Fabrication of palladium-based microelectronic devices by microcontact printing

This letter demonstrates the patterning of thin films of metallic palladium by microcontact printing (muCP) of octadecanethiol, and the use of the patterned films in the fabrication of a functional sensor. This technique was also used to prepare templates of palladium for the electroless deposition of copper. The resistivity of the palladium and copper microstructures was 13.8 and 2.8 muOmega cm, respectively; these values are approximately 40% larger than the values for the pure bulk metals. Palladium patterned into serpentine wires using muCP functioned as a hydrogen sensor with sensitivity of 0.03 vol % H-2 in N-2, and a response time of similar to10 s (at room temperature). (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.