Preparation of free-standing multilayer hemispherical shell thin film using monodisperse polymer template

A novel method to fabricate free-standing hemispherical shells of multilayer thin film is the demand of future technology to enhance the superlattices and multiferroic materials with one-dimensional quantum confinement. This is the first report to describe the fabrication of multilayer (LaNiO3 (LNO) (top electrode)/Pb(Zr, Ti)O-3 (PZT)/LNO (bottom electrode)) free-standing thin film with a close-packed hemispherical shell structure. The cross-sectional investigations of the single hemispherical shell reveal the hemispherical space inside the multilayer thin film which is indeed to alleviate the clamping force from the substrate and also it represents each layer in this film has uniform thickness though it is troublesome to achieve in the case of hemispherical shell structure is noteworthy. The fabricated device made up of a thin PZT film sandwiched between the two electrodes with hemispherical close-packed structure (CPS) is the most conceivable material that would open a new window of the wide variety of applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.