Precise Positioning of Lubricant on a Surface Using the Local Anodic Oxide Method

This letter describes a new method for the precise positioning of a lubricant on a surface. The nanometer-sized patterns are first fabricated using the atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based local anodic oxide (LAO) method. Multiply alkylated cyclopentanes (MACs) serving as lubricant matrix layers on nanopatterns of silicon dioxide are fabricated. By controlling the velocity of pull-off and solution conditions, we selectively immobilize MACs on the patterned areas using the dip-coating method. In our study, AFM is used for both fabrication and characterization. AFM-LAO allows the fabricated patterns to be altered in situ without the need to change masks or repeat the entire fabrication process. Furthermore, the nanotribological characterization of lubricant matrix layers on the nanopatterns was investigated with a colloidal probe.