Automated Scanning Probe Lithography with n-alkanethiol Self Assembled Monolayers on Au(111)
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Automated Scanning Probe Lithography with n-alkanethiol Self Assembled Monolayers on Au(111)
Treva Brown, Zorabel Mallorca LeJeune, Kai Liu, Jie-Ren Li, and Jayne C. Garno
Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Scanning probe lithography was accomplished by undergraduates with n-alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed on gold. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods of nanoshaving and nanografting were used to write nanopatterns of n-alkanethiols. Controllers for AFM can be programmed for automated lithography to rapidly and consistently generate desired surface arrangements of SAM nanopatterns. Commercial instruments typically provide software to control the length, direction, speed and applied force of the scanning motion of the tip, analogous to a pen-plotter. For nanoshaving, higher forces are applied to the AFM tip to selectively remove certain regions of the matrix monolayer, exposing bare areas of the gold substrate. Nanografting is accomplished by force-induced displacement of molecules of a matrix SAM, followed immediately by the self-assembly of n-alkanethiol ink molecules from solution. Desired surface chemistry can be achieved by writing with SAMs of different lengths and terminal groups. Example nanopatterns written during undergraduate laboratories will be presented.
