Commercial applications of the Dip Pen Nanolithography™ (DPN) method of nanoprinting and nanofabrication.

Guy della Cioppa
NanoInk, Inc., US

Keywords: Dip Pen Nanolithography™, DPN™ technology

Abstract:
Nanoink, Inc. is a venture-backed company organized to exploit the commercial opportunities presented by the Dip Pen Nanolithography™ (DPN) method of nanoprinting and nanofabrication. DPN™ technology is a patent-pending process that enables building nanoscale structures and patterns by literally drawing molecules onto a substrate. Structures less than 10 nm may be built using virtually any material. The ability to routinely build at this resolution combined with almost unlimited material and substrate flexibility provides users of DPN technology with significant competitive advantages. Nanoink will enable companies and researchers to better exploit nanotechnology by providing the means to perform DPN easily, reproducibly, and in a high throughput manner. Nanolnk’s primary products are the DPN Writer™ and a catalogue of DPN Pen Systems™. The former is a modular instrument that leverages AFM technology and is a dedicated DPN tool. The latter can be as simple as a single molecule-depositing probe, or “pen’, and as complex as a system of hundreds of thousands of individually controlled pens with individual ink delivery systems. Through the use of specialized, highly dense pen systems, DPN will be appropriate for large-scale industrial use and well suited to be a significant platform on which much of the burgeoning nanotechnology industry may be built. Nanolnk will realize revenue by (1) selling DPN Writers, DPN Pen Systems and ancillary products; and (2) through royalties derived from the sale of products manufactured using DPN technology. The combination of instrumentation sales, disposable product sales (DPN Pen systems and ancillary products), and royalties will provide Nanoink with a potentially large and broad revenue base. Such a revenue model combines the early revenue of a tool company with the exponential growth potential of an intellectual property company.

NSTI Nanotech 2003 Conference Technical Program Abstract