Conductive AFM patterning on oligo(ethylene glycol)-terminated alkyl monolayers on silicon substrates: proposed mechanism and fabrication of avidin patterns

Micro- and nanopatterns of biomolecules on inert, ultrathin platforms on nonoxidized silicon are ideal interfaces between silicon-based microelectronics and biological systems. We report here the local oxidation nanolithography with conductive atomic force microscopy (cAFM) on highly protein-resistant, oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG)-terminated alkyl monolayers on nonoxidized silicon substrates. We propose a mechanism for this process, suggesting that it is possible to oxidize only the top ethylene glycol units to generate carboxylic acid and aldehyde groups on the film surface. We show that avidin molecules can be attached selectively to the oxidized pattern and the density can be varied by altering the bias voltage during cAFM patterning. Biotinylated molecules and nanoparticles are selectively immobilized on the resultant avidin patterns. Since one of the most established methods for immobilization of biomolecules is based on avidin-biotin binding and a wide variety of biotinylated biomolecules are available, this approach represents a versatile means for prototyping any nanostructures presenting these biomolecules on silicon substrates.     

High-resolution soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies and scanning auger microscopy studies of the air oxidation of alkylated silicon(111) surfaces

High-resolution soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to investigate the oxidation of alkylated silicon(111) surfaces under ambient conditions. Silicon(111) surfaces were functionalized through a two-step route involving radical chlorination of the H-terminated surface followed by alkylation with alkylmagnesium halide reagents. After 24 h in air, surface species representing Si(+), Si(2+), Si(3+), and Si(4+) were detected on the Cl-terminated surface, with the highest oxidation state (Si(4+)) oxide signal appearing at +3.79 eV higher in energy than the bulk Si 2p(3/2) peak. The growth of silicon oxide was accompanied by a reduction in the surface-bound Cl signal. After 48 h of exposure to air, the Cl-terminated Si(111) surface exhibited 3.63 equivalent monoleyers (ML) of silicon oxides. In contrast, after exposure to air for 48 h, CH(3)-, C(2)H(5)-, or C(6)H(5)CH(2)-terminated Si surfaces displayed <0.4 ML of surface oxide, and in most cases only displayed approximately 0.20 ML of oxide. This oxide was principally composed of Si(+) and Si(3+) species with peaks centered at +0.8 and +3.2 eV above the bulk Si 2p(3/2) peak, respectively. The silicon 2p SXPS peaks that have previously been assigned to surface Si-C bonds did not change significantly, either in binding energy or in relative intensity, during such air exposure. Use of a high miscut-angle surface (7 degrees vs < or =0.5 degrees off of the (111) surface orientation) yielded no increase in the rate of oxidation nor change in binding energy of the resultant oxide that formed on the alkylated Si surfaces. Scanning Auger microscopy indicated that the alkylated surfaces formed oxide in isolated, inhomogeneous patches on the surface.     

Moving beyond molecules: patterning solid-state features via dip-pen nanolithography with sol-based inks

Herein, we described a new dip-pen nanolithography (DPN)-based method for the direct patterning of organic/inorganic composite nanostructures on silicon and oxidized silicon substrates. The approach works by the hydrolysis of metal precursors in the meniscus between an AFM tip and a surface according to the reaction 2MCln + nH2O --> M2On + 2nHCl; M = Al, Si, and Sn. The inks are hybrid composites of inorganic salts with amphiphilic block copolymer surfactants. Three proof-of-concept systems involving Al2O3, SiO2, and SnO2 nanostructures on silicon and silicon oxide surfaces have been studied. Arrays of dots and lines can be written easily with control over feature size and shape on the sub-200 nm level. The structures have been characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. This work is important because it opens up the opportunity for using DPN to deposit solid-state materials rather than simple organic molecules onto surfaces with the resolution of an AFM without the need for a driving force other than chemisorption (e.g., applied fields).     

