Meteling HJ, Bosse F, Schlichter L, Tyler BJ, Arlinghaus HF, Ravoo BJ. Versatile Surface Patterning with Low Molecular Weight Photoswitches.
Small 2022;
18:e2203245. [PMID:
35971144 DOI:
10.1002/smll.202203245]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Surface patterning of functional materials is a key technology in various fields such as microelectronics, optics, and photonics. In micro- and nanofabrication, polymers are frequently employed either as photoreactive or thermoresponsive resists that enable further fabrication steps, or as functional adlayers in electronic and optical devices. In this article, a method is presented for imprint lithography using low molecular weight arylazoisoxazoles photoswitches instead of polymer resists. These photoswitches exhibit a rapid and reversible solid-to-liquid phase transition upon photo-isomerization at room temperature, making them highly suitable for reversible surface functionalization at ambient conditions. Beyond photo-induced imprint lithography with multiple write-and-erase cycles, prospective applications as patterned matrix for nanoparticles and etch resist on gold surfaces are demonstrated.
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