NER: Development of a Nano-lithography Based Manufacturing Protocol for Polymer Nanofluidic Platforms

这项纳米科学与工程(NER)拨款是为了开发一种基于新的纳米光刻工艺和超精密运动控制技术相结合的纳米制造协议。这种仪器能够在薄的聚合物层上经济地产生纳米级(10~100 nm)的清晰的孔或通道。本项目将进行探索性研究，以验证设计理念。如果这一概念被成功证明，调查人员将为原型制造仪器的制造、表征和测试编写后续建议。还将研究利用该仪器产生的明确特征的纳米尺度传输现象(即纳米流体)。应用纳米制造技术来制造精确设计的微型器件是一个令人兴奋的研究挑战。已经探索的制造图案化纳米结构的策略包括利用光子(X射线或EUV)、粒子(电子束或离子束)和扫描探针进行光刻。X射线和电子束光刻(EBL)是昂贵和高能的技术。对于IC行业中的微处理器和存储器等大批量制造来说，它们可能是负担得起的。然而，对于具有非常广泛的产品需求和相对较短的产品寿命的市场，如生物医学领域，开发能够在多种材料中写入和复制纳米结构的成本效益方法是至关重要的。扫描探针光刻(SPL)和相关的复制方法代表了最有前途的技术，其经济性可能优于基于光子或粒子的技术。这些新兴的光刻技术针对的是微电子应用，在这些应用中，只需要低纵横比，生物兼容性不是问题。对于许多医疗和化学应用，迫切需要开发新的制造方法，能够制造出具有高长径比和纳米特征的聚合物和金属器件。

This Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NER) grant is to develop a nano-manufacturing protocol based on the combination of a novel nano-lithography process and an ultra precision motion control technology. This instrument is capable of economically producing well-defined pores or channels in the nanometer scale (10~100 nm) on thin polymer layers. Exploratory research to prove the design concept will be carried out in this project. If the concept is successfully demonstrated, the investigators will write a follow-up proposal for fabrication, characterization, and testing of a prototype manufacturing instrument. The nano-scale transport phenomena (i.e. nanofluidics) using the well-defined features generated by this instrument will also be studied.The application of nano-fabrication technology to create precisely designed miniature devices represents an exciting research challenge. Strategies that have been explored for fabricating patterned nanostructures include lithography with photons (X-ray or EUV), particles (electron or ion beams) and scanning probes. X-ray and electron beam lithography (EBL) are expensive and high energy techniques. For large-throughput manufacturing like microprocessors and memories in the IC industry, they may be affordable. However, for markets with very broad product needs and relatively short product lifetimes as in the bio-medical field, the development of cost-effective methods that are capable of writing and replicating nanostructures in a wide range of materials is essential. The scanning probe lithography (SPL) and associated replication methods represent the most promising technology that may have economics superior to those based on photons or particles. These emerging lithography technologies are aimed at micro-electronic applications in which only a low aspect ratio is needed and bio-compatibility is not an issue. For many medical and chemical applications, there is an urgent need to develop new manufacturing methods that can fabricate polymer and metal devices with a high aspect ratio and nano-sized features.