Silver patterning using an atomic force microscope tip and laser-induced chemical deposition from liquids

This article presents a new direct patterning technique in which laser photoreduction of silver from a liquid is controlled by a scanning atomic force microscope tip. Contrary to expectations, the tip suppresses, rather than enhances, deposition on the underlying substrate, and this suppression persists in the absence of the tip. Experiments presented here exclude three potential mechanisms: purely mechanical material removal, depletion of the silver precursor, and preferential photoreduction on existing deposits. These results represent a first step toward direct, negative tone, tip-based patterning of functional materials.