Fabrication of Silver Nano-Hole Pattern with Different Hole Sizes by Thermal Transfer Printing

Abstract

The surface plasmon effect occurs in the silver nano-hole films; however, it is hard to make large-area patterns for use in optoelectronic devices. The aim of our research was to fabricate Ag nanohole patterns in a relatively large area with a cost effective method, called thermal transfer printing. Thermal transfer printing is combined with colloidal lithography and soft lithography to fabricate two-dimensional hexagonal arrays of colloidal particles without an interlayer between polymeric colloidal particles and the target substrate. First, three-dimensional colloidal crystals consisting of polystyrene colloidal particles with diameters of 270 nm, 370 nm, and 480 nm were prepared. Next, a top layer of colloidal crystals, which had been pre-etched by oxygen plasma treatments, was transferred to a properly heated glass substrate using a polydimethylsiloxane stamp. Thus, Ag nanohole patterns could be obtained after the metal layer was deposited and the colloidal particles were removed from the film. The hole diameter was easily controlled by O-2 plasma etching. The Ag nano-hole patterns absorb half of the visible light in the region between 541 nm and 725 nm. It can be immediately applied in optoelectronic devices.