Instruments

NanoInk Consumables

DPN Inkwell Array Filled with Multiple Materials

DPN Pens
2D DPN Pen Arrays
DPN Substrates
DPN Inkwell Arrays
DPN Printing Kits

With a state-of-the-art MEMS manufacturing facility and an experienced MEMS engineering team, NanoInk offers the highest quality components for use with Dip Pen Nanolithography® (DPN®) instrument systems. MEMs-fabricated consumables include single “pen” tips and multiple “pen” tip arrays optimized for specific types of DPN deposition work, DPN Substrates marked with addressable location labels, DPN Inkwell arrays designed to deliver print materials to one or several DPN “pen” tips, and DPN Printing Kits. NanoInk’s dedicated MEMS team can also conduct custom MEMS project work.

DPN Pens

DPN Pens are available as single “pen” tips and multiple “pen” tip arrays, including one dimensional (1D) and two dimensional (2D) arrays. NanoInk’s suite of pen types have been designed to provide a wide variety of pitches, spring constants, and shapes to meet different research needs. All NanoInk pens are made of silicon nitride. Single pens are generally used for simple deposition and contact mode imaging (i.e. lateral force imaging) applications. Multiple pen arrays are designed for larger-area patterning and multiplexed applications. Silicon tips pre-mounted on a magnetic strip are also available for ease of use and improved imaging quality in standard AFM imaging work.


DPN Pen	DPN Pen Array

It is important to match the correct type of pen with each printing material since the two general classes of printing materials (molecular and liquid) have very different properties. Viscous materials are easily deposited using pens with high spring constants; the more rigid the pen, the smaller the deposited feature can be. Molecular materials (such as MHA and ODT) are best printed using cantilevers with low spring constants. NanoInk’s M type pens have the highest spring constant and are recommended for the deposition of liquid materials.

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Single DPN Pens	1D DPN Pen Arrays
Probes: AC Mode – click to download data sheet DPN® Pens: Type A and B– click to download data sheet	Type C – click to download data sheet Type D– click to download data sheet Type E – click to download data sheet Type F – click to download data sheet Type M – click to download data sheet Type 48 Bio M – click to download data sheet

DPN Pen Specifications

Pen Type	Cantilever Type	Number of Pens	Pitch µm	Cantilever Length µm	Cantilever Width µm	Spring Constant N/m
A	DB	1	n/a	200	45	0.041
A	AF	1	n/a	200	55	0.1
B	DB	4	n/a	150, 300, 300	50, 60, 50	0.004, 0.016, 0.032
B	AF, DB	1, 1	n/a	200, 120	25, 45	0.046, 0.19
C	DB	4	30	175	25	0.034
C	DB	10, 2	35, 60	150, 150	25, 45	0.054, 0.097
D	DB	24	35	150	25	0.054
D	DB	3, 3	50, 75	200	45, 60	0.041, 0.055
E	DB	3, 3	70, 70	150, 200	50, 45	0.108, 0.04
E	DB	18	70	150	50	0.108
F	DB	24	35	150	25	0.053
F	DB	50	23	150	20	0.03
M	DB	12	100	150	40	20
M	AF	12	66	100	30	35
Diving board – DB, A-Frame – AF

2D nano PrintArray

2D DPN Pen Arrays

The 2D nano PrintArray™ chip enables high-throughput DPN patterning of nanoscale features. NanoInk’s 2D nano PrintArray retains the chemical/material flexibility benefits of single “pen” tip DPN, while adding the ability to duplicate a pattern 55,000 times across a 1 cm2 area.

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2D nano PrintArray™ – click to download data sheet

DPN Substrates

DPN Substrates

NanoInk’s substrates are specifically designed for DPN work. Addressable location labels enable easy surface navigation and pen repositioning over previously patterned areas. Mica-peeled gold substrates do not have addressable features, but the freshly cleaved gold provides a highly reactive surface for thiol-gold bonding.

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DPN Inkwell Array

DPN Inkwell Arrays

DPN Inkwell arrays deliver material to one or several DPN pen tips in a pen array. The Inkwell reservoirs are easily filled with up to 12 different printing materials using micropipettes and the printing materials are then guided from the reservoirs through microchannels to microwells via capillary action. Subsequently, DPN tips are dipped into the microwells and coated with the print materials. Inkwell arrays allow the simultaneous transfer of different types of printing materials onto pen arrays. Because of the microfluidic features of the Inkwells, material transfer onto the pens can be very well controlled, which results in minimized cross-contamination.

Product Listing

Inkwell arrays are available in several different configurations to match with the various pen-to-pen pitches of DPN Pen Arrays. Inkwell array nomenclature incorporates the number of reservoirs and the pitches. For example, 70x12-F1-2 indicates an Inkwell with 12 reservoirs and pitches of 70µm; this Inkwell array matches side 1 of NanoInk’s F type pen array. However, since side 1 of the F type pen array has pitches of 35µm, this Inkwell transfers print materials to every other pen of the array - hence the “2” at the end of the Inkwell array name.

Compatibility Chart: DPN Pen Type to DPN Inkwell Array

DPN Inkwell Array

DPN Pen Type	Universal	66x12-M2-1	69x12-F2-3	70x12-F1-2	100x12-M1-1	C-8MW2	48 Bio M
A-type
B-Type
C-type				Side 2 of C type 2nd pen
D-Type				Side 1 of D type 12 of the 26 pens	Side 2 of D type 2 of 3 50um pitch
E-Type				Either sides 12 of the 18 pens for sides 2		Either sides Each or every 2nd pen same channel
F-Type			Side 1 Every 3rd pen	Side 1 Every 2nd pen		Side 1 of F type 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pen same channel
M-type		Side 2 of M type			Side 1 of M type		Side 2 of M type
48 Bio M							Pens Compatible with NLP 2000 only.
(Blue area = compatible)

DPN Inkwell Array

DPN Printing Kits

NanoInk provides a line of ready-to-use kits that include all reagents and consumables necessary for patterning with DPN systems. Each Printing Kit includes DPN Pens, DPN Inkwell Arrays, DPN Substrates, solutions, and detailed printing protocol required for a particular printing application.

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