Enabling Nanomanufacturing via Fast Optical Nanopatterning

通过快速光学纳米图案实现纳米制造

• 批准号: 1400142
• 负责人: Rajesh Menon
• 金额: $ 54.92万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2019-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1400142&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Enabling; Nanomanufacturing; via; Fast; Optical

Top-down nanopatterning is the most effective approach for creating nanostructures of complex geometries and therefore, usually the first step in nanomanufacturing. Unfortunately, conventional approaches to nanopatterning are extremely slow compared to pattern replication. This award supports research that combines a massively parallel architecture and a new method that allows light to define nanostructures far smaller than is otherwise possible. The result is to achieve fast nanopatterning of structures as small as a large molecule. When fast pattern generation is combined with fast pattern replication (such as roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography), a new paradigm for nanomanufacturing arises. This paradigm has the potential to enable entirely new material and device functionalities as it provides exquisite control of structure at the nanoscale in conjunction with such control over macroscopic areas. When brought to fruition, this technology will enable new classes of devices and applications, e.g., light-trapping for thin-film solar-cells, large-area self-cleaning surfaces, anti-microbial surfaces, and large-area metamaterials (e.g., cloaking materials). This award will provide essential training in research that draws upon expertise in multiple disciplines including optics, chemistry, electrical engineering and materials science. The fundamental knowledge generated during this research will be widely disseminated via the commercialization of the new nanopatterning technology. The far-field diffraction limit is a fundamental physical barrier that limits the size of a focused optical beam to approximately half its wavelength. When applied to nanopatterning with visible light, this limit prevents the generation of structures below ~200nm. This project will overcome this limit by using photochromic molecules that can be toggled between two isomeric forms. By exposing a monolayer of such molecules to a spatially varying intensity distribution, a chemical pattern of the two isomers is first formed. Using a stepping stage with nanometric precision, the substrate is then moved relative to the optics. A second exposure to the same illumination toggles the photochromic molecules. By appropriate displacement of the stage, it is possible to leave arbitrarily small regions of molecules (down to the single-molecule level) in one isomeric form compared to the surrounding region. A subsequent locking step may then be used to selectively modify this isomeric form such that it is no longer photochromic. Since everything else on the surface is photochromic, the entire sequence of steps can be repeated to create geometries of arbitrary complexity in a "dot-matrix" fashion. This award will support fundamental research into the design, synthesis and characterization of appropriate photochromic molecules, a new optical system, and related processes.

自上而下的纳米图案化是创建复杂几何形状的纳米结构的最有效方法，因此通常是纳米制造的第一步。不幸的是，与图案复制相比，纳米图案化的常规方法极其缓慢。该奖项支持将大规模并行架构和新方法相结合的研究，该方法允许光定义比其他方法小得多的纳米结构。其结果是实现了小至大分子的结构的快速纳米图案化。当快速图案生成与快速图案复制（例如卷对卷纳米压印光刻）相结合时，纳米制造的新范例出现。这种范例有可能实现全新的材料和器件功能，因为它提供了对纳米级结构的精细控制以及对宏观区域的这种控制。当这项技术实现时，它将使新类别的设备和应用成为可能，例如，用于薄膜太阳能电池、大面积自清洁表面、抗微生物表面和大面积超材料（例如，隐身材料）。该奖项将提供必要的研究培训，利用包括光学，化学，电气工程和材料科学在内的多个学科的专业知识。在这项研究中产生的基础知识将通过新的纳米图案技术的商业化而广泛传播。 远场衍射极限是一个基本的物理屏障，它将聚焦光束的大小限制在大约其波长的一半。当应用于可见光的纳米图案化时，这个限制阻止了低于~ 200 nm的结构的产生。该项目将通过使用可以在两种异构形式之间切换的光致变色分子来克服这一限制。通过将单层此类分子暴露于空间变化的强度分布，首先形成两种异构体的化学图案。使用具有纳米精度的步进台，然后相对于光学器件移动衬底。第二次暴露于相同的照明切换光致变色分子。通过适当地移动载物台，可以使任意小的分子区域（低至单分子水平）与周围区域相比以一种异构形式存在。随后的锁定步骤可用于选择性地修饰该异构形式，使得其不再是光致变色的。由于表面上的其他所有东西都是光致变色的，因此可以重复整个步骤序列，以“点阵”方式创建任意复杂的几何形状。该奖项将支持基础研究的设计，合成和表征适当的光致变色分子，一个新的光学系统，以及相关的过程。