Silver nanowires in poly(methyl methacrylate) as a conductive nanocomposite for microfabrication

Abstract

A novel nanocomposite resist is presented based on AgNWs dispersed in poly(methyl methacrylate). It is shown that this nanocomposite resist displays sheet resistances below 10 Ω sq−1 for concentrations of AgNWs higher than and can be used for a wide range of microfabrication techniques. The resist can act as a conductive ink that cures at room temperature, form thin films with low sheet resistances, and be used in fast replication methods derived from soft lithography. Furthermore, it can be applied for nano-scale fabrication via electron beam lithography (EBL) on different substrates, including flexible and insulating materials, providing a straightforward method to avoid charging effects. This, being the first report about a nanocomposite resist based on AgNWs for EBL, describes a simple procedure to account for suspended nanowires, forming bridges, nanocantilevers and more complex nanostructures. A wide range of opportunities opens for the single-step fabrication of electronic components in the nano and micro scale.