Direct surface nanopatterning using pyramidal silicon nanopore arrays as templates.

Template-based surface nanopatterning techniques are highly efficient methods in realizing different surface nanopatterns, which are the fundamental structures of various nanodevices. We demonstrate a template of pyramidal silicon nanopore array (PSNA) for direct surface nanopatterning. Using the PSNA templates, deposition experiments of platinum (Pt) and gold-palladium (Au-Pd) particles on chromium-coated silicon substrates were performed. Individual Pt nanocubes and nanocube arrays with different shapes and feature sizes as small as 82 nm were obtained. By tuning the gap between the PSNA template and the substrate, Au-Pd microdot arrays with an average diameter of 7.6 μm were also fabricated. As the nanopore size and shape of the PSNA template can be easily controlled, the corresponding size and shape of the transferred surface nanopatterns are tunable. These results indicate the potential of the PSNA templates for large-scale production of nanopatterns with desired Sizes and Shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]