Scanning Probe Microscopy Based 3D Nanolithography

Download or read book Scanning Probe Microscopy Based 3D Nanolithography written by Logan Swartz and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three dimensional (3D) printing has been an active area of research and development due to its capability to produce 3D objects by design. Miniaturization and improvement of spatial resolution are major challenges in current 3D printing technology development. This dissertation reports advances in bringing 3D nanolithography to the nanometer scale using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). SPM uses nanometer scale sharp tips to probe localized tip material interactions at the atomic and/or molecular level. Taking advantage of the interactions to instead print materials, in conjunction with SPM’s nanometer precision piezo based positioning systems and local surface chemistry, we have been able to develop methods to advance 3D printing to 3D nanolithography/nanoprinting. Three methods were developed. The first presented culminated in the first patented, 3D nanoprinter. It involves directly delivering polyelectrolyte complex materials layer-by-layer using an atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe. This enabled creation of 3D nanostructures with nanometer precision in all three dimensions. The second method describes development of a new technique for near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) nanolithography. NSOM lithography uses an SPM probe as a local light source to break the diffraction limit to perform photolithography. We have created new versions of these probes by developing ways to attach fluorescent nanoparticles to the end of AFM probes. Then using the probes, we developed a method for nanoparticle modified probe NSOM nanolithography. The third method is a convenient way to modify with in situ control AFM probes to have a flat surface/plateau at their end. These plateau probes, mounted on an AFM, are useful for compression studies to measure the created nanostructures’ nanomechanical properties. Also plateau probes provides a uniform surface to attach nanoparticles in order to create new probes for the nanoparticle modified probe NSOM nanolithography method, ensuring the attached particles are the furthest protrusion of the tips.