A surface diffusion model for Dip Pen Nanolithography line writing

Abstract

Dip Pen Nanolithography is a direct write process that creates nanoscale dots and lines. Models typically predict dot and line size via assumption of constant ink flow rate from tip to substrate. This is appropriate for dot writing. It is however well-known, though models rarely reflect, that the ink flow rate depends upon writing speed during line writing. Herein, we explain the physical phenomenon that governs line writing and use this to model tip-substrate diffusion in line writing. We accurately predict (i) the increase in flow rate with writing speed and (ii) line width within 12.5%.