title: The evolution of dip-pen nanolithography.
abstract: The ability to tailor the chemical composition and structure of a surface on the 1-100 nm length scale is important to researchers studying topics ranging from electronic conduction, to catalysis, to biological recognition in nanoscale systems. Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) is a new scanning-probe based direct-write tool for generating such surface-patterned chemical functionality on the sub-100 nm length-scale, and it is a technique that is accessible to any researcher who can use an atomic force microscope. This article introduces DPN and reviews the rapid growth of the field of DPN-related research over the past few years. Topics covered range from the development of new classes of DPN-compatible chemistry, to experimental and theoretical advances in the understanding of the processes controlling tip-substrate ink transport, to the implementation of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) based strategies for parallel DPN applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ginger
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chad A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mirkin
mesh_terms: D036103:Nanotechnology; D013499:Surface Properties