Self-positioning Microspheres for Direct-write Nanolithography using Bessel Beam Optical Traps

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。 光阱辅助纳米光刻技术是一种在不同类型表面上提供高分辨率纳米级快速成型的新技术。 小塑料珠，用作脉冲激光加工的近场透镜，被放置在靠近表面的光阱。 来自光向下推动悬浮在液体中的珠子的力被从表面向上推动的排斥力平衡，允许珠子到达表面附近的平衡位置，并使人们能够以计算机控制的精度移动它们。 微珠阵列为纳米制造应用提供了高通量并行处理，而不需要对每个微珠进行主动反馈和监测。 在这项研究中，珠，表面和解决方案之间的基本相互作用进行了实验和理论研究，以了解配置的基本物理，提供了一个直接的路径，提高速度和可扩展性，并扩大这一新兴技术的适用性，以其他新的和令人兴奋的系统。 该项目的结果将对直接写入纳米制造领域以及其他重要领域产生重大影响，这些领域中出现了不同环境下珠子和表面之间的相互作用，例如生物学，能源，胶体科学，甚至消费食品和护肤品。 鉴于广泛的吸引力，计划开展一些重要的教育活动，包括为社区科学博物馆和基于网络的项目开发模块。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Optical trap-assisted nanolithography is a novel technique providing high resolution nanoscale rapid prototyping over different types of surfaces. Small plastic beads, used as near-field lenses for pulsed-laser processing, are placed in close proximity to a surface by means of an optical trap. The force from the light pushing down on the beads suspended in liquid is balanced by a repelling force pushing up from the surface allowing the beads to reach an equilibrium position near the surface and enabling one to move them with computer-controlled accuracy. Arrays of beads provide high-throughput parallel-processing for nanomanufacturing applications without the need for active feedback and monitoring of each bead. In this study, the fundamental interactions among the bead, surface, and solution are examined experimentally and theoretically in order to understand the underlying physics of the configuration, providing a direct path toward improved speed and scalability and expanding the applicability of this emerging technique to other new and exciting systems. The results of this project will have a significant impact on the field of direct-write nanomanufacturing as well as other important areas in which interactions between a bead and a surface under different environments appear, such as biology, energy, colloidal sciences, or even consumer foods and skin care products. Given the broad appeal, a number of important educational activities are planned including module development for community science museums and web based projects.