Collaborative Research: Pattern Transfer Nanomanufacturing with Magnetically-Recorded Nanotemplates

该合作研究项目的最终目标是测试磁记录可用于将纳米材料组装成复杂的2D和3D结构的假设，并为快速低成本的纳米制造提供了一条有前途的路线。 该方法是使用磁记录介质（即现代硬盘驱动器中的盘片）来指导磁性纳米颗粒的组装。然后将薄聚合物膜涂覆到表面上，并且将沉积的颗粒剥离，同时保持该写入图案。 这种变革性的纳米制造方法采用来自磁记录图案的纳米级力，将载液中的纳米颗粒组装成磁盘驱动器盘片表面上的设计纳米结构。然后用聚合物旋涂纳米颗粒组件，并将基质从磁盘表面剥离，将纳米级图案转移到柔性透明膜上。虽然这一概念已经得到证明，但将其商业化的关键挑战仍然存在。控制这一概念将通过理解组装如何依赖于原始纳米材料来扩展：纳米颗粒形状，大小，磁矩和表面功能化，以及流体组装过程的动力学，纳米级定位的变化和记录过程的基本限制。 该合作项目的结构允许工艺和原材料之间的持续反馈，以建立商业发布所需的稳定性。此外，将探索新的扩展，增加功能，包括组装不同的纳米粒子物种在一个单一的层，并结合多层和膜成更复杂的，纳米结构的材料。为了实现这些目标，该项目分为三个主要任务组：1。 纳米粒子合成和组装相互作用控制，2。100 nm以下尺寸尺度的组装和计量，以及3.指导复杂系统的组装，外加一个专注于协作教育和推广的小组。这些组件的重点是克服技术的可扩展性的关键障碍，开发加工和过程计量工具，并创建新的，复杂的系统，以增加商业相关性。该项目将建立对这一尚未开发的技术的理解，以评估和克服在制造环境中实施的主要障碍。通过优化自下而上的纳米结构组装的商业磁记录，一种创新的廉价技术将可用于更广泛的纳米技术社区，用于制造新设备，包括光电元件，新型生物材料和未来能源技术的材料。考虑到目前制造磁记录组件的规模和成本，成功地将这种方法扩展到商业纳米制造的杠杆作用是巨大的。有机会应用当前的技术，使未来的制造，结合了解社区结构，抑制纳米商业化，为项目研究人员提供了一个独特的和广泛的教育经验。在南加州大学和克莱姆森，在南卡罗来纳州的主要研究型大学的学生，将通过最近的试点课程，开发对制造技术的技术和历史的观点，以促进创新和创造新的参与。

The ultimate goal of this collaborative research project is to test the hypothesis that magnetic recording can be used to direct the assembly of nanomaterials into complex 2D and 3D structures, and offers a promising route towards rapid and low-cost nanomanufacturing. The approach is to use magnetic recording media (i.e. platters found in modern hard drives) to direct the assembly of magnetic nanoparticles. A thin polymeric film is then coated onto the surface, and the deposited particles are lifted off while maintaining this written pattern. This transformative approach to nanomanufacturing employs nanoscale forces from magnetically-recorded patterns to assemble nanoparticles from a carrier fluid into de-signed nanostructures on the surface of a disk drive platter. The nanoparticle assembly is then spin-coated with a polymer and the matrix is peeled from the disk surface, transferring the nanoscale patterns to a flexible, transparent film. While this concept has been demonstrated, key challenges to commercializing it remain. Control of this concept will be extended by understanding how the assembly depends on the raw nanomaterials: nanoparticle shape, size, magnetic moment, and surface functionalization, in addition to the kinetics of the fluidic assembly process, variances in nanoscale positioning, and the fundamental limits of the recording process. This collaborative project is structured to allow continuous feedback between process and raw materials to build stability needed for commercial launch. In addition, novel extensions will be explored that add functionality, including assembly of different nanoparticle species within a single layer, and combining multiple layers and films into more complex, nanostructured materials. To accomplish these goals the project is divided into three main task groups: 1. Nanoparticle synthesis and assembly interaction control, 2. Assembly and metrology below 100 nm size scales, and 3. Directed assembly of complex systems, plus an additional group focused on collaborative education and outreach. These components focus on overcoming key roadblocks to the technology's scalability, developing the tools for processing and process metrology, and creating novel, complex systems to increase commercial relevance.This project will build understanding of this undeveloped technology to assess and overcome the major hurdles to implementation in a manufacturing environment. By optimizing commercial magnetic recording for bottom-up nanostructure assembly, an innovative class of inexpensive techniques will be available to the wider nanotechnology community for manufacturing new devices, including optoelectronic components, novel biomaterials, and materials for future energy technologies. Given the scale and cost at which magnetic recording components are presently manufactured, the leverage to succeed in scaling this approach to commercial nanomanufacturing is tremendous. The opportunity to apply current technology to enable future manufacturing, combined with understanding the community structures which inhibit nano-commercialization, offers a unique and broad educational experience for the project researchers. Students at both USC and Clemson, the primary research universities in South Carolina, will participate through a recently piloted course that develops a technical and historical perspective on manufactured technologies, to foster innovation and create new ones.