We report the formation of thiol nanopatterns on SAM covered silicon wafers by converting sulfonic acid head groups via e-beam lithography. These thiol groups act as binding sites for gold nanoparticles, which can be enhanced to form electrically conducting nanostructures. This approach serves as a proof-of-concept for the combination of top-down and bottom-up processes for the generation of electrical devices on silicon.

SummaryThe fabrication of periodic arrays of single metal nanoparticles is of great current interest. In this paper we present a straight-forward three-step procedure based on chemical electron beam lithography, which is capable of producing such arrays with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Preformed 6 nm AuNPs are immobilised on thiol patterns with a pitch of 100 nm by guided self-assembly. Afterwards, these arrays are characterised by using atomic force microscopy.

Precise patterning of inorganic materials is important for many technological applications. Often lithography processes are required on challenging substrates with respect to topography, flexibility, and surface adhesion. Here we show the fabrication of artificial gunshot residues (GSR) on adhesive tape samples by means of dip-pen lithography as an example for fine lithography on coarse substrates. We deposited lead-, barium-, and antimony-containing inks on SEM adhesive tape by direct writing with a fine tip. Single as well as multiple element structures with dimensions in the range of 10-75 µm were fabricated.