nl5b04524_si_006.avi (2.45 MB)
Bubble-Pen Lithography
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posted on 2016-01-13, 00:00 authored by Linhan Lin, Xiaolei Peng, Zhangming Mao, Wei Li, Maruthi
N. Yogeesh, Bharath Bangalore Rajeeva, Evan P. Perillo, Andrew K. Dunn, Deji Akinwande, Yuebing ZhengCurrent
lithography techniques, which employ photon, electron, or ion beams
to induce chemical or physical reactions for micro/nano-fabrication,
have remained challenging in patterning chemically synthesized colloidal
particles, which are emerging as building blocks for functional devices.
Herein, we develop a new technique - bubble-pen lithography (BPL)
- to pattern colloidal particles on substrates using optically controlled
microbubbles. Briefly, a single laser beam generates a microbubble
at the interface of colloidal suspension and a plasmonic substrate
via plasmon-enhanced photothermal effects. The microbubble captures
and immobilizes the colloidal particles on the substrate through coordinated
actions of Marangoni convection, surface tension, gas pressure, and
substrate adhesion. Through directing the laser beam to move the microbubble,
we create arbitrary single-particle patterns and particle assemblies
with different resolutions and architectures. Furthermore, we have
applied BPL to pattern CdSe/ZnS quantum dots on plasmonic substrates
and polystyrene (PS) microparticles on two-dimensional (2D) atomic-layer
materials. With the low-power operation, arbitrary patterning and
applicability to general colloidal particles, BPL will find a wide
range of applications in microelectronics, nanophotonics, and nanomedicine.