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Dirk Burdinski

Publications and source records attributed to Dirk Burdinski.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Oxidized gold as an ultrathin etch resist applied in microcontact printing.

In this report it is described how a gold surface can be treated with an oxygen plasma to become an effective etch mask, with its etch resistive properties based upon electrostatic repulsion. Such a treated gold layer is only temporarily stable and may therefore be employed as a temporary etch barrier that introduces no contaminating species. Deterioration of the barrier properties can be locally expedited in a scheme that is compatible with microcontact printing. This has been achieved by the microcontact printing of a reductant on a fully oxidized gold substrate.

Journal Article↗

Ink dependence of poly(dimethylsiloxane) contamination in microcontact printing.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is the most widely used stamp material in microcontact printing. It has excellent properties with respect to versatility, chemical inertness, and mechanical stability. However, it has an inclination to contaminate printed substrates with low molecular weight siloxane fragments. In this study, it is shown, by a combination of lateral force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, that the extent of the PDMS-induced contamination is dependent on the nature of the ink used. The highest degree of contamination was found for relatively polar inks, whereas apolar alkanethiol inks were found to shield the substrate from contamination. This is interpreted in terms of the contaminating species being polar in nature.

Journal Article↗

Positive microcontact printing with mercaptoalkyloligo(ethylene glycol)s.

The soft lithographic replication of patterns with a low filling ratio by microcontact printing (microCP) is problematic due to the poor mechanical stability of common elastomeric stamps. A recently described strategy to avoid this problem employs a modified patterning method, positive microcontact printing ((+)microCP), in which a stamp with a mechanically more stable inverted relief pattern is used. In contrast to conventional negative microCP ((-)microCP), in the contact areas a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) is printed of a "positive ink", which provides only minor etch protection, whereas the noncontacted areas are subsequently covered with a different, etch-resistant SAM, prior to development by chemical etching. With the aim to identify novel, highly versatile positive inks, the patterning of gold by (+)microCP with mercaptoalkyloligo(ethylene glycol)s (MAOEGs), the subsequent adsorption of octadecanethiol (ODT), and the final development by wet chemical etching have now been studied. A polydisperse mixture of mercaptoundecylocta(ethylene glycol) derivatives was found to provide the best patterning results. The surface spreading of the positive ink during stamping, the exchange of printed MAOEGs with ODT, and the choice of the right etching bath were identified as key parameters that influence the achievable pattern resolution and contrast. Due to the modular composition of functionalized alkyloligo(ethylene glycol) derivatives, (+)microCP with these positive inks has the potential for easy adaptation to a variety of materials and development conditions.

Ethylene Glycols↗

Edge transfer lithography using alkanethiol inks.

Edge lithographic patterning techniques are based on the utilization of the edges of micrometer-sized template features for the reproduction of submicrometer structures. Edge transfer lithography (ETL) permits local surface modification in a single step by depositing self-assembled monolayers onto a metal substrate selectively along the feature edges of an elastomeric stamp. In this report two stamp designs are described that now allow for the use of alkanethiol inks in ETL and their use as etch resists to reproduce submicrometer structures in gold. Anisotropically modified stamps are shown to combine the potential for very high-resolution patterning with the versatility and simplicity of microcontact printing.

Alkanes↗

Single etch patterning of stacked silver and molybdenum alloy layers on glass using microcontact wave printing.

Stacked thin layers of silver alloy (AgPdCu) and MoCr layers on 10 x 15 cm2 glass substrates were patterned by microcontact wave printing and etching. Patterns of etch-resistant octadecanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were wave printed with regular backplane stabilized PDMS stamps. Pattern development was achieved by etching both metal layers in a single step, employing a nitric acid-based etching bath. Trifluoroacetic acid and a nitrite salt were identified as essential bath components for a homogeneous etching process. Etch defects could be eliminated by the addition of a decanesulfonate, which stabilizes the SAM resist via a defect healing mechanism.

Journal Article↗

Chemically patterned flat stamps for microcontact printing.

Locally oxidized patterns on flat poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamps for microcontact printing were used as a platform for the transfer of a hydrophilic fluorescent ink to a glass substrate. The contrast was found to be limited. These locally oxidized patterns were conversely used as barriers for the transfer of hydrophobic n-octadecanethiol. In this case a good contrast was obtained, but the pattern was found to be susceptible to defects (cracks) in the barrier layer. Local stamp surface oxidation and subsequent modification with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane, for use as a barrier in the transfer of n-octadecanethiol, 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid, and octanethiol, resulted in remarkably good contrast and stable patterns. The improved ink transfer control is ascribed to the reduction of undesired surface spreading and a superior mechanical stability of the stamp pattern. This new approach substantially expands the applicability of microcontact printing and provides a tool for the faithful reproduction of even extremely low filling ratio patterns.

Journal Article↗

Spreading of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid in microcontact printing.

Spreading in microcontact printing refers to the process or processes by which the ink molecules end up in the parts of the substrate that are adjacent to the contacted areas but which are not contacted themselves. This has been investigated for different inking concentrations of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA). Spreading of MHDA takes place with retention of a well-defined demarcation. Feature sizes can be controlled by varying the contact times. Spreading, however, only takes place beyond a certain threshold concentration. For low ink concentrations the edges of stamp features dominate the ink transfer. For these low concentrations the extent of this edge dominance depends strongly on ink concentration rather than on contact time. These observations indicate a dominant role of the stamp surface in the processes of pattern formation and spreading.

Journal Article↗