[Aerodynamic focusing of particles and heavy molecules]

By accelerating a gas containing suspended particles or large molecules through a converging nozzle, the suspended species may be focused and therefore used to write fine lines on a surface. Our objective was to study the limits on how narrow this focal region could be as a function of particle size. We find that, for monodisperse particles with masses mp some 3.6 x 105 times larger than the molecular mass m of the carrier gas (diameters above some 100 angstrom), there is no fundamental obstacle to directly write submicron features. However, this conclusion has been verified experimentally only with particles larger than 0.1 μm. Experimental, theoretical and numerical studies on the defocusing role of Brownian motion for very small particles or heavy molecules have shown that high resolution (purely aerodynamic) focusing is impossible with volatile molecules whose masses are typically smaller than 1000 Dalton. For these, the minimal focal diameter after optimization appears to be 5√(m/mp) times the nozzle diameter dn. But combinations of focused lasers and aerodynamic focusing appear as promising for direct writing with molecular precursors. Theoretical and numerical schemes capable of predicting the evolution of the focusing beam, including Brownian motion effects, have been developed, although further numerical work would be desirable. 11 refs