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Polymer Patterning with Self-Heating Atomic Force Microscope Probes
[Image: see text] Scanning probe-assisted patterning methods already demonstrated a high degree of capabilities on submicrometer scales. However, the throughput is still far from its potential because of complexity or fragility of the probes for exploiting thermal effects, chemical reactions, and vo...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
American Chemical
Society
2019
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6755611/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31411884 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.9b06056 |
Sumario: | [Image: see text] Scanning probe-assisted patterning methods already demonstrated a high degree of capabilities on submicrometer scales. However, the throughput is still far from its potential because of complexity or fragility of the probes for exploiting thermal effects, chemical reactions, and voltage-induced processes in various patterning operations. Here, we present a new approach to thermomechanical patterning by implementing a multitasking atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe: the functionalized planar probes. In this method, we can generate a tunable thermal gradient between the tip and the sample, wherein they remain in the noncontact regime. In principle, the capillary instability provoked by the van der Waals interaction yields a pull-off force toward the tip. Hence, locally rising protrusions form features at any selected position on a polymer surface without any chemical reaction or irreversible transformation. These multitasking probe-integrated AFMs can pave the way for a remarkable freedom in determining the operation regime on submicrometer surface-patterning applications. |
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