Hybrid Thermal Probe and Laser for Direct Writing of Advanced Nano Sensors (HyProLaSens)

为了实现高性能、可重复、稳定的多功能传感器远远超出技术水平，在纳米尺度上制造和原位表征所需的工具和设备尤为重要。在宏观和微观尺度范围内的常用结构工具不能满足所需的小型化，并且不能实现高分辨率。这在灵敏度和精度方面限制了传感器的性能，并缩小了研究能力和研究转移的视角。此外，亚纳米尺度的表面修饰和微调也是开发具有附加功能和增强传感器应用范围的传感器的要求之一。所要求的设备能够通过热扫描探头光刻和激光在多种材料上直接写入来实现纳米器件的非侵入性纳米加工和精确结构，并提供原位成像能力。因此，可以利用分子和生物分子共轭实现具有纳米级分辨率的功能化，具有几个纳米的高度局域分辨率。具体地说，化学传感器因此可以显著小型化，并在毫微摩尔范围内达到低检测极限，以满足关键应用的要求，例如在医疗保健和安全应用中。高度小型化的传感器阵列可以用高灵敏度的传感器实现，这些传感器可以在非侵入性应用中实现，例如用于监测汗液、间质液体和皮肤汗液中的VOCs的可穿戴设备，其中分析物的浓度非常低，干扰的可能性非常高。通过这种新的制造技术，可以通过材料的纳米细化和纳米像素化来提高传感器的灵敏度和选择性。纳米通道结构的高分辨率图案化使其能够检测纳米流体和纳米尺寸传感器中的单个纳米对象，实现纳米栅极和基于纳米材料的单层纳米材料FET晶体管以及高密度纳米像素传感器阵列的纳米GaP。利用无掩模扫描热探针光刻技术，可以实现更多用于光子学、微光学、等离子体和复杂结构的纳米器件，具有x-y分辨率在纳米范围内，z分辨率在亚纳米范围内的低成本和高通量。与电子束光刻等传统纳米光刻技术相比，这种新型设备适合于快速成型和精确成形和定位2D/3D纳米结构。这一设施极大地加强了该大学在“材料和智能系统”方面的研究可能性，并提供了出色的基础设施。可以促进地方、国家和国际合作，启动新的研究和交流项目。

For the realization of high-performance, reproducible, stable multifunctional sensors going significantly beyond the state of the art, necessary tools, and equipment for fabrication and in-situ characterization at the nanoscale are of particularly importance. Common structuring tools in the macro- and microscale range are not satisfying the needed miniaturization and do not realize a high resolution. This restricts the sensor performance in terms of sensitivity and accuracy and narrows the research capabilities and the research transfer perspectives. In addition, modifications and tweaking of the surfaces at sub nanoscale are also one of the requirements in the development of sensors with added functionalities and enhance the range of applications of the sensors. The requested device enables non-invasive nano processing and precise structuring of nano devices by thermal scanning probe lithography and laser direct writing on a multitude of materials and provides in-situ imaging capabilities. A functionalization with nanoscale resolution can be thereby realized with molecules and biomolecule conjugations with a highly localized resolution of a few nanometres. Particularly, chemical sensors can be thereby significantly miniaturized and reach a low limit of detection in the femtomolar range to fulfill the requirements of critical applications, e. g. in health care and safety applications. Highly miniaturized sensor arrays can be realized with highly sensitive sensors that can be implemented in non-invasive applications such as wearables for monitoring of sweat, interstitial fluids, and VOCs from skin perspiration wherein the concentrations of analytes are very low, and the possibility of interferences is very high. By the novel fabrication technique, sensors can be boosted to reach outstanding sensitivity and selectivity by material nano-elaboration and nano-pixelation. The high-resolution patterning of nanochannel structures makes it possible to detect single nanoobjects within nanofluidic and nano-size sensors, to realize nanogaps for nanobatteries and single-layer nanomaterialsbased FET transistors as well as high-density nano pixel sensor arrays. Further nanodevices for the photonics, micro-optics, plasmonics, and complex structures can be realized with the maskfree scanning thermal probe lithography at low-costs and high throughput with an x-y resolution in the nm range and a z-resolution in the sub-nm range. In comparison to conventional nanolithography techniques, like electron beam lithography, the novel device is suitable for rapid prototyping and precisely shaping and locating 2D/3D nanostructures. This facility significantly strengthens the research possibilities at the university within the topical focus on “materials and smart systems” and provides an outstanding infrastructure. Local, national and international cooperation can be boosted to initiate novel research and exchange projects.