Bubble-Pen Lithography

Abstract

Current lithography techniques, which employ photon, electron, or ion beams to induce chemical or physical reactions for micro/nano-fabrication, have remained challenging in patterning chemically synthesized colloidal particles, which are emerging as building blocks for functional devices. Herein, we develop a new technique - bubble-pen lithography (BPL) - to pattern colloidal particles on substrates using optically controlled microbubbles. Briefly, a single laser beam generates a microbubble at the interface of colloidal suspension and a plasmonic substrate via plasmon-enhanced photothermal effects. The microbubble captures and immobilizes the colloidal particles on the substrate through coordinated actions of Marangoni convection, surface tension, gas pressure, and substrate adhesion. Through directing the laser beam to move the microbubble, we create arbitrary single-particle patterns and particle assemblies with different resolutions and architectures. Furthermore, we have applied BPL to pattern CdSe/ZnS quantum dots on plasmonic substrates and polystyrene (PS) microparticles on two-dimensional (2D) atomic-layer materials. With the low-power operation, arbitrary patterning and applicability to general colloidal particles, BPL will find a wide range of applications in microelectronics, nanophotonics, and nanomedicine.

Patterning and fluorescence tuning of quantum dots with haptic-interfaced bubble printing

“…The capture and immobilization of the QDs benefit from the plasmon-enhanced photothermal response of the AuNI substrate. 20,25 Briefly, upon incidence of a continuous wave laser beam (532 nm) on the AuNI substrate, the reemitted energy from the resonant AuNI via non-radiative Landau damping leads to overheating of water molecules to generate mesobubbles over the substrate surface. The Marangoni convection arising from the temperature gradient creates a convective drag force towards the bubble surface.…”

“…Due to the resonant heating upon laser irradiation, the temperature at the plasmonic nanoparticle surfaces can reach >100 °C. 20 Such elevated temperatures can lead to photo-oxidation of the printed QDs, which reduces the effective size of the QDs and thus causes a spectral blue-shift. 29,30 The rapid photo-oxidation process can limit the introduction of multiple non-radiative states on the QD surfaces, minimizing the influence on the quantum yield and brightness of the QDs.…”

“…Bubble printing exploits the photothermal heating of the substrates to generate bubbles, which capture and immobilize the QDs at the substrate–solution interfaces via coordinated actions of Marangoni convection, surface tension, van der Waals interaction, and thermal adhesion. 20 The integration of a haptic interface into printing techniques caters to the engineering demands for precise and interactive processes at the micro- and nanoscale. 21 In our case, we integrate the printing process with a smartphone to achieve the haptic operation.…”

Insight into plasmonic hot-electron transfer and plasmon molecular drive: new dimensions in energy conversion and nanofabrication

“…78 A single laser beam generates a microbubble at the interface of the colloidal suspension and the substrate (Au nano-island film) via plasmonenhanced heating. The microbubble captures and immobilizes the colloidal particles on the substrate (Figure 16f, left) through the coordinated actions of Marangoni convection, surface tension, gas pressure and substrate adhesion.…”

Light and Particle Manipulation Based on Optothermal Surface Bubbles

“…The position, size, and shape of the OSB can be precisely and dynamically changed by modulating the laser beam. Therefore, the OSB enables many intriguing applications ranging from the micro/nanomanipulation of fluids [1,2], particles [3,4], cells [5], and light [6] to the synthesis of micro/nano-structures under ambient conditions [7]. Here, we demonstrate how an OSB can be used to dynamically control light and particles.…”