Charging process and Coulomb-force-directed printing of nanoparticles with sub-100-nm lateral resolution

This article reports on a new charging process and Coulomb-force-directed assembly of nanoparticles onto charged surface areas with sub-100-nm resolution. The charging is accomplished using a flexible nanostructured thin silicon electrode. Electrical nanocontacts have been created as small as 50 nm by placing the nanostructured electrode onto an electret surface. The nanocontacts have been used to inject charge into 50 nm sized areas. Nanoparticles were assembled onto the charge patterns, and a lateral resolution of 60 nm has been observed for the first time. A comparison of the nanoparticle patterns with the surface potential distribution recorded by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM) revealed a mismatch in the lateral resolution. One possible explanation is that nanoparticles may visualize charge patterns at a sub-60-nm length scale that is not well resolved using KFM.