Design and fabrication of 3D nanoarchitectures based on nanotransfer printing for sensor applications

Abstract

Nanotechnology is a promising choice to realize next-generation technology because nanosized materials, such as nanoparticles, nanowires, and nanoribbons, exhibit fundamentally different physical/chemical properties compared to bulk materials. Therefore, recent advances in nanofabrication techniques to readily prepare nanostructures with tunable sizes, shapes, and compositions. Nanotransfer printing technology may be the breakthrough for nanofabrication and eventually practical application of nanotechnologies. In particular, starting with nanowire arrays, two-dimensional (2D) and 3D structures have been developed by sequential printing on the substrate, which has enabled systematic investigations of the effects of structure on the performance of nanodevices. We report novel strategies for 3D ceramic nanostructure fabrication and their implementation. Specifically, we developed three individual approaches that highlight significant advances in nanodevices based on ordered three-dimensional ceramic nanostructures through nanotransfer printing. First, we demonstrate a highly facile and reliable strategy for an ordered metal oxide nanowire array and 3D nanoarchitecture via nanotransfer printing. Using this fabrication method, we were able to control the structure by stacking layers, which affects the performance of resistivity and high sensitivity in solid-state gas sensors. Second, we introduce a label-free electrical/optical multimodal sensor based on 3D nanoarchitectures with multiple sensing elements. Our multimodal sensor provides not only high sensitivity but also the ability to distinguish target molecules with similar molecular structures. Third, we introduce a novel fabrication method for single-crystalline silicon nanowire-based nanotransfer printing and transplantation of nanowires on various non-conventional substrates, including a flexible plastic substrate. Note that this unique transplantation printing process solves the issue of controlling the crystallinity, which was the limitation of conventional nano-transfer printing.3D ceramic nanoarchitecture fabrication based on nanotransfer printing provides sufficient high-resolution, large-area scalability and outstanding versatility. Notably, 3D nanoarchitecture can be applied to various sensor applications with high functionalities. These promising results suggest a new pathway in the development of new nanodevices based on 3D ceramic nanoarchitecture.