Fabrication of microelectrode arrays using microcontact printing

Geometrically defined gold microelectrode arrays are fabricated, in which a self-assembled monolayer of hexadecylmercaptan acts as passivation layer and is region-selectively formed by microcontact-printing (mu CP). By use of differently designed stamps in the mu CP procedure, the dimension of individual microelectrode and the pitch between in the microelectrode array can be easily controlled. The prepared microelectrode arrays are characterized by scanning force microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The results demonstrate that the cross-talk between the individual microelectrodes, which causes current shielding effect, directly correlates the arrangement and the size of the microelectrodes in the arrays. This is in good agreement with the standard microelectrode theory.