Soft lithography of ceramic patterns

Polymer-based precursor solutions are patterned using a soft-lithographic patterning technique to yield sub-micrometer-sized ceramic patterns. By using a polymer-metal-nitrate solution as a lithographic resist, we demonstrate a micromolding procedure using a simple rubber stamp that yields a patterned precursor layer. A subsequent high-temperature annealing step degrades the polymer giving rise to a patterned metal oxide film. This procedure is demonstrated for three different ceramic materials: Al2O3, ZnO, and PbTiO3. Al2O3 initially forms an amorphous phase that is subsequently converted into a polycrystalline material upon electron irradiation. The formed ZnO and PbTiO3 are polycrystalline. PbTiO3 exhibits epitaxial alignment when cast onto a SrTiO3(001) surface that matches its lattice periodicity. This epitaxial alignment is maintained when the PbTiO3 phase is patterned by micromolding, giving rise to epitaxially grown PbTiO3 patterns with feature sizes down to 300 nm.