page_title: Dip-pen nanolithography
section_title: Liquid inks
hierarchical_section_title: Dip-pen nanolithography / Deposition materials / Liquid inks
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration showing the multiplexed deposition of liquids from multiple DPN tips.
context_page_description: Dip pen nanolithography is a scanning probe lithography technique where an atomic force microscope tip is used to create patterns directly on a range of substances with a variety of inks. A common example of this technique is exemplified by the use of alkane thiolates to imprint onto a gold surface. This technique allows surface patterning on scales of under 100 nanometers. DPN is the nanotechnology analog of the dip pen, where the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever acts as a "pen," which is coated with a chemical compound or mixture acting as an "ink," and put in contact with a substrate, the "paper."
  DPN enables direct deposition of nanoscale materials onto a substrate in a flexible manner. Recent advances have demonstrated massively parallel patterning using two-dimensional arrays of 55,000 tips. Applications of this technology currently range through chemistry, materials science, and the life sciences, and include such work as ultra high density biological nanoarrays, and additive photomask repair.
context_section_description: Liquid inks can be any material that is liquid at deposition conditions.  The liquid deposition properties are determined by the interactions between the liquid and the tip, the liquid and the surface, and the viscosity of the liquid itself.  These interactions limit the minimum feature size of the liquid ink to about 1 micrometre, depending on the contact angle of the liquid.  Higher viscosities offer greater control over feature size and are desirable.  Unlike molecular inks, it is possible to perform multiplexed depositions using a carrier liquid.  For example, using a viscous buffer, it is possible to directly deposit multiple proteins simultaneously.
  1-10 micrometre feature resolution
  Multiplexed depositions
  Less restrictive ink/surface requirements
  Direct deposition of high viscosity materials
caption: Liquid ink deposition mechanism
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