High-resolution nanotransfer printing applicable to diverse surfaces via interface-targeted adhesion switching

Nanotransfer printing technology offers outstanding simplicity and throughput in the fabrication of transistors, metamaterials, epidermal sensors and other emerging devices. Nevertheless, the development of a large-area sub-50 nm nanotransfer printing process has been hindered by fundamental reliability issues in the replication of high-resolution templates and in the release of generated nanostructures. Here we present a solvent-assisted nanotransfer printing technique based on high-fidelity replication of sub-20 nm patterns using a dual-functional bilayer polymer thin film. For uniform and fast release of nanostructures on diverse receiver surfaces, interface-specific adhesion control is realized by employing a polydimethylsiloxane gel pad as a solvent-emitting transfer medium, providing unusual printing capability even on biological surfaces such as human skin and fruit peels. Based on this principle, we also demonstrate reliable printing of high-density metallic nanostructures for non-destructive and rapid surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy analyses and for hydrogen detection sensors with excellent responsiveness. There is an ongoing need for high resolution, versatile and simplistic nanoscale lithography and transfer. Here the authors report a solvent-assisted nanotransfer printing route, which allows for the easy release of 8–20 nm scale features on to a range of substrates.