Shape-modification of patterned nanoparticles by an ion beam treatment

This paper evaluated a practical approach to the fabrication of arrays of non-spherical nanoparticles by colloidal etching without a mask involving exposure to a low energy ion beam. A spherical nanoparticle array was transferred using a soft nanolithography technique, which is a simple and effective pattern transfer method for nanostructures on the surface of thin adhesive polymers on a planar substrate, after placing the spherical nanoparticles on a patterned PDMS [poly(dimethysiloxane)] stamp produced from a patterned Si wafer. The resulting non-spherical nanoparticle array was driven from a spherical nanoparticle array shape-modified by ion beam irradiation. A well-arrayed layer of cone-like-shapes were produced using a head-on ion beam for different exposure times. Also, a variety of mushroom-like-shapes depending on the exposure angle were produced on a substrate with a well-arranged spherical nanoparticle array. This technique has potential applications in nanophotonics, field emission displays (FEDs) and microfluid.