title: Cheap and robust ultraflat gold surfaces suitable for high-resolution surface modification.
abstract: A simple procedure to elaborate robust ultraflat gold surface without clean room facilities is presented. Self-assembled 3-mercaptopropytriethoxysilane (MPTMS) on silicon was used as a buffer layer on which gold was sputtered using a common sputter-coating apparatus. The optimization of the sample position into the chamber of the sputtering machine yielded the formation of a thin (approximately 8 nm) gold layer. The characterization of the resulting gold surface (i.e., AFM, X-ray reflectivity, and diffraction) has demonstrated its high smoothness (<0.7 nm) over a large scale with a preferred (111) orientation. The robustness of the substrate toward organic solvents and thermal treatment was also tested. The ability of these surfaces to be used as substrates for high-resolution surface modification was confirmed by functionalizing the gold surface using the dip pen nanolithography process.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, UMR CNRS 6087, Université du Maine, Avenue Olivier Messiaen, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pattier
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bardeau
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edely
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gibaud
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Delorme