Plasmonic Nanofocusing Scanning Probe for Controlled Nanomanufacturing

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The research objective of this award is to provide a scanning probe-based, laser-assisted, cost-effective and controllable nanomanufacturing tool with sub-5nm resolution. The approach will be to develop a novel near-field scanning probe to concentrate optical energy by directly fabricating a nanometer-sized photonic confinement structure on a patterned silicon probe tip, and to use the probe for efficient laser light transmission and coupling at the nanoscale. The key technologies involve the fabrication of multi-layer optical phase gratings on the probe tip, and experimental characterization of probe actuation and light concentration on the probe tip. The focused laser beam out of the probe tip allows one to manipulate nanostructures, such as quantum dots, nanotubes and nanowires, on a variety of substrates. The new scanning probe can be batch fabricated in an array format, with the potential to be integrated in a commercial near-field scanning optical microscope so that one can detect the nanostructures during manufacturing. If successful, this research will have a significant impact on the field of manufacturing integrated bio-nanosystems. It will pave the way for future development of a variety of hybrid nanoscale devices and systems critical to future electronics, healthcare, pharmaceutical and defense applications. The educational objective of this proposal is to train the next generation of bioengineers to configure nanoscale structures to dissect basic scientific phenomena at the cellular and molecular levels through developing undergraduate teaching modules, research training program and creating an online learning center and workshops.