Mechanisms, Capabilities, and Applications of High-Resolution Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing.

This review gives an overview of techniques used for high-resolution jet printing that rely on electrohydrodynamically induced flows. Such methods enable the direct, additive patterning of materials with a resolution that can extend below 100 nm to provide unique opportunities not only in scientific studies but also in a range of applications that includes printed electronics, tissue engineering, and photonic and plasmonic devices. Following a brief historical perspective, this review presents descriptions of the underlying processes involved in the formation of liquid cones and jets to establish critical factors in the printing process.

Block copolymer assembly on nanoscale patterns of polymer brushes formed by electrohydrodynamic jet printing.

Fundamental understanding of the self-assembly of domains in block copolymers (BCPs) and capabilities in control of these processes are important for their use as nanoscale templates in various applications. This paper focuses on the self-assembly of spin-cast and printed poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) BCPs on patterned surface wetting layers formed by electrohydrodynamic jet printing of random copolymer brushes. Here, end-grafted brushes that present groups of styrene and methyl methacrylate in geometries with nanoscale resolution deterministically define the morphologies of BCP nanostructures.

Photonic crystal enhancement of a homogeneous fluorescent assay using submicron fluid channels fabricated by E-jet patterning.

We demonstrate the enhancement of a liquid-based homogenous fluorescence assay using the resonant electric fields from a photonic crystal (PC) surface. Because evanescent fields are confined to the liquid volume nearest to the photonic crystal, we developed a simple approach for integrating a PC fabricated on a silicon substrate within a fluid channel with submicron height, using electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing of a light-curable epoxy adhesive to define the fluid channel pattern. The PC is excited by a custom-designed compact instrument that illuminates the PC with collimated light that precisely matches the resonant coupling condition when the PC is covered with aqueous media.

Hierarchical patterns of three-dimensional block-copolymer films formed by electrohydrodynamic jet printing and self-assembly.

Self-assembly of block-copolymers provides a route to the fabrication of small (size, <50 nm) and dense (pitch, <100 nm) features with an accuracy that approaches even the demanding specifications for nanomanufacturing set by the semiconductor industry. A key requirement for practical applications, however, is a rapid, high-resolution method for patterning block-copolymers with different molecular weights and compositions across a wafer surface, with complex geometries and diverse feature sizes. Here we demonstrate that an ultrahigh-resolution jet printing technique that exploits electrohydrodynamic effects can pattern large areas with block-copolymers based on poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) with various molecular weights and compositions.

Functional protein microarrays by electrohydrodynamic jet printing.

This paper reports the use of advanced forms of electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing for creating micro- and nanoscale patterns of proteins on various surfaces ranging from flat silica substrates to structured plasmonic crystals, suitable for micro/nanoarray analysis and other applications in both fluorescent and plasmonic detection modes. The approaches function well with diverse classes of proteins, including streptavidin, IgG, fibrinogen, and γ-globulin. Detailed study reveals that the printing process does not adversely alter the protein structure or function, as demonstrated in the specific case of streptavidin through measurements of its binding specificity to biotin-modified DNA.