Vanderbilt stamps low-cost nano devices

June 20, 2011—Vanderbilt University engineers have developed a technique for stamping patterns with features as small as one fatty acid molecule onto a special class of nanomaterials, the university reported online.

The new technique, which provides a cost-effective way to produce novel devices in areas ranging from drug delivery to solar cells, was described in the cover article of the May issue of the journal Nano Letters.

In this video slideshow, Vanderbilt University displays various images of imprinted nanoporous materials.

This technique is accomplished without "the need for intermediate polymer processing or dry etching steps," according to the abstract. "Our process, which we call 'direct imprinting of porous substrates,' utilizes reusable stamps with micro- and nano-scale features that are applied directly to a porous material to selectively compress or crush the porous network. The stamp pattern is transferred to the porous material with high fidelity, vertical resolution below 5nm, and lateral resolution below 100nm. The process is performed in less than one minute at room temperature and at standard atmospheric pressure."

For more information, check out the full Vanderbilt University research news feature.