DPN Technology / What is DPN?
What is DPN®?
Dip Pen Nanolithography® (DPN) is an established method of nanofabrication in which materials are deposited onto a surface via a sharp probe tip. Molecules are transferred from the tip to the surface through a water meniscus which forms in ambient conditions as the tip nears the surface.
DPN enables controlled deposition of a variety of nanoscale materials onto many different substrates. The vehicle for deposition can include pyramidal scanning probe microscope tips, hollow tips, and even tips on thermally actuated cantilevers. Recent advances have demonstrated scalability of the technique with arrays of tips leading to true massive parallelization with up to 55,000 tips.
The transfer of a molecular 'ink' from a coated scanning force microscopy tip to a substrate was first reported by Manfred Jaschke and Hans-Juergen Butt in 1995. The technique was further developed by a research group at Northwestern University led by Professor Chad Mirkin, who also introduced the term "DPN."
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| DPN is the nanoscale analog of a dip pen or quill pen, in which the tip of an AFM cantilever acts as a "pen," which is coated with a chemical compound or mixture acting as an "ink," and put in contact with a substrate, the "paper." |
DPN Features and Highlights
There are several different lithography techniques available for research, each with its own specialty or benefit. The versatility of Dip Pen Nanolithography offers a number of benefits over other techniques, making it a leading method of nanofabrication.
DPN benefits and highlights include:
- Resolution: Features sizes as small as 14nm
- Accuracy: 5 nm spatial resolution
- Precision: Automated nanoscale registry
- Material Flexibility: Wide range of inks can be deposited onto a variety of different surfaces
- Approaches: Top down and bottom up, direct write and change patterns on the fly
- Speed: Scalability with multiple probe arrays
- Affordable: Low start up and maintenance costs
- Multiplexing: Multiple ink deposition onto the same substrate
- Operate in Ambient Conditions: No UHV necessary—no clean room needed
- Optimized Performance: Custom instrumentation and MEMS devices specifically for DPN
Comparing Nanopatterning Techniques: DPN's Competitive Advantages
| APPROACH | TOP DOWN | ENABLES BOTH TOP DOWN AND BOTTOM UP | BOTTOM UP | ||||
| NanoPatterning Technique | Photolithography | E-beam Lithography | NanoImprint Lithography | Dip Pen Nanolithography | MicroContact Printing | Scanning Tunneling Microscopy | |
| Serial/Parallel | Parallel | Serial | Parallel | Serial or Parallel | Parallel | Serial | |
| Material Flexibility | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Limited | |
| Resolution | ~35 nm | ~15 nm | ~10 nm | 14 nm | ~100 nm | Atomic? | |
| Registration Accuracy | High | High | High | Extremely High | Low | Extremely High | |
| Speed | Very Fast | Moderate | Fast | Slower, but scalable | Fast | Very Slow | |
| Cycle Time | Weeks | Days? | Days-Week | Hours-Change on the Fly | Days-Week | Days-Week | |
| Cost | Purchase | > $10 M | > $1 M | > $500 K | < $350 K | ~$200 K | > $250 K |
| Operation | High-Masks | High | Moderate-Molds | Low | Moderate-Masks | Low | |
