Mechanical lithography in a polymer substrate using AFM in contact mode

Mechanical lithography in a polymer substrate. Contact mode. NTEGRA Prima (NT-MDT) device. NSG 01 probe.
In one of the easier lithographic techniques that can be implemented with an atomic force microscope, the probe tip is displaced under relatively strong loading forces, removing portions of compliant material along its path. This technique uses the plowing principle in the same way as a traditional tool: material is removed from the ground in a strictly defined manner, leaving a deep "excavation" with the desired layout. The presented results refer to the demonstration application of this type of lithography, however, the demonstrated technique can also be used in scientific applications, such as manipulation of graphene structures: B. Vasić, M. Kratzer, A. Matković, A. Nevosad, U. Ralević, D. Jovanović, C. Ganser, C. Teichert, R. Gajić, Atomic force microscopy-based manipulation of graphene using dynamic plowing lithography, Nanotechnology. 24 (2012) 15303. doi:10.1088/0957-4484/24/1/015303. File contains 4 images.