High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN) began as a scanning probe lithography technique where an atomic force microscope tip was used to transfer alkane thiolates to a gold surface. This technique allows surface patterning on scales of under 100 nanometers. DPN is the nanotechnology analog of the dip pen (also called the quill pen), where the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever acts as a "pen," which is coated with a chemical compound or mixture acting as an "ink," and put in contact with a substrate, the "paper."