title: Fabrication of periodic silicon nanopillars in a two-dimensional hexagonal array with enhanced control on structural dimension and period.
abstract: We present a method to fabricate well-controlled periodic silicon nanopillars (Si NPs) in hexagonal arrays using silica nanosphere (SNS) lithography (SNL) combined with metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE). The period of the Si NPs is easily changed by using our silica nanosphere (SNS) spin-coating process, which provides excellent monolayer uniformity and coverage (>95%) over large surface areas. The size of the deposited SNS is adjusted by reactive ion etching (RIE) to produce a target diameter at a fixed period for control of the surface pattern size after a gold metal mask layer deposition. The Si NPs are etched with the MaCE technique following introduction of a Ni interfacial layer between the Si and Au catalyst layer for adhesion and improved lithographical accuracy. The result is a fast, convenient, and large-area applicable Si surface nanolithography technique for accurate and reproducible Si NP fabrication.
authors.affiliation: †School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, and ‡School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States.
authors.forename: Jea-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: †School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, and ‡School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Alford
authors.affiliation: †School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, and ‡School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States.
authors.forename: Christiana B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Honsberg