Abstract
We present a novel soft-nanoimprint procedure to fabricate high-quality sub-wavelength hole arrays in optically thick films of gold on glass substrates. We fabricate 0.5 × 0.5 mm2 structures composed of a square array of 180 nm-diameter holes with a 780 nm pitch. Optical angular transmission measurements on the arrays show clear extraordinary transmission peaks corresponding to the dispersion of surface plasmon polaritons propagating on either side of the metal film. The transmission features can be strongly controlled by engineering the dielectric environment around the holes. As the nanoimprint procedure enables fabrication of nanoscale patterns over wafer-scale areas at low cost, these imprinted metal nanoparticle arrays can find applications in, e.g., optical components, photovoltaics, integrated optics, and microfluidics.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
T.W. Ebbesen, H.J. Lezec, H.F. Ghaemi, T. Thio, and P.A. Wolff: Extraordinary optical transmission through sub-wavelength hole arrays. Nature 391, 667 (1998).
H.F. Ghaemi, T. Thio, D.E. Grupp, T.W. Ebbesen, and H.J. Lezec: Surface plasmons enhance optical transmission through subwavelength holes. Phys. Rev. B 58, 6779 (1998).
C. Genet and T.W. Ebbesen: Light in tiny holes. Nature 455, 39 (2007).
L. Martin-Moreno, F.J. Garcfa-Vidal, H.J. Lezec, K.M. Pellerin, T. Thio, J.B. Pendry, and T.W. Ebbesen: Theory of extraordinary optical transmission through subwavelength hole arrays. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1114 (2001).
J.L. Skinner, A.A. Talin, and D.A. Horsley: A MEMS light modulator based on diffractive nanohole gratings. Opt. Express, 16, 3701 (2008).
J.M. McMahon, J. Henzie, T.W. Odom, G.C. Schatz, and S.K. Gray: Tailoring the sensing capabilities of nanohole arrays in gold films with Rayleigh anomaly-surface plasmon polaritons Opt. Express 15, 18119 (2007).
H.A. Atwater and A. Polman: Plasmonics for improved photovoltaic devices. Nat. Mater. 9, 21 (2010).
V.E. Ferry, M.A. Verschuuren, H.B.T. Li, E. Verhagen, R.J. Walters, R. E.I. Schropp, H.A. Atwater, and A. Polman: Light trapping in ultrathin plas-monic solar cells. Opt. Express 18, A237 (2010).
B.D. Gates, Q. Xu, M. Stewart, D. Ryan, C.G. Willson, G.M. Whitesides: New approaches to nanofabrication: molding, printing, and other techniques. Chem. Rev. 105, 1171 (2005).
A. Boltasseva: Plasmonic components fabrication via nanoimprint. J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11, 114001 (2009).
E.-S. Kwak, J. Henzie, S.-H. Chang, S.K. Gray, G.C. Schatz, and T.W. Odom: Surface plasmon standing waves in large-area subwavelength hole arrays. Nano Lett. 5, 1963 (2005).
V. Malyarchuk, F. Hua, N.H. Mack, V.T. Velasquez, J.O. White, R.G. Nuzzo, and J.A. Rogers: High performance plasmonic crystal sensor formed by soft nanoimprint lithography. Opt. Express, 2, 5669 (2005).
J. Henzie, M.H. Lee, and T.W. Odom: Multiscale patterning of plasmonic metamaterials. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2, 549 (2007).
T.T. Truong, J. Maria, J. Yao, M.E. Stewart, T.-W. Lee, S.K. Gray, R.G. Nuzzo, and J.A. Rogers: Nanopost plasmonic crystals. Nanotechnology 20, 434011 (2009).
J. Chena, J. Shia, D. Decaninia, E. Cambrila, Y. Chenc, and A.-M. Haghiri-Gosneta: Gold nanohole arrays for biochemical sensing fabricated by soft UV nanoimprint lithography. Microelectr. Eng. 86, 632 (2009).
S.H. Lee, K.C. Bantz, N.C. Lindquist, S.-H. Oh, and C.L. Haynes: Self-assembled plasmonic nanohole arrays. Langmuir 25, 13685 (2009).
J. Yao, A.-P. Le, S.K. Gray, J.S. Moore, J.A. Rogers, and R.G. Nuzzo: Functional nanostructured plasmonic materials. Adv. Mater. 22, 1102 (2010).
T.W. Odom, J.C. Love, D.B. Wolfe, K.E. Paul, and G.M. Whitesides: Functional nanostructured plasmonic materials. Langmuir 18, 5314 (2002).
M. Verschuuren, and H. van Sprang: 3D Photonic structures by sol-gel imprint lithography. Materials Research Society Symp. Spring Meeting Proc. 1002, N03 (2007).
M.A. Verschuuren, M. Megens, and A. Polman: unpublished
G.-Y. Jung, Z. Li, W. Wu, Y. Chen, D.L. Olynick, S.-Y. Wang, W.M. Tong, and R.S. Williams: Vapor-phase self-assembled monolayer for improved mold release in nanoimprint lithography. Langmuir, 21, 1158 (2005).
H. Schmid, and B. Michel: Siloxane polymers for high-resolution, high-accuracy soft lithography. Macromolecules, 33, 3042 (2000).
T.W. Odom, J.C. Love, K.E. Paul, D.B. Wolfe, and G.M. Whitesides: Improved pattern transfer in soft lithography using composite stamps. Langmuir, 18, 5314 (2002).
D. Burdinski, and M.H. Blees: Thiosulfate- and thiosulfonate-based etch-ants for the patterning of gold using microcontact printing. Chem. Mater. 19, 3933 (2007).
M.J.A. de Dood, E.F.C. Driessen, D. Stolwijk, and M.P. van Exter: Observation of coupling between surface plasmons in index-matched hole arrays. Phys. Rev. B, 77, 115437 (2008).
K.L. van der Molen, K.J. Klein Koerkamp, S. Enoch, F.B. Segerink, N.F. van Hulst, and L. Kuipers: Role of shape and localized resonances in extraordinary transmission through periodic arrays of subwavelength holes: Experiment and theory. Phys. Rev. B 72, 045421 (2005).
D. Stolwijk, E.F.C. Driessen, M.A. Verschuuren, G.W.’t Hooft, M.P. van Exter, and M.J.A. de Dood: Enhanced coupling of plasmons in hole arrays with periodic dielectric antennas. Opt. Lett. 33, 363 (2008).
M.J.A. de Dood, E.F.C. Driessen, D. Stolwijk, M.P. van Exter, M.A. Verschuuren, and G.W.’t Hooft: Solid-state index matching of surface plasmons. Proc. SPIE 6987, 6987113 (2008).
K.J. Klein Koerkamp, S. Enoch, F.B. Segerink, N.F. van Hulst, and L. Kuipers: Strong influence of hole shape on extraordinary transmission through periodic arrays of subwavelength holes. Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 183901 (2004).
E.J.A. Kroekenstoel, E. Verhagen, R.J. Walters, L. Kuipers, and A. Polman: Enhanced spontaneous emission rate in annular plasmonic nanocavities. Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 263106 (2009).
Acknowledