Optical Features of Nanowire Forests Prepared by a Plasma Repolymerization Technique

Abstract

In this letter, nanowire forests are prepared by using a plasma repolymerization technique. The preparation process involves only a spin-coating step of polyimide and plasma bombardment of the polymer, the entire process is lithography-free, micromachining-compatible, fast, and extremely simple. Moreover, the nanowire forests can further be utilized as nanomasks in reactive ion etching of silicon for nanowire–nanopillar composite forests. Optical features of the nanowire forests and the nanowire–nanopillar composite forests in different wavelength regions are fully investigated. High transmission of the nanowire forests in a visible-light range implies applications of such forests in transparent devices. A specific absorption peak in a range of 8–10 μ m indicates applications of the composite nanoforests in infrared devices for certain substance sensing.