Fabrication and Applications of Ordered Au Nanodisk and Nanohole Arrays

Abstract

We have fabricate ordered Au nanodisk and nanohole arrays on glass substrates using nanosphere lithography (NSL) combined with reactive ion etching (RIE) techniques. The morphology and size distribution of the Au nanodisks and nanoholes were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The sensitivity of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Au nanodisk arrays to change in the surroundings’ refractive index was evaluated by integrating the Au nanodisk arrays into microfluidic channels. In addition, we show that the NSL-fabricated Au nanohole arrays can be applied as templates for patterning micro-/nano-particles under capillary force. The unique structural and optical characteristics of the Au nanodisk and nanohole arrays, as well as the low-cost and high-throughput of NSL-based nanofabrication technique, render these arrays excellent platforms for numerous engineering applications.