A Photocurable Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Chemistry Designed for Soft Lithographic Molding and Printing in the Nanometer Regime

• Published in: Journal of the American Chemical Society Vol. 125; no. 14; pp. 4060 - 4061
• Main Authors: Choi, Kyung M, Rogers, John A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 09.04.2003
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Mechanical properties; Physical properties; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Properties and testing; Technology of polymers; Dimethylsiloxane polymer; Elongation at fracture; Patterning; Curing(plastics); Aliphatic polymer; Mechanical properties; Photolithography; Stress strain; Silicon polymer; Tensile strength
• ISSN: 0002-7863; 1520-5126
• DOI: 10.1021/ja029973k

Patterning techniques that rely on high-resolution elastomeric elements such as stamps, molds, and conformable photomasks are operationally simple methods for nanofabrication that may find applications in areas such as molecular and organic electronics. The resolution of these “soft” lithographic procedures is often limited by the mechanical properties of the elastomers. We introduce here a chemically modified poly(dimethylsiloxane) material that is designed and optimized specifically for soft lithography, particularly in the nanometer regime. We demonstrate its use for nanopatterning tasks that are challenging with the commercially available elastomers that have been used in the past.