Nanoprinting

Nanoprinting is a class of techniques that create or deposit patterns and structures at the nanometer scale. It encompasses both top-down approaches that sculpt features with high resolution and additive or directed-assembly methods that place nanoscale materials into designed architectures. Feature sizes typically range from tens of nanometers to a few hundred nanometers, with some methods capable of sub-10-nanometer precision.

Common approaches include electron-beam lithography (EBL), which writes patterns directly with a focused electron beam; nanoimprint lithography (NIL), which embosses a stamp into a resist to replicate patterns at high throughput; dip-pen nanolithography (DPN), which uses an atomic force microscopy tip to deliver molecules onto a surface; scanning probe and nano-contact lithography; two-photon polymerization (2PP) for three-dimensional nanoscale structures; and nanoscale inkjet or nanoparticle ink printing for additive patterning on surfaces. Materials used range from metals and semiconductors to polymers and ceramics, and techniques often combine lithography with self-assembly to achieve complex nanoscale motifs.

Applications span microelectronics, photonics, plasmonics, and metamaterials, as well as biosensing, imaging, and biomedical devices. Nanoprinting enables high-resolution patterning for nanoscale transistors, waveguides, sensors, and nanostructured surfaces with unique optical or catalytic properties. Limitations include relatively slow throughput for some maskless methods, higher equipment costs, defect and alignment control, and substrate compatibility requirements. Characterization commonly relies on atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and surface analysis techniques to verify feature size and pattern fidelity.

Ongoing developments focus on improving speed, reliability, material diversity, and multi-material nanoscale fabrication, as well as integrating nanoprinting with complementary lithography and self-assembly methods.