A multi-ink linear array of nanofountain probes

After the successful design and fabrication of a single-probe nanofountain pen, a second-generation device with two on-chip ink reservoirs feeding a linear array of 12 microfluidic cantilever probes was manufactured. The new device excels by sharper and more uniform tips, more robust fabrication and improved performance in writing and imaging. Its capabilities in writing sub-100 nm features and with two different inks delivered in liquid phase were demonstrated. Their applications range from an affordable method of nanopatterning with sub-100 nm resolution to microspotters for bio-assay generation and tools for combinatorial nanoscale biochemical experiments. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)