Nano-printing with molecular resolution

Researchers have made the resolution of a widely used polymer nanometer printing technology reach the molecular scale by using carbon nanotube-derived molds. By accurately replicating nanoscale features, this technology will likely play an important role in the fields of microelectronics, nanoliquids and biotechnology. The research was published in the magazine Nano Letters.

The polymer nano-imprint technology presses a mold having an embossed structure onto a thin polymer film. But so far, the basic physical and chemical properties of the interaction of these two surfaces at the molecular level are not yet known, let alone the correlation between these reactions and resolution. A better understanding of the basic physics and resolution limits of nanolithography will enable researchers to create better design standards for molds and membranes.

The researchers first cultivated single-walled carbon nanotubes on silicon wafers, and then they laid a thermosetting polymer on the silicon wafer. After the mold is finished, it is pressed gently in a light-curing polyurethane film. Next, the researchers used the atomic microscope to measure the height of the final eruptive structures and measured their width with a transmission electron microscope.

This ability to shape nanoscale features can benefit from a wide range of fields from semiconductor device manufacturing to biotechnology. Polymer nanolithography technology can help new generation devices in the electronics industry reach their desired resolution. This technique can also create a photonic device that determines the optical properties of the geometry of the embossed structure on it. In addition, polymer molds with molecular grade channels can also be used in the nanofluids field.