Micro-patterning of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy- silane self-assembled monolayers with colloidal gold

This paper provides a new method to the micro-patterning of 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (ATS) self-assembled monolayers by colloidal Au. Photolithographing of ATS self-assembled monolayers on SiO2-coated Si substrates and subsequent assembly of colloidal Au to the amino terminal groups in the unirradiated regions lead to the formation of Au microstructures. As revealed by scanning electron microscopy, the colloidal Au closely replicates the mask patterns on the unirradiated regions. The present approach may be applicable to fabrication of microelectronic circuits and microbiosensors.