Abstract

The modification of thin-film surfaces by means of patterning nanometer-sized features obeys a number of requirements, ranging from those of the microelectronics industry to biotechnology. In addition to industrial-driven demands, the quest to understand matter and its interactions at the nanometer scale needs laboratory techniques that lead to the study of single nanostructures, be it a small cluster, a quantum dot, or a nanovalve—by means of scanning probe techniques. The response of a nanostructure array—such as those used in biosensors, information storage devices, diffractive optics, and photonic crystals—is also becoming increasingly important. This follows the research trend toward high-density information acquisition and processing systems, which are based on arrays containing the smallest possible controllable and reproducible features, with well-defined properties. The different approaches to nanometer-scaled printing range from molding of a thin polymer layer by a stamp under controlled temperature and pressure, usually referred to as “hot embossing” or “nanoimprinting,” to transfer of a monolayer of self-assembled molecules from an elastomeric stamp to a substrate—usually known as “micro-contact printing.”