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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Micropunching Lithography for Generating Micro- and Submicron-patterns on Polymer Substrates
Published on: July 2, 2012
Polymer-Pen Chemical Lift-Off Lithography
Xiaobin Xu1,2, Qing Yang1,2, Kevin M Cheung1,2
1California NanoSystems Institute, ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, §Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and ∥Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Health, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States.
We developed polymer-pen chemical lift-off lithography (PPCLL) for precise nanoscale patterning. This method enables high-throughput fabrication of functional microarrays without a scanning stage.
Area of Science:
- Nanofabrication
- Materials Science
- Surface Chemistry
Background:
- Chemical lift-off lithography (CLL) is a key nanofabrication technique.
- Existing methods often require complex scanning stages for high precision.
- Developing scalable and precise patterning methods is crucial for microarrays.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel hybrid patterning strategy: polymer-pen chemical lift-off lithography (PPCLL).
- To demonstrate PPCLL's capability for high-resolution, tunable line width patterning.
- To develop a stamp support system for enhanced precision and throughput.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of large arrays of polymer pens with sub-20 nm tips.
- Development of a stamp support system using taller, flat-tipped polymer pens.
- Utilizing v-shaped polymer pens with controlled height differences for precise positioning.
- Performing simulations to understand the relationship between pen geometry and line width.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated PPCLL patterning using pyramidal and v-shaped polymer-pen arrays.
- Achieved linear-array patterns of alkanethiols with tunable line widths (sub-50 nm to sub-500 nm) and sub-20 nm increments.
- Simulations accurately predicted line widths based on pen geometry and compression.
- Successfully created functional microarrays by patterning DNA, confirmed by hybridization.
Conclusions:
- PPCLL offers a precise and potentially high-throughput alternative to traditional scanning stages for nanofabrication.
- The developed stamp support system enhances precision and leveling capabilities.
- PPCLL is suitable for fabricating functional microarrays for applications like DNA detection.
