Hybrid Nanopatterning Techniques Utilizing Chemical Self-Assembly

Patterning strategies that combine conventional top-down lithographic techniques with molecular self-assembly show significant promise. These hybrid strategies are of particular interest because they couple a key aspect afforded by conventional lithography, the ability to create complex architectures over large areas, to the flexibility and resolution afforded by molecular self-assembly. We described two such hybrid techniques based on mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The first technique combines the molecular ruler process with local nanoshaving using an AFM tip to create nanowires that span well-defined nanogaps. The second technique seeks to extend nanoshaving to Si substrates by using an organosilane SAM to begin the multilayer growth.