Plasma Polymers Nanostructure
Recent work between the Universities of Nottingham (Morgan Alexander) and Glasgow (Nikolaj Gadegaard) have discovered that line features down to 150 nm can readily be achieved using electron beam exposure of thin plasma polymerised hexane layers. 1 This material has already exhibited potential in controlling cell position with exciting applications in bio patterning over mm length scales. 2 Nano scale patterning opens up exciting possibilities in a range of fields such as controlled adsorption of proteins to surfaces. This follows on from earlier work on novel resists by the same collaborators where self assembled monolayers on aluminium were found to be feasible. 3
1. Pedersen, R. H.; Hamzah, M.; Thoms, S.; Roach, P.; Alexander, M. R.; Gadegaard, N., Electron beam lithography using plasma polymerized hexane as resist. Microelectronic Engineering 2009 (available online).
2. Yang, J.; Rose, F. R. A. J.; Gadegaard, N.; Alexander, M. R., A high-throughput assay of cell-surface interactions using topographical and chemical gradients. Advanced Materials 2009, 21, (3), 300-304.
3. Gadegaard, N.; Chen, X.; Rutten, F. J. M.; Alexander, M. R., High-Energy Electron Beam Lithography of Octadecylphosphonic Acid Monolayers on Aluminum. Langmuir 2008, 24, 2057-2063.