Multifunctional cantilever-free scanning probe arrays coated with multilayer graphene

• Main Authors: Shim, W., Zhou, X., Rasin, B., Liao, X., Brown, Keith A., Mirkin, Chad A.
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science & Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/98253; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/12342
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Scanning probe instruments have expanded beyond their traditional role as imaging or “reading” tools and are now routinely used for “writing.” Although a variety of scanning probe lithography techniques are available, each one imposes different requirements on the types of probes that must be used. Additionally, throughput is a major concern for serial writing techniques, so for a scanning probe lithography technique to become widely applied, there needs to be a reasonable path toward a scalable architecture. Here, we use a multilayer graphene coating method to create multifunctional massively parallel probe arrays that have wear-resistant tips of uncompromised sharpness and high electrical and thermal conductivities. The optical transparency and mechanical flexibility of graphene allow this procedure to be used for coating exceptionally large, cantilever-free arrays that can pattern with electrochemical desorption and thermal, in addition to conventional, dip-pen nanolithography.