The nano world of Shrinky Dinks
Low-cost nanopatterning method utilizes popular shrinkable plastic
The magical world of Shrinky Dinks -- an arts and crafts material used by children since the 1970s -- has taken up residence in a Northwestern University laboratory. A team of nanoscientists is using the flexible plastic sheets as the backbone of a new inexpensive way to create, test and mass-produce large-area patterns on the nanoscale.
"Anyone needing access to large-area nanoscale patterns on the cheap could benefit from this method," said Teri W. Odom, associate professor of chemistry and Dow Chemical Company Research Professor in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Odom led the research. "It is a simple, low-cost and high-throughput nanopatterning method that can be done in any laboratory."
One programmable soft lithography recipe: (1) Start with a thermoplastic substrate. (2) Perform SANE. (3) Heat substrate. (4) Create different nanopatterns with same feature sizes. (5) Repeat.
SOURCE
