Patterning Nanomaterials on Fragile Micromachined Structures using Electron Beam Lithography
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Patterning Nanomaterials on Fragile Micromachined Structures using Electron Beam Lithography Kaushik Das, Pascal Hubert, and Srikar Vengallatore Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada ABSTRACT Integration of nanomaterials (in the form of quantum dots, nanotubes, nanowires, nanocrystalline thin films, and nanocomposite films) with micromachined structures and devices has the potential to enable the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) with enhanced functionality and improved performance. Here, we present a fabrication approach that combines spray-coating of electron beam resist with direct-write electron beam lithography to pattern nanomaterials on fragile micromachined components. Polymers and metallic structures in the form of arrays of holes, concentric circles, and arrays of lines, with critical dimensions ranging from 135 nm to 500 nm, were patterned directly on various micromachined structures including commercial metal-coated silicon microcantilevers used for atomic force microscopy, and commercial plate-mode SiC/AlN microresonators used for sensing.
INTRODUCTION During the last two decades, there has been tremendous progress in the synthesis and characterization of a wide variety of nanomaterials [1]. Nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes, nanocrystalline thin films, and nanocomposite thin films can be fabricated using organic synthesis, self-assembly, nanofabrication, or a combination of these methods. Nanomaterials are excellent candidates for fundamental studies of materials science because many of their physical and chemical properties are significantly different from those exhibited by their bulk counterparts [1]. In turn, understanding the effects of size on process-structure-property relationships can open up new opportunities for exploiting nanomaterials in engineering applications. These opportunities for scientific studies and technological applications are the primary motivation for efforts to integrate nanomaterials with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). These miniaturized systems are used for a diverse array of applications ranging from sensing and displays to portable power generation and medicine. The performance and functionality of many MEMS can be enhanced by integrating nanomaterials on the micromachined structural components of these systems. The amount of nanomaterials required per device is small; therefore, the lack of availability of high-quality nanomaterials in large quantities is not a barrier. For example, a single carbon nanotube can make a significant difference to the performance of silicon microcantilevers used in scanning probe microscopy. In addition, MEMS-based test platforms are ideally suited for measuring the properties of nanoscale structures with high resolution and accuracy [2, 3]. These measurements can establish a solid foundation for understanding the mechanisms responsible for the size-dependent properties of nanomaterials.
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The advantages of integrating nanomaterials with MEMS have been noted
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