From nanocone to nanodisc: Structural transformation of gold nanoarrays via simple mechanical stresses

Yuyang Liu, Ke Du, Ishan Wathuthanthri, Chang Hwan Choi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

The authors demonstrate a simple fabrication process that enables to tune the shape, alignment, and dimension of gold nanocone arrays through mechanical stresses. The initial gold nanocone arrays were fabricated by lift-off process using the high-aspect-ratio nanopore arrays defined by interference lithography. Gold nanoarrays with continuous variation in their structural size, shape, orientation, and interspace were achieved by applying either single or combined mechanical stresses of normal pressure and tangential shear. With the tailored normal pressure level, the shapes of gold nanoarrays transformed from nanocones to nanopillars, and then nanodiscs. In the compression mode, the aspect ratio and interstructural gap spacing were controllable isotropically. When tangential shear stress was combined with the normal stress, the nanocones were bent anisotropically to the shearing direction. With an increase of the tangential stress level, the nanocone arrays were overturned and flattened, forming asymmetric and elongated nanodiscs. By alternating the different stress modes, further variation of the structural parameters was attained. The simple approach of tuning the nanotopography of nanoarrays is of great significance to provide a useful platform to systematically study many unexplored nanoscale physical properties of nanoarrays (e.g., nano-electronic, -optical, and -photonic properties) and to broaden their novel applications to the related areas.

Original languageEnglish
Article number06FF10
JournalJournal of Vacuum Science and Technology B:Nanotechnology and Microelectronics
Volume30
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2012

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