A resistless photolithography method for robust markers and electrodes

We describe a method of resistless photolithography using laser for the fabrication of microscopic markers and electrodes. A single shot of laser (355 nm, 100 mJ) is used to induce local surface melting and thus transfer a pattern from the mask (TEM grid) on to the surface of silicon. With a silicon substrate pre-coated with a layer of phosphorus, the laser pulse selectively produces doped regions that are highly conducting. The electrodes and markers thus obtained are robust and can withstand harsh chemical treatments. The utility of the marker for dip-pen nanolithography is illustrated by performing gold colloid nanopatterning.     

Poly(acrylic acid)-silicon Hybrids Prepared via a RAFT-mediated Process and Covalent Immobilization of Glucose Oxidase

A surface modification technique was proposed for the modification of silicon surface with glucose oxidase (GOD). The silicon surface was first graft copolymerized with acrylic acid (AAc) via surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT)-mediated process. With the aid of a water-soluble carbodiimide, GOD was then covalently immobilized on the silicon surface through the amide linkage between the amino group of GOD and the carboxyl group of the grafted AAc polymer. The changes in the surface composition after polymer grafting and enzyme immobilization on the silicon surface were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The amount of GOD immobilized could be varied by changing the thickness of the polymer layer and the immobilization time. The GOD-functionalized silicon hybrids are potential useful in the application of the silicon-based biosensors.     

基于金纳米粒子掩模的硅表面纳米结构加工

利用金溶胶纳米粒子为掩模,结合轻敲模式原子力显微镜（TM AFM）的局域氧化技术和化学湿法腐蚀,对Si表面进行纳米尺度的结构加工,得到柱状和环状纳米结构.实验结果表明,氧化过程中AFM针尖与样品平均间距的大小显著影响后续纳米结构的形状.保持一定的氧化偏压、扫描速度和相对湿度,当针尖与样品间距为7.5 nm时,可得到柱状纳米结构;而当间距减小到5 nm时,则得到带芯环状纳米结构.不同几何形状的纳米结构形成的原因是体系中纳米粒子物理屏蔽效应.     

多孔硅-导电聚酯材料复合发光器的光学特性研究

poly-4-dicyanomethylene-4H-cyclopenta\[2,1-b:3,4-b'\]dithiophene monolayer (PCDM)是一种导电、低导带聚酯材料.如果在多孔硅纳米结构中附上一层以自组方式生成的PCDM单分子层,就可以制成能够产生稳定电致发光的器件.发光器的结构是金/PCDM/多孔硅/硅/铝.发光器的电致发光,在白天可用肉眼观察到.有很宽的发光波长,几乎覆盖了整个可见光区域且峰值位于650 nm.发光器的面积为1 cm2,启动正向电压在14～30 V,电流约300 mA.经长时间测试,发光器的稳定性很好,在空气中放置3个月,在输入功率不变的情况下,发光强度也不发生变化.当施以反向电压时,样品仍可以发光而且稳定性较高,在250 h内I～V未发生明显变化.扫描电镜图像显示PCDM覆盖的表面要比多孔硅表面平整,而PCDM分子有可能进入到多孔硅纳米孔径当中去,起到了提高发光器稳定性和延长其寿命的作用.     

Direct writing of a conducting polymer with molecular-level control of physical dimensions and orientation

Polymer nanostructures composed of poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (PDDT) have been directly written with control of polymer strand alignment and monolayer-by-monolayer thickness down to a single molecular monolayer (2.6 nm). The molecularly ordered nanostructures were written on silicon oxide surfaces using thermal dip-pen nanolithography, where an atomic force microscope cantilever with integrated tip heater was precoated with solid PDDT. The PDDT was precisely deposited onto the surface when the tip temperature was set close to PDDT's melting temperature.     

