Micromachined inking chip for scanning probe nanolithography using local thermal vapor inking method

Here the authors show a method for inking scanning probes based on local thermal evaporative inking transfer. This method results in low loss, rapid, and parallel inking action. Scanning probes are accommodated at openings of ink reservoirs. A resistive heater is used to initiate vaporization of inks to uniformly coat probes. 1 mM 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid in ethanol solution is used to characterize this inking chip. Moreover, an array of scanning probes can be inked simultaneously using an array of inking reservoirs. During the inking process, each probe is tightly sealed inside individual reservoir so cross contamination is limited.