Site-selective assembly of gold nanoparticles on silicon using AFM nano-oxidation technique

Patterned nanoparticle arrays on solid surface have drawn much attention because of their potential for fabricating nanoelectronic devices. Here, we report a novel method to realize the site-selective assembly of gold nanoparticles on silicon, which combines the AFM nano-oxidation technique and wet chemical assembly technique. Nanosized oxide dots were generated by AFM nano-oxidation on OTS-covered silicon, followed by modification of APTMS monolayer on the oxide dots. Because of the specific electrostatic attraction between gold nanoparticles and the amino-terminated APTMS monolayers, gold nanoparticles were only deposited on the oxidized regions. With this approach, we have successfully fabricated site-selective gold nanoparticle assemblies.