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Free-standing nanoscale gold pyramidal films with milled nanopores

Free-standing nanoscale gold pyramidal films with milled nanopores
Free-standing nanoscale gold pyramidal films with milled nanopores
Thin films of micro and nanostructured metals are important for the construction of plasmonic devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMs). The fabrication of individual metallic, pyramidal shells as well as ultra-smooth metal films with grooves, bumps, pyramids and holes has previously been demonstrated1,2, as has direct raster milling with 5 nm machining precision in 100nm thick gold films3. Routine fabrication of micro and nanostructured thin films is desirable. In this work, the fabrication of arrays of nanoscale pyramidal structures in free-standing gold films is demonstrated, and single nanopores are milled into the nanostructures for DNA translocation.

Silicon Klarite® pyramidal micro-structured substrates are an effective tool for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) experiments, owing to the strong field enhancement within the pyramids. Here, the substrates are used as moulds for creating pyramidal structured gold as free-standing thin films. The silicon substrates contain an array of pyramids etched into a 4mm x 4mm square region on the substrate's surface. These pyramids are 1.5µm x 1.5µm square and 1µm deep on a pitch of 2m. An Edwards E306A Thermal Evaporator is used to coat silicon samples in a 50nm layer of Teflon® and then a 100nm layer of gold. Epoxy is then deposited on top of the gold layer using a pipette. Once the epoxy has cured, the epoxy together with the gold is mechanically lifted from the Teflon® coated substrate. The gold-coated epoxy is then placed over a micron-sized aperture and the epoxy dissolved away using acetone. Initial imaging is performed using a Carl Zeiss SMT, Inc., Evo® scanning electron microscope (SEM), while the subsequent imaging and milling of 50 nm holes through the free-standing gold is carried out using an Carl Zeiss SMT, Inc., Orion® Plus helium ion microscope (HIM). These films are suspended over micron-sized apertures for integration into platforms already proven for DNA translocation, and to optically interrogate the structures using Raman based techniques.
Grant-Jacob, James
c5d144d8-3c43-4195-8e80-edd96bfda91b
Brocklesby, William
c53ca2f6-db65-4e19-ad00-eebeb2e6de67
Melvin, Tracy
fd87f5eb-2bb9-48fa-b7be-7100ace9c50f
Grant-Jacob, James
c5d144d8-3c43-4195-8e80-edd96bfda91b
Brocklesby, William
c53ca2f6-db65-4e19-ad00-eebeb2e6de67
Melvin, Tracy
fd87f5eb-2bb9-48fa-b7be-7100ace9c50f

Grant-Jacob, James, Brocklesby, William and Melvin, Tracy (2012) Free-standing nanoscale gold pyramidal films with milled nanopores. American Vacuum Society: 59th International AVS Symposium, Tampa, United States. 27 Oct - 02 Nov 2012.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Thin films of micro and nanostructured metals are important for the construction of plasmonic devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMs). The fabrication of individual metallic, pyramidal shells as well as ultra-smooth metal films with grooves, bumps, pyramids and holes has previously been demonstrated1,2, as has direct raster milling with 5 nm machining precision in 100nm thick gold films3. Routine fabrication of micro and nanostructured thin films is desirable. In this work, the fabrication of arrays of nanoscale pyramidal structures in free-standing gold films is demonstrated, and single nanopores are milled into the nanostructures for DNA translocation.

Silicon Klarite® pyramidal micro-structured substrates are an effective tool for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) experiments, owing to the strong field enhancement within the pyramids. Here, the substrates are used as moulds for creating pyramidal structured gold as free-standing thin films. The silicon substrates contain an array of pyramids etched into a 4mm x 4mm square region on the substrate's surface. These pyramids are 1.5µm x 1.5µm square and 1µm deep on a pitch of 2m. An Edwards E306A Thermal Evaporator is used to coat silicon samples in a 50nm layer of Teflon® and then a 100nm layer of gold. Epoxy is then deposited on top of the gold layer using a pipette. Once the epoxy has cured, the epoxy together with the gold is mechanically lifted from the Teflon® coated substrate. The gold-coated epoxy is then placed over a micron-sized aperture and the epoxy dissolved away using acetone. Initial imaging is performed using a Carl Zeiss SMT, Inc., Evo® scanning electron microscope (SEM), while the subsequent imaging and milling of 50 nm holes through the free-standing gold is carried out using an Carl Zeiss SMT, Inc., Orion® Plus helium ion microscope (HIM). These films are suspended over micron-sized apertures for integration into platforms already proven for DNA translocation, and to optically interrogate the structures using Raman based techniques.

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More information

Published date: 2012
Venue - Dates: American Vacuum Society: 59th International AVS Symposium, Tampa, United States, 2012-10-27 - 2012-11-02
Organisations: Optoelectronics Research Centre, Electronics & Computer Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 359616
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/359616
PURE UUID: ca0a4bbf-4154-4325-b11f-55a5e71551e2
ORCID for James Grant-Jacob: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4270-4247
ORCID for William Brocklesby: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2123-6712

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Nov 2013 13:25
Last modified: 12 Dec 2021 02:40

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