Evolution of Dip-Pen Nanolithography (DPN): From Molecular Patterning to Materials Discovery

Abstract

Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) is a nanofabrication technique that can be used to directly write molecular patterns on substrates with high resolution and registration. Over the past two decades, DPN has evolved in its ability to transport molecular and material "inks" (e.g., alkanethiols, biological molecules like DNA, viruses, and proteins, polymers, and nanoparticles) to many surfaces in a high-throughput fashion, enabling the synthesis and study of complex chemical and biological structures. In addition, DPN has laid the foundation for a series of related scanning probe methodologies, for example, polymer pen lithography (PPL), scanning probe block copolymer lithography (SPBCL), and beampen lithography (BPL), which do not rely on cantilever tips. Structures prepared with these methodologies have been used to understand the consequences of miniaturization and open a door to new capabilities in catalysis, optics, biomedicine, and chemical synthesis, where, in sum, a process originally intended to compete with tools used by the semiconductor industry for rapid prototyping has transcended that application to advanced materials discovery. This review outlines the major DPN advances, the subsequent methods based on the technique, and the opportunities for future fundamental and technological exploration. Most importantly, it commemorates the 20th anniversary of the discovery of DPN.

The limits of near field immersion microwave microscopy evaluated by imaging bilayer graphene moiré patterns

“…With the reflected microwave signal, one can close the loop and monitor the complex impedance of the region of interest, while performing the patterning 29 . An immediate implementation in the already vast field of dip-pen nanolithography 30 would envision tracking both the real and imaginary parts of the reflected microwave signal to enable real-time tracking of minute quantities of dispensed materials, each with its impedance signature.…”

Recent Advances in Patterning Natural Polymers: From Nanofabrication Techniques to Applications

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 83,91 ] Copyright 2020, American Chemical Society. Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society.…”

“…Due to its simple implementation and mild process conditions, the DPN method is suitable for biological systems with enormous implications for both fundamental and applied cell biology. [ 83 ] The ability of DPN to manipulate trace liquid is appealing because liquid ink is often treated as a carrier matrices of functional biomolecules in the biological field. The nanoscale patterns produced by DPN, based on biological macromolecules such as proteins and DNA, have been reported.…”

Scalable Single‐Crystalline Organic 1D Arrays for Image Sensor

“…[14,23,24] However, these single-crystalline structures fabricated in the solution process poorly controlled dimension and spatial distribution. Although various solution-processing patterning techniques, such as dip-pen lithography, [25][26][27] solution shearing, [28][29][30] and ink-jet printing, [31][32][33][34] have been developed, trade-offs between long-range order and precision in patterning impede their applications into fabrication of organic single-crystalline microstructure arrays. The fundamental issue is the difficulty in the control of microfluid in the patterning process.…”