Aluminum Nanowire Arrays via Directed Assembly
By Nathan T. Nesbitt and Juan M. Merlo and Aaron H. Rose and Yitzi M. Calm and Krzysztof Kempa and Michael J. Burns and Michael J. Naughton
Published in Nano Letters
2015
Abstract
Freestanding and vertically-oriented metal nanowire arrays have potential utility in a number of applications, but presently lack a route to fabrication. Template-based techniques, such as electrodeposition into lithographically defined nanopore arrays, have produced well-ordered nanowire arrays with a maximum pitch of about 2 ?m; such nanowires, however, tend to cluster due to local attractive forces. Here, we modify this template fabrication method to produce well-ordered, vertically-oriented, freestanding Al nanowire arrays, etched from an underlying Al substrate, with highly tunable pitch. In addition, optical measurements demonstrated that the nanowires support the propagation of surface plasmon polaritons.