Subfeature patterning of organic and inorganic materials using robotic assembly
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Chytra Pawashe Department of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Emily K. Sabo and Lacramioara Trofinb) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Metin Sittic) Department of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Philip R. LeDucd) Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 (Received 24 October 2006; accepted 20 February 2006)
The ability to create small-scale material patterns using lithography has been limited by the feature sizes and assembly of the master stamping system. Developing a simple and robust robotically automated patterning technique for both organic and inorganic materials, which is able to be actively controlled down to scales smaller than the operating features, would enable new capabilities and directions in research. Here, a novel method is presented to form patterns of defined shape and distribution via automated assembly along with force-controlled microstamping. Robotic assembly based particle templates and pyramid structures were used to create controlled distributions of materials. Systems including quantum dots and biomolecules were patterned, demonstrating our ability to create repeatable geometries with size scales smaller than the master stamping system. These patterns were also utilized for constraining cell adhesion and spreading. This work has potential applications in diverse areas from building molecular circuits to probing biological pattern formation.
I. INTRODUCTION
Over the past decade, binary and digital on-off lithographic based methods have been used to create defined patterns on surfaces for a variety of applications from biological patterning to colloidal assembly.1–4 Creating patterns through simple and reproducible methods that have the ability to have smaller size control than the active system (i.e., the stamp that is being used) as well as to generate a variety of sizes with a single stamp in an analog versus a purely binary or digital on-off system
a)
These authors contributed equally. Present address: NanoDynamics Life Sciences, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA 15219. c) Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: [email protected] d) e-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1557/JMR.2007.0202 b)
J. Mater. Res., Vol. 22, No. 6, Jun 2007
would provide significant advantages. In the past, developing techniques that can create patterns and gradients has been accomplished through a variety of approaches. Electrodes have been used to establish a gradient of charged molecules within a liquid using a stamp and electrode configuration for transferring molecules to a substrate.5 Also, a metal-transfer process has been implemented to create protein gradients in defined shapes.6 These patterning techniques are also useful in a variety of arenas such as in cellular and molecular research. They
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