Thermal control of deposition in dip pen nanolithography

A deposition control method comprising the acts of:

• providing a substrate;
• providing a scanning probe microscope tip coated with at least one patterning compound;
• contacting the patterning compound with the substrate;
• altering the temperature of the patterning compound so as to allow the patterning compound to transition between immobile and mobile;
• wherein the temperature of the patterning compound is altered more than the average temperature of the environment of the tip;
• and
• allowing a desired amount of the mobile patterning compound to transfer to the substrate in a desired pattern.

A method for depositing multiple patterning compounds comprising the acts of:

• providing a substrate;
• providing a scanning probe microscope tip coated with at least two patterning compounds having different melting temperatures, the patterning compounds forming coatings in order of their melting temperatures with the patterning compound having the highest melting temperature forming the first coating;
• contacting the patterning compound with the substrate;
• altering the temperature of the patterning compounds so as to allow at least one of the patterning compounds to transition between immobile and mobile;
• and
• allowing a desired amount of the mobile patterning compound to transfer to the substrate in a desired pattern;
• wherein only those patterning compounds whose transition temperatures are reached or exceeded are deposited.