Manufacture of unitary/binary ordered arrays employing self-assembled nanocolloid lithography

Abstract

This paper details the fabrication of unitary and binary nanocolloid arrays using the spin coating technique. Polystyrene spheres of 900 and 100 nm in size were overlaid on the surface of a silicon substrate using a spin coater. To prepare the unitary nanosphere arrays, nanosphere latex spheres of 900 or 100 nm were first mixed with surfactant solution and then spin-coated onto the silicon substrate. For the binary spin coating, both 900 and 100 nm colloidal nanospheres were mixed with surfactant solutions and then concurrently spin-coated. Fabricated nanosphere arrays were evaluated via both scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. The influence of processing parameters, including type of surfactant, nanosphere to surfactant ratio, spin speed, and spin time on the ordering of colloidal array have been identified; after this step is complete, steps can be taken to optimize the process. These steps provide advantages in terms of improved nanosphere array quality.