Fabrication of Depth-controllable Nanochannel with Polymer Nanoassembled Films Using Atomic Force Microscopy Lithography

Abstract

Fabrication of a nanochannel consisting of poly(N-neopentylmethacrylamide) Langmuir–Blodgett film (polymer nanosheet) utilizing atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography is demonstrated. We obtained the nanochannel with 1–20 nm depth and 150–280 nm width. The channel surface is highly homogenous which is an advantage for covering the channel tightly without leaking point. The depth of the channel increases linearly with increasing number of layers, which indicates that the channel depth is controllable in a nanometer level. The width of the nanochannel is independent with the thickness of the film.