Integrated fabrication and magnetic positioning of metallic and polymeric nanowires embedded in thin epoxy slabs.
This paper describes a process for the fabrication and positioning of nanowires (of Au, Pd, and conjugated polymers) embedded in thin epoxy slabs. The procedure has four steps: (i) coembedding a thin film of metal or conducting polymer with a thin film of nickel metal (Ni) in epoxy; (ii) sectioning the embedded structures into nanowires with an ultramicrotome ("nanoskiving"); (iii) floating the epoxy sections on a pool of water; and (iv) positioning the sections with an external magnet to a desired location ("magnetic mooring"). As the water evaporates, capillary interactions cause the sections to adhere to the substrate. Both the Ni and epoxy can be etched to generate free-standing metallic nanowires. The average translational deviation in the positioning of two nanowires with respect to each other is 16 +/- 13 mum, and the average angular deviation is 3 +/- 2 degrees . Successive depositions of nanowires yield the following structures of interest for electronic and photonic applications: electrically continuous junctions of two Au nanowires, two Au nanowires spanned by a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanowire; single-crystalline Au nanowires that cross; crossbar arrays of Au nanowires; crossbar arrays of Au and Pd nanowires; and a 50 x 50 array of poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline ladder) (BBL) nanowires. Single-crystalline Au nanowires can be placed on glass wool fibers or on microfabricated polymeric waveguides, with which the nanowire can be addressed optically.
Harvard University, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Darren J
DJ
Lipomi
Filip
F
Ilievski
Benjamin J
BJ
Wiley
Parag B
PB
Deotare
Marko
M
Loncar
George M
GM
Whitesides
D004560:Electricity; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D008280:Magnetics; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D008670:Metals; D011108:Polymers; D006046:Gold; D009532:Nickel