Surfactant-resisted assembly of Fe-containing nanoparticles for site-specific growth of SWNTs on Si surface

This paper describes a facile approach to the site-specific growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on silicon surfaces by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The approach is based on the use of a surfactant as a resist to define patterns of silicon oxide nanodomains onto which nanoparticles of iron hydroxide (Fe(OH)3), 1-5 nm diameter, could be deposited. In base growth mode, the SWNTs can grow from the oxide nanodomains. By controlling the location of oxide nanodomains, site-specific growth could be obtained. The iron hydroxide nanoparticles were prepared by hydrolysis of ferric chloride (FeCl3). Patterned hydroxylated silicon oxide nanodomains were created by scanning probe oxidation (SPO) of silicon substrates modified with aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS, H2N(CH2)3Si(OCH3)3). Due to electrostatic interaction, Fe(OH)3 nanoparticles can be selectively deposited on hydroxyl groups present on silicon oxide nanodomains. To inhibit the assembly of the nanoparticles on a APTMS-coated silicon surface, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was introduced, which restricted deposition to the hydroxylated nanodomains. A model mechanism for the selective deposition mechanism has been proposed. It was possible to convert the patterned Fe(OH)3 nanoparticles to iron oxide, which served as a catalyst for the site-specific growth of SWNTs. Raman spectroscopy and AFM were used to characterize the nanotubes on the Si substrate. This will offer the possibility for future integration with conventional microelectronics as well as the development of novel devices.     

Effect of silicon oxidation on long-term cell selectivity of cell-patterned Au/SiO2 platforms

Cellular patterning on silicon platforms is the basis for development of integrated cell-based biosensing devices, for which long-term cell selectivity and biostability remain a major challenge. We report the development of a silicon-based platform in a metal-insulator format capable of producing uniform and biostable cell patterns with long-term cell selectivity. Substrates patterned with arrays of gold electrodes were surface-engineered such that the electrodes were activated with fibronectin to mediate cell attachment and the silicon oxide background was passivated with PEG to resist protein adsorption and cell adhesion. Three types of oxide surfaces, i.e., native oxide, dry thermally grown oxide, and wet thermally grown oxide, were produced to illustrate the effect of oxide state of the surface on long-term cell selectivity. Results indicated that the cell selectivity over time differed dramatically among three patterned platforms and the best cell selectivity was found on the dry oxide surface for up to 10 days. Surface analysis results suggested that this enhancement in cell selectivity may be related to the presence of additional, more active oxide states on the dry oxide surface supporting the stability of PEG films and effectively suppressing the cell adhesion. This research offers a new strategy for development of stable and uniform cell-patterned surfaces, which is versatile for immobilization of silane-based chemicals for preparation of biostable interfaces.     

Reproducible patterning of single au nanoparticles on silicon substrates by scanning probe oxidation and self-assembly

This paper describes a rational approach for reproducibly patterning single Au nanoparticles, 15-20-nm diameter, on silicon wafer substrates. The approach uses scanning probe oxidation (SPO) to pattern silicon oxide nanodomain arrays on silicon substrates modified with octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTS). It was usually found using aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APS) that Au nanoparticles only assembled at the domain boundaries probably because of asymmetrically distributed hydroxyl groups. To generate uniformly distributed hydroxyl groups on oxide domains, we employed a two-step treatment to etch and oxidize the substrate. With this treatment, oxide domains consistently attached Au nanoparticles to maximum capacity. Single Au nanoparticles were readily patterned by fabricating oxide nanodomains with a diameter below 30 nm. We also investigated the deposition of APS on OTS monolayers, which resulted in the assembly of Au nanoparticles outside of the oxide domains, and proposed two alternative methods to inhibit it.     

