Nanopatterning by atomic force microscopy

Abstract

For the first time, we fabricated nanostructures of a ferroelectric polymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluorethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] on gold substrate via dip-pen nanolithography ink. Lines as thin as 32 nm and dot radius as small as 20 nm have been fabricated. The P(VDF-TrFE) molecules were well oriented on the gold substrate. The hydrophobic P(VDF-TrFE) produced a black contrast in the lateral force microscopy (LFM) images. The DPN-generated P(VDF-TrFE) patterns hold ferroelectric properties. The interaction between the P(VDF-TrFE) and the gold substrate was Van der Waals' interaction. The growth of dot radii/line-width was proportional to t1/2. We studied the influence of experimental conditions on dip-pen nanolithography. The results show: The transport rate of ink increased as the temperature increased for all of the inks. For P(VDF-TrFE), a deviation from Arrhenius plot at about 55C was observed. It may be caused by a ferroelectric phase transition. Surface roughness influenced both the contrast in LFM images and the transport rate of ink. Surfaces with less roughness resulted in good contrast in LFM images, while rough surfaces resulted in poor contrast. The transport rate of ink increased as the roughness decreased; however, the extent of the influence was strongly ink-dependent. The influence of relative humidity depended on the solubility of the ink in water. The transport rate of hydrophilic inks increased as the relative humidity increased, while the transport rate of hydrophobic inks experienced small change as the relative humidity increased. At the same condition, a tip with a larger curvature radius could generate a larger pattern than a tip with a smaller curvature radius due to a bigger contact point or the formation of a meniscus with a larger size. The chemical affinity was also one of the key controlling parameters for DPN. It is necessary to consider the ink affinity to both the substrate and the tip when designing a new DPN system. We fabricated nanostructures via anodic nanooxidation and force nanolithography. In addition, we characterized the protein patterns with AFM by adsorption of a protein surfaces with different adsorption properties, and discussed the mechanism of the protein adsorption on these surfaces.