Invited Paper NM+MS+NS+NC-ThA1
Superionic Electrochemical Patterning of Metallic Nanostructures

Thursday, October 23, 2008, 2:00 pm, Room 309

Nanoscale metallic nanostructures find widespread and critical application in many micro and nanoscale technologies. Processes such as electrochemical and electro-discharge machining lack the fine control to obtain sub-micron resolution. As a result, such structures are generally fabricated using indirect patterning techniques, resulting expensive, lengthy multi-step manufacturing operations. In this presentation, we introduce a new means of directly patterning metal films into metallic nanostructures. The process, Solid-State Superionic Stamping (S4), uses a patterned solid-electrolytic stamp or mold to directly create metallic nano- and microstructures through electrochemical anodic dissolution. As a result, it requires very small mechanical forces and no contaminating liquids, and is capable of producing structures with nanoscale precision over large areas. This presentation will discuss the mechanism that underpins the process; characterize its capabilities in creating silver and copper nanostructures; discuss the fabrication of stamps, and some applications that such a process enables. The presentation will conclude with a description of the process technology under development and directions for future research.¹

¹ This research was supported by NSF through the Center for Chemical-Electrical-Mechanical Manufacturing Systems (Nano-CEMMS) under Grant DMI-0312862, the Office of Naval Research under grant N00173-07-G013 and the University of Illinois through the Grainger Foundation grant. We are grateful that part of this work was carried out in the Center for Microanalysis of Materials, University of Illinois, which is partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant DEFG02-ER45439.