayer thick in several different molecule - surface combinations. The most studied systems have been alkyl and aryl thiol depostion on gold surfaces; however, DPN has also been demonstrated for inorganic salts on silicon, biomolecules on gold, and silazanes on semiconductor surfaces. We explore the application of DPN to write functional molecules on a technologically important insulating surface, namely silicon oxide. We have written several different trichlorosilane molecules directly onto thermally-grown silicon oxide substrates. By choosing an appropriate trichlorosilane and post-deposition chemical modification of the written molecules, we can direct the deposition of other nanostructures (such as carbon nanotubes, semiconducting nanowires, or nanoparticles). For example, by writing 10-undecenyltrichlorosilane onto silicon oxide, we can create a terminal carboxylic acid group with a post-deposition chemical oxidation. Subsequent deprotonation of the patterned carboxylic acid groups produces a negative charge that directs the deposition of positively-charged nanostructures. The ability to place nanoscale components at chosen locations on a surface, in combination with traditional (e-beam) lithographic techniques, opens up the possibility of interfacing nanoscale components with traditional devices.