Lithographic approach to pattern multiple nanoparticle thin films prepared by layer-by-layer self-assembly for microsystems

We report a lithographic approach to pattern multiple types of layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembled nanoparticle thin films. Polystyrene particles (150 and 64 nm) are spatially separated in desired patterns with a feature size of 5-20 mum. The process is technically simple, consisting of only two consecutive lift-off steps, and can be applied to various types of nanoparticles. This method can be applied to various types of nanoparticles. Since it is based on the conventional lithographic technique, it provides a simple, reliable, and cheap method to pattern nanoparticles into two-dimensional patterns of microscale pitches for the fabrication of complex microsystems which is composed mainly of functional nanoparticles for the applications to sensing and actuation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.