Fabrication of 10nm scale nanogap structures through metal pattern embedded stamp

Abstract

Nanogap structures are fundamental building block for the fabrication of nanometer-sized devices, because they represent the ultimate in terms of atomic control over physical properties and diversity of properties such as a switching and dynamic organization. When nanostructures approach each other, the properties of surface plasmons are altered as a result of the strong coupling between the localized surfaces plasmon of the nanostructures. But conventional lithography processes can’t meet standard requirements of cost, controllability, reliability and reproducibility due to basic limits such as proximity side effect and time consuming. In this study, 10 nm scale nanogap structures were fabricated in combination with 10nm metal pattern and flexible PDMS layer. Furthermore, various shapes and width of nanogap structures was fabricated on a variety of surfaces for versatile applications. For a potential application, this ability was exploited to detect single-molecule level surface-enhanced raman scattering, leading to application in biological and chemical sensing.