ABSTRACT
A new lithographic editing system with an ability to erase and rectify errors in microscale with real-time optical feedback is demonstrated. The erasing probe is a conically shaped hydrogel (tip size, ca. 500 nm) template-synthesized from track-etched conical glass wafers. The "nanosponge" hydrogel probe "erases" patterns by hydrating and absorbing molecules into a porous hydrogel matrix via diffusion analogous to a wet sponge. The presence of an interfacial liquid water layer between the hydrogel tip and the substrate during erasing enables frictionless, uninterrupted translation of the eraser on the substrate. The erasing capacity of the hydrogel is extremely high because of the large free volume of the hydrogel matrix. The fast frictionless translocation and interfacial hydration resulted in an extremely high erasing rate (~785 µm2/s), which is two to three orders of magnitude higher in comparison with the atomic force microscopy-based erasing (~0.1 µm2/s) experiments. The high precision and accuracy of the polymeric lithography editor (PLE) system stemmed from coupling piezoelectric actuators to an inverted optical microscope. Subsequently after erasing the patterns using agarose erasers, a polydimethylsiloxane probe fabricated from the same conical track-etched template was used to precisely redeposit molecules of interest at the erased spots. PLE also provides a continuous optical feedback throughout the entire molecular editing process-writing, erasing, and rewriting. To demonstrate its potential in device fabrication, we used PLE to electrochemically erase metallic copper thin film, forming an interdigitated array of microelectrodes for the fabrication of a functional microphotodetector device. High-throughput dot and line erasing, writing with the conical "wet nanosponge," and continuous optical feedback make PLE complementary to the existing catalog of nanolithographic/microlithographic and three-dimensional printing techniques. This new PLE technique will potentially open up many new and exciting avenues in lithography, which remain unexplored due to the inherent limitations in error rectification capabilities of the existing lithographic techniques.
Subject(s)
Models, Theoretical , Polymers/chemistry , Algorithms , Hydrogels/chemistry , Nanopores/ultrastructureABSTRACT
Large scale fabrication of non-linear microporous membranes is of technological importance in many applications ranging from separation to microfluidics. However, their fabrication using traditional techniques is limited in scope. We report on fabrication and characterization of non-linear parabolic micropores (PMS) in polymer membranes by utilizing flow properties of fluids. The shape of the fabricated PMS corroborated well with simplified Navier-Stokes equation describing parabolic relationship of the form L - t1/2. Here, L is a measure of the diameter of the fabricated micropores during flow time (t). The surface of PMS is smooth due to fluid surface tension at fluid-air interface. We demonstrate fabrication of PMS using curable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The parabolic shape of micropores was a result of interplay between horizontal and vertical fluid movements due to capillary, viscoelastic, and gravitational forces. We also demonstrate fabrication of asymmetric "off-centered PMS" and an array of PMS membranes using this simple fabrication technique. PMS containing membranes with nanoscale dimensions are also possible by controlling the experimental conditions. The present method provides a simple, easy to adopt, and energy efficient way for fabricating non-linear parabolic shape pores at microscale. The prepared parabolic membranes may find applications in many areas including separation, parabolic optics, micro-nozzles / -valves / -pumps, and microfluidic and microelectronic delivery systems.
ABSTRACT
We demonstrate conical pores etched in tracked glass chips for fabricating patterns at the micrometer scale. Highly fluorescent patterns based on photopolymerization of diacetylene films were formed by irradiating UV light through conical pores called "photo-pens". The properties of photopens were investigated through experiments, finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) simulations and numerical calculations based on Fresnel equations. We show that the pattern dimensions are easily controlled by adjusting the exposure time. Thus, patterns with a range of dimensions can be fabricated without any need of changes in the pore diameter. Parallel patterning was also demonstrated by simultaneously exposing the films to photons through multiple pores in the chip. Our method provides an inexpensive, versatile, and efficient way for patterning without the use of sophisticated masks.
