The ability to print a polarized electrical charge onto a medium, or charge patterning, is currently in the early stages of development. A similar technology commonly used in office printers, Xerography, thrives in large size regimes. There exist only a few competitive technologies capable of printing at the nanometer scale. Current technologies use processes that provide only low resolutions and relatively poor control over the printed charges. For example, current atomic force microscopy probes can provide suitable charges, but are only able for use on specialized materials. This technology has been designed to enable the printing of electrical charges on a nanoscale resolution.
This technology works by modifying an E-Jet printer so that electric charges are used to manipulate a fluid medium and imprint a net positive or negative charge onto a nearly any surface.
Applications
This technology may be used for:
- Electrostatic control of nano-electric mechanical devices
- Guided assembly of charged particles or nanostructures
- Modulation of activity in biological systems
- Invisible, printed security codes
Benefits
- Enables complex patterns of alternating charge with nanoscale resolutions
- Allows highly controlled amounts of material transfer
- Printing can be performed on nearly any surface