Nanoscale, electrified liquid jets for high-resolution printing of charge.
Nearly all research in micro- and nanofabrication focuses on the formation of solid structures of materials that perform some mechanical, electrical, optical, or related function. Fabricating patterns of charges, by contrast, is a much less well explored area that is of separate and growing interesting because the associated electric fields can be exploited to control the behavior of nanoscale electronic and mechanical devices, guide the assembly of nanomaterials, or modulate the properties of biological systems. This paper describes a versatile technique that uses fine, electrified liquid jets formed by electrohydrodynamics at micro- and nanoscale nozzles to print complex patterns of both positive and negative charges, with resolution that can extend into the submicrometer and nanometer regime. The reported results establish the basic aspects of this process and demonstrate the capabilities through printed patterns with diverse geometries and charge configurations in a variety of liquid inks, including suspensions of nanoparticles and nanowires. The use of printed charge to control the properties of silicon nanomembrane transistors provides an application example.
Park
Jang-Ung
JU
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Beckman Institute, and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Lee
Sangkyu
S
Unarunotai
Sakulsuk
S
Sun
Yugang
Y
Dunham
Simon
S
Song
Taeseup
T
Ferreira
Placid M
PM
Alleyene
Andrew G
AG
Paik
Ungyu
U
Rogers
John A
JA
D000838:Anions; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D002412:Cations; D004581:Electronics; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D012666:Semiconductors; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry
D000838:Anions; D002412:Cations; D012825:Silicon