Highly stable organic monolayers for reacting silicon with further functionalities: the effect of the C-C bond nearest the silicon surface

Crystalline Si(111) surfaces have been alkylated in a two-step chlorination/alkylation process using various organic molecules having similar backbones but differing in their C-C bond closest to the silicon surface (i.e., C-C vs C=C vs C[triple bond]C bonds). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) data show that functionalization of silicon surfaces with propenyl magnesium bromide (CH3-CH=CH-MgBr) organic molecules gives nearly full coverage of the silicon atop sites, as on methyl- and propynyl-terminated silicon surfaces. Propenyl-terminated silicon surface shows less surface oxidation and is more robust against solvent attacks when compared to methyl- and propynyl-terminated silicon surfaces. We also show a secondary functionalization process of propenyl-terminated silicon surface with 4'-[3-Trifluoromethyl-3H-diazirin-3-yl]-benzoic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester [TDBA-OSu] cross-linker. The Si-CH=CH-CH3 surfaces thus offer a means of attaching a variety of chemical moieties to a silicon surface through a short linking group, enabling applications in molecular electronics, energy conversion, catalysis, and sensing.     

Photoinduced hole trapping in single semiconductor quantum dots at specific sites at silicon oxide interfaces

Blinking dynamics of CdSe/ZnS semiconductor quantum dots (QD) are characterized by (truncated) power law distributions exhibiting a wide dynamic range in probability densities and time scales both for off- and on-times. QDs were immobilized on silicon oxide surfaces with varying grades of hydroxylation and silanol group densities, respectively. While the off-time distributions remain unaffected by changing the surface properties of the silicon oxide, a deviation from the power law dependence is observed in the case of on-times. This deviation can be described by a superimposed single exponential function and depends critically on the local silanol group density. Furthermore, QDs in close proximity to silanol groups exhibit both high average photoluminescence intensities and large on-time fractions. The effect is attributed to an interaction between the QDs and the silanol groups which creates new or deepens already existing hole trap states within the ZnS shell. This interpretation is consistent with the trapping model introduced by Verberk et al. (R. Verberk, A. M. van Oijen and M. Orrit, Phys. Rev. B, 2002, 66, 233202).     

基于AFM纳米氧化技术的金纳米粒子定点组装

二维纳米粒子矩阵列在纳米电子器件^[1,2]、表面增强喇曼活性基底^[3,4]、刻蚀掩模^[5]等领域具有广泛的应用前景。在这些纳米粒子阵列为内部,纳米粒子的排布是随机、无序的。这一缺点已经妨碍了纳米粒子阵列在上述领域中的进一步应用。基于此,人们开始关注纳米粒子的可控组装。传统的光刻技术^[6]、微接触印刷技术^[7]以及生物分子模板技术^[8]都被用来实现纳米粒子在固体表面上的可控组装,本实验室在纳米粒子的合成及可控组装方面也进行了研究^[7,9,11]。本文力图精确控制单个纳米粒子在基底表面上的组装位置。利用AFM纳米氧化技术。在硅表面构建了纳米级的化学图形化表面,通过不同的化学官能团,如甲基、氨基对金纳米粒子亲和性质的差异,实现了纳米粒子在固体表面的定点组装。     

金属离子在多孔硅表面和吸附与电镀过程中金属在多孔硅表面的淀积

刚制备的多孔硅与金属盐溶液接触会产生金属离子在多孔硅表面和吸附现象。实验显示这一现象只发生在新鲜的多孔硅表面, 而存放一月以后的样品不具备此性质。文中把这一现象归因于新鲜的多孔硅表面电子的富集, 溶液中金属离子从多孔硅表面获得电子而附着。多孔硅表面电镀金属过程中, 一定电压下电镀电流密度在起始阶段逐渐下降, 可以用一个指数关系式较好地描述, 在本文中有一个唯象模型予以解释。     

In situ negative patterning of p-silicon via scanning probe lithography in HF/EtOH liquid bridges

We succeeded in extending local oxidation to in situ negative patterning. HF/EtOH was used as both gap-bridging electrolyte and oxyanion source. EtOH and HF were found to be able to accelerate the growth of silicon oxide and simultaneously etch grown oxide, respectively. These findings are expected to open new possibilities in utilizing local oxidation nanolithography in order to directly fabricate deeper well structures while at the same time maintaining lateral sizes within the nanometer range.     

Substrate-independent dip-pen nanolithography based on reactive coatings

We report that nanostructuring via dip-pen nanolithography can be used for modification of a broad range of different substrates (polystyrene, Teflon, stainless steel, glass, silicon, rubber, etc.) without the need for reconfiguring the underlying printing technology. This is made possible through the use of vapor-based coatings that can be deposited on these substrates with excellent conformity, while providing functional groups for subsequent spatially directed click chemistry via dip-pen nanolithography. Pattern quality has been compared on six different substrates demonstrating that this approach indeed results in a surface modification protocol with potential use for a wide range of biotechnological applications.     

The effect of emitter geometry on lateral field emission diodes fabricated by AFM-based electrochemical nanolithography

Lateral field emission diodes were successfully fabricated using atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based electrochemical nanolithography and tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) wet etching method. Field emission (FE) current of the silicon emitter cathode was measured as a function of the applied anode voltage under vacuum environment. For narrowed nanogaps from 55 to 35 nm, the turn-on voltage was decreased from 21 to 16 V. The turn-on voltage of the 35 nm gap was reduced from 16 to 8 V by changing the curvature radius of the cathode tip. The sharper emitter had the lowest turn-on voltage, largest field-enhancement factor, and good stability, which were attributed to the small emitter radius at the cathode tip and very slight changes in the local field factor. These results indicate that the diodes fabricated using this technique had the lowest value of turn-on voltage ever reported for lateral silicon FE devices.     

Control over Rheological Properties of Powdered Formulations Based on Phosphate-Ammonium Salts and Hydrophobized Silicon Oxide

Surface of silicon oxide (white black BS-120) was hydrophobized with a polymethylhydrosiloxane solution. IR spectroscopy demonstrated that the hydrophobization process involves free silanol groups of the silicon oxide surface. It was found that a stable superhydrophobic state of the surface is observed upon hydrophobization of silicon oxide, with the wetting angle exceeding 150°. Introduction of hydrophobized silicon oxide into a fire-extinguishing powdered formulation based on ammonium phosphates can improve its rheological characteristics. The influence exerted by the fraction composition of dispersed systems based on phosphorus-ammonium salts on their rheological properties was examined.     

新型水溶性咪唑基硅量子点制备及用于果蔬中痕量铜的荧光检测

硅量子点因其极佳的亲生物性和光学性能成为纳米材料新宠,但传统硅量子点水溶性差限制了它的广泛应用。本实验以三甲基硅咪唑为硅前驱体采用水热法制备水溶性咪唑基硅量子点。相对于硼氢化钠、抗坏血酸、牛血清蛋白、半胱氨酸和柠檬酸,柠檬酸钠作为还原剂和稳定剂制得的硅量子点荧光发射最强。合成反应于220℃下可在2 h内完成,所制备的硅量子点水溶性好,平均粒径为2.6 nm,红外分析证实其表面存在游离的咪唑基。研究表明,硅量子点能与铜离子相互作用导致荧光强度的明显下降。考察不同温度下Cu2+对硅量子点荧光的猝灭行为,发现荧光猝灭程度随温度升高而增大。这说明荧光下降属于静态猝灭,即Cu2+与硅量子点上的咪唑基作用形成稳定配合物。此外,共振光散射分析还揭示荧光猝灭过程伴随着粒子团聚。基于硅量子点的荧光猝灭行为,建立了痕量铜的荧光检测方法。当Cu2+浓度在0.04~2400μmol/L之间,硅量子点的荧光强度随Cu2+浓度的增加而线性下降,检出限(S/N=3)达1.29×10-8 mol/L。本方法具有高的灵敏度、选择性和重现性,已应用于果蔬中痕量铜的荧光检测。