Design of a low-cost, precision belt-drive machine for high-throughput nanomanufacturing

The creation of new technology for high-throughput nanomanufacturing is necessary to realize the full potential of some nano-technological products. Here, we present the preliminary design and manufacture of a precision machine for enabling high-throughput nanomanufacturing processes in a laboratory environment. An error analysis and rate analysis for implementing Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN), a scanning-probe-based nanomanufacturing process, are used to generate detailed machine functional requirements. A deterministic process is then used to design or select each machine element; standard machine elements and easily manufactured components are used when possible to achieve a low-cost design. The machine is capable of operating with an accuracy and repeatability in the range of hundreds of nanometers, with a thermal stability in the tens of nanometers, thus exceeding the performance requirements for DPN as well as the capabilities of current technology. In a manufacturing environment, the machine could implement DPN at a rate which is almost two orders of magnitude faster than current technology. Multiple machines could also be used for parallel processing and increased production rate to make a nanomanufacturing process economically viable.