Laser Parallel Nanopatterning of Lines and Curves by Micro-particle Lens Arrays (original) (raw)

Parallel near-field optical micro/nanopatterning on curved surfaces by transported micro-particle lens arrays

Journal of Physics D-applied Physics, 2010

Although laser surface nanopatterning by particle-lens arrays, utilizing near field enhancement, has been extensively utilized previously, a suitable technique for the deposition of Particle Lens Arrays (PLA) on curved surface of cylinder was not available. In this paper, a novel technique for nano-patterning on curved surfaces using particle-lens arrays is demonstrated. In the proposed technique, a hexagonal closed pack monolayer of SiO 2 spheres is first formed by self assembly on a flat glass surface. The formed monolayer of particles is then picked up by a flexible optically transparent sticky surface and placed on the substrate to be patterned. A 532 nm wavelength Nd:YVO 4 laser was used to irradiate the substrate with the laser passing through the flexible, transparent surface and the particles. Experimental investigations are made to ascertain the properties of the patterns. In addition, the optical near-field distribution around the particles is numerically simulated. The proposed technique is validated for nanopatterning of curved surface of a cylinder.

Near-field laser parallel nanofabrication of arbitrary-shaped patterns

Applied Physics Letters, 2007

The authors present a simple and efficient technique for laser writing of arbitrary nanopatterns across a large surface area without using projection masks. It is based on the unique near-field focusing effect of a self-assembled particle array on the surface interacting with an angular incident laser beam. The spot resolution can be down to 80 nm. More than 6 ϫ 10 6 nanolines and c-shaped uniform patterns were fabricated simultaneously over an area of 5 ϫ 5 mm 2 by a few laser shots.

Laser assisted surface nanopatterning

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2003

Pulsed laser irradiation combined with scanning probe microscopy (SPM) to achieve surface nanopatterning is investigated. A nanosecond pulsed laser beam is introduced to a gap between SPM tip and substrate surface. With the tip scanning over the surface, 10 nm resolution nanolines and nanocharacters can be obtained on metal and photoresist surfaces. With the fine-tuning of laser processing parameters, the depth and width of the nanolines can be controlled. Laser surface nanopatterning is also carried out by optical near-field effect with particles as lithography mask. Theory study shows that small particles work as efficient lenses. Light intensity under the particles is greatly enhanced dozens of times within a region <100 nm. Submicron particles were self-assembled as the mark to form nanopatterns on substrate surfaces with a 20 nm resolution.

Chemical-assisted laser parallel nanostructuring of silicon in optical near fields

Nanotechnology, 2008

The authors present a simple and efficient technique for producing hexagonal arrays of nanostructures on silicon surfaces in chemical solutions. It utilizes the effect of optical near-field enhancement by self-assembled particle-lens arrays and a thermally induced chemical reaction with an alkaline solution. About 10 8 features can be produced simultaneously by one single laser pulse. Furthermore, the shape of the structures was found to be controllable, from concave holes to convex bumps, by means of a post-etching process, in the same chemical solution.

Nanostructures fabricated on metal surfaces assisted by laser with optical near-field effects

Applied Physics A, 2003

Nanostructures on metal film surfaces have been written directly using a pulsed ultraviolet laser. The optical nearfield effects of the laser were investigated. Spherical silica particles (500-1000 nm in diameter) were placed on metal films. After laser illumination with a single laser shot, nanoholes were obtained at the original position of the particles. The mechanism for the formation of the nanostructure patterns was investigated and found to be the near-field optical resonance effect induced by the particles on the surface. The size of the nanohole was studied as a function of laser fluence and silica particle size. The experimental results show a good agreement with those of the relevant theoretical calculations of the near-field light intensity distribution. The method of particle-enhanced laser irradiation allows the study of field enhancement effects as well as its potential applications for nanolithography.

Laser Sub-Micron Patterning of Rough Surfaces by Micro-Particle Lens Arrays

International Journal of Manufacturing, Materials, and Mechanical Engineering, 2011

Laser surface patterning by Contact Particles Lens Arrays (CPLA) has been widely utilized for patterning of smooth surfaces but there is no technique developed by which CPLA can be deposited on a rough surface. For deposition of CPLA, conventional techniques require the surface to be flat, smooth and hydrophilic. In this study, a new method for the deposition of CPLA on a rough surface is proposed and utilized for patterning. In this method, a hexagonal closed pack monolayer of SiO2 spheres was first formed by self-assembly on a flat glass surface. The formed monolayer of particles was picked up by a flexible sticky surface and then placed on the rough surface to be patterned. A Nd:YVO4 laser was used to irradiate the substrate with the laser passing through the sticky plastic and the particles. Experimental investigations have been carried out to determine the properties of the patterns.

Angle effect in laser nanopatterning with particle-mask

Journal of Applied Physics, 2004

Parallel nanostructuring of substrate surface with particle-mask is a promising technology that may significantly improve the patterning speed under single laser pulse irradiation. In this paper, the influence of the incidence wave angle on the pattern structures is investigated. Polystyrene spherical particles were deposited on the surface in a monolayer form by self-assembly. The sample was then irradiated with 248 nm KrF laser at different incidence angles ␣. It is found that nanostructures can be formed at different positions with different incidence angles. Both round-shape and comet-shape nanostructures can be produced. By varying the incidence angles, the depth of the nanostructures can also be controlled. To explain the different nanostructures produced at different angles, the intensity field distributions under the particle were calculated according to an exact model for light scattering by a sphere on the substrate (P. A. Bobbert and J. Vlieger, Physica A 137A, 209 1986). The main equation in the original model was reformed for the ease of numerical simulation. A method was proposed to calculate the total electric and magnetic field as an extension to the model. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

A review of optical near-fields in particle/tip-assisted laser nanofabrication

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 2009

Nanofabrication by using lasers with a spatial resolution beyond the optical diffraction limit is a challenging task. One of the solutions is to use near-field techniques, in which evanescent waves dominate over free waves in the vicinity of scattering objects and sub-diffraction-limited focus (as small as ∼10 nm) can be achieved. Theoretical modelling of near-field phenomena is extremely important for the understanding of these near-field techniques, especially for some cases where it is not possible to directly measure the near-fields. In this article, a brief review of the existing near-field laser nanofabrication techniques is given. Different theoretical methods for the computation of optical near-fields, including both analytical and numerical methods, are then presented. The optical near-field distributions of different micro/nano-systems (isolated particles, aggregated particles, particles on the substrate, particles in liquid, and the tip-sample system) are then reviewed in...

Surface Nano-fabrication by Laser Precision Engineering

The Review of Laser Engineering, 2008

Research progress on laser nano-fabrication with the combination of AFM, NSOM and transparent particles mask is reviewed. With the combination of other advanced processing tools, laser irradiation can push the processing feature size down to ~ 20 nm. However, laser nano-fabrication with single optics brings about the technical challenge of slow processing speed. Parallel laser nano-patterning was recently developed to achieve large area and high speed nano-fabrication with laser irradiation through a micro-lens array. Laser interference lithography is also studied to fabricate 100 nm functional periodic nanostructures on substrate surfaces.