Fabrication and optical dispersions of three-dimensional hierarchical plasmonic nanostructures

Abstract

This paper describes a facile method for the design and fabrication of hierarchical nanopatterns via aluminum anodization with an application for creating plasmonic crystals. Fabrication of highly-ordered anodized aluminum oxide nanopores requires an applied electric potential for anodization, which is typically set to match the pitch of nanoindentations on Al. This study reports a new voltage regime for Al anodization conditions where the process yields satellite pores of various shapes, periodicities, and sizes around the main pores. These new nanopatterned platforms provide an easy route to fabricate hierarchical metal nanostructures whose energy dispersions are shaped by the mode superposition of the surface plasmon polaritons originating from multiple periodic lattices.