A Study on the Flow Characteristics of the Nano Fountain-Pen Using Membrane Pumping

Atomic force microscope (AFM) probe was developed for the application of dip-pen nanolithography (DPN), which is capable of surface patterning. But, the current lithography process is not performed constantly and the patterning takes a long time. In this paper, the flow characteristic of a novel-designed nano fountain-pen is investigated to make the constant patterning in micro process using active membrane pumping. It is composed of reservoir, micro channels, tip and chamber. The reservoir is linked to micro channels embedded in a V-shaped cantilever. Micro channels transport water or ink from a reservoir to substrate, realizing continuous writing at the nano scale. This so-called the fountain-pen nanolithography (FPN) device allows continuous fluid supply for different localized applications. The liquid can be certainly and exactly injected with membrane pumping. Using a commercial code, FLUENT, the velocity and pressure and flow rate are obtained under laminar, unsteady and three-dimensional incompressible flow with no-slip condition, and results are graphically depicted.