Introduction to Nanolithography

A manufacturing process where a material is removed from a substrate to create a desired pattern.

Creating structures by assembling atoms and molecules, like building with Lego blocks.

A method of creating patterns on a material using light, primarily ultraviolet light.

A high-resolution method of creating patterns using a focused beam of electrons.

A technique that uses a mold to transfer a pattern onto a material.

A method of creating nanoscale patterns using a sharp tip to manipulate a surface.

A famous talk by Richard Feynman in 1959 that encouraged development of bottom-up nanotechnology.

A technique for creating nanoscale patterns using a mold or stamp to transfer a pattern onto a surface.

NIL uses a mold to transfer a pattern by pressing it into a material.

In NIL, a thermoplastic material is heated and pressed against the mold to form a copy of the pattern.

Self-assembling molecules are 'inked' onto the mold and then transferred to a surface, leaving behind the desired pattern.

NIL is a low-cost and high-throughput technique, meaning it can produce large numbers of patterns quickly and affordably.

NIL can achieve resolutions down to 10 nanometers, making it useful for creating extremely small features.

The original mold in NIL needs to be produced using a different lithographic technique.

NIL is a versatile technique used in various fields like electronics, photonics, and biotechnology.

NIL is a very powerful technique since it allows for high-resolution, high-throughput production of nano-scale patterns.

Electromagnetic waves that decay exponentially as they travel away from a surface. The amplitude of these waves decreases rapidly with distance from the surface, meaning they exist only close to the surface.

A device that splits a light beam into two or more beams, often used to direct light to different parts of an optical system.

A specialized fiber optic cable that delivers light to a specific point in a system. Often used in microscopy to illuminate samples.

A component used to regulate the force exerted by a sharp tip, commonly used in atomic force microscopy (AFM).

A control for the voltage applied in the X-direction in a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) system. This helps move the probe horizontally across the sample surface.

A control for the voltage applied in the Y-direction in a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) system. It allows for vertical movement of the probe.

A control for the voltage applied in the Z-direction in a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) system. It lets you control the distance between the probe and the sample.

A component used to scan the surface of a sample in microscopy. It typically uses piezoelectric materials that expand and contract when a voltage is applied.

A device that collects and amplifies light signal emitted from a sample, commonly used in confocal microscopy or fluorescence microscopy.

A device that gathers and processes data from a microscopy experiment, often used to display and analyze images.

A method of creating nanoscale patterns using a sharp tip to directly manipulate a surface.

SPL is flexible and can be tailored by choosing the right tip-surface interaction for the material being manipulated.

SPL allows for a single-step process, creating the desired pattern directly in one go.

One major disadvantage is the limited area that can be patterned at one time.

A technique used in nanoscale fabrication that uses a modified atomic force microscope (AFM) tip to create patterns by physically removing molecules from the surface of a material.

A specially designed AFM tip is used in nanoshaving, which is sharp enough to exert the pressure needed to break chemical bonds and remove molecules from the surface.

The AFM tip is controlled to move across the surface of the material at a specific location, removing molecules in a desired pattern.

The AFM technique is applied to selectively remove molecules, creating patterned structures on the surface.

The protein used in the nanoshaving technique can be attached to specific locations on the surface by bringing the surface in contact with a solution containing the protein.

By exposing only certain areas of the surface to UV light using a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM), nanoscale patterns can be created.

Different fluorescent proteins can be used sequentially in the nanoshaving process to create more complex multilayer patterns.

The patterns created by nanoshaving are imaged using a confocal microscope, which allows for the visualization of different fluorescent proteins in distinct colors.

The process of nanoshaving involves removing material from a surface using an AFM tip, whereas top-down fabrication methods typically involve removing material from a bulk substrate.

The use of a specialized AFM tip and the ability to selectively remove molecules from a surface make nanoshaving a unique approach for nanofabrication.