Nanosphere Liftoff Lithography
Nanosphere Liftoff Lithography is yet another inexpensive method to write and build nanostructures.  Just like DPN, NSL uses two substances, an ink and a substrate to write on.  But NSL also has a drop coat, a fancy name for a pattern.  As usual, the ink must form a strong bond to the substrate.  So alkanthiols and Au can be used and, of course, many other combinations can be used.

NSL has two excellent advantages.  Because it uses a pattern, many products can be produced, consistenly.  The second is the fact that the first layer of ink can be painted over.  This gives a whole new meaning to 'watching paint dry.'
1. Clean Substrate:
     The substrate is the paper, it is most often glass.  Gold can also be used.
3.  Painting:
       After the ink is sprayed onto the substrate, it will infiltrate the spaces between the drop coat and produce little dots.  Depending on the drop coat, these ink dots are what creates the product.
2.  Drop Coat:
      Also called the mask, this is the placing of nanoparticles onto the substrate.  Doing this will make a pattern of the desired product, whether it be writing of a picture.  The next page will explain this better.
4.  Liftoff:
       Not a rocketship, but rather a removal of the drop coat, showing the final product.
Check out more about Nanosphere Liftoff Lithography at Richard van Duyne's group at Northwestern University.
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