US Patent 7102656 Electrostatically driven lithography

A method of nanolithography includes transporting a patterning compound from a nanoscopic tip to a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate. The patterning compound has a first electrostatic charge and the substrate has a second electrostatic charge which is opposite to the first electrostatic charge. The patterning compound can be an electrically conductive polymer having a charged polymer backbone. The patterns can be dots and lines having lateral dimensions of less than one micron. No electrical bias from an external voltage source between the tip and the substrate is needed.