title: Fabrication and characterization of rare-earth-doped nanostructures on surfaces.
abstract: This article presents a simple and practical means to produce rare-earth-based nanostructures, as well as a combined characterization of structure and optical properties in situ. A nanosphere lithography strategy combined with surface chemistry enables the production of arrays of β-NaYF(4):Yb,Er nanorings inlaid in an octadecyltrichlorosilane matrix. These arrays of nanorings are produced over the entire support, such as a 1 cm(2) glass coverslip. The dimension of nanorings can be varied by changing the deposition conditions. A home-constructed, multifunctional microscope integrating atomic force microscopy, near-field scanning optical microscopy, and far-field optical microscopy and spectroscopy is utilized to characterize the nanostructures. This in situ and combined characterization is important for rare-earth-containing nanomaterials in order to correlate local structure with upconversion photoluminescence. Knowledge gained from the investigation should facilitate materials design and optimization, for instance, in the context of photovoltaic devices and biofluorescent probes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Mullen
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Rita J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: El-khouri
authors.forename: Ling-Dong
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Chun-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Timothy E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Patten
authors.forename: Gang-yu
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D008674:Metals, Rare Earth / Q000737:chemistry*; D008853:Microscopy; D054118:Nanospheres / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D011327:Printing; D012821:Silanes / Q000737:chemistry; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013499:Surface Properties; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D008674:Metals, Rare Earth; D012821:Silanes; C061189:octadecyltrichlorosilane