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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Noninvasive, In-pen Approach Test for Laboratory-housed Pigs
Published on: June 5, 2019
Development of Dip-Pen Nanolithography (DPN) and Its Derivatives
Guoqiang Liu1, Michael Hirtz2, Harald Fuchs2,3
1Laboratory for Advanced Interfacial Materials and Devices, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Abstract:
Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) is a unique nanofabrication tool that can directly write a variety of molecular patterns on a surface with high resolution and excellent registration. Over the past 20 years, DPN has experienced a tremendous evolution in terms of applicable inks, a remarkable improvement in fabrication throughput, and the development of various derivative technologies. Among these developments, polymer pen lithography (PPL) is the most prominent one that provides a large-scale, high-throughput, low-cost tool for nanofabrication, which significantly extends DPN and beyond. These developments not only expand the scope of the wide field of scanning probe lithography, but also enable DPN and PPL as general approaches for the fabrication or study of nanostructures and nanomaterials. In this review, a focused summary and historical perspective of the technological development of DPN and its derivatives, with a focus on PPL, in one timeline, are provided and future opportunities for technological exploration in this field are proposed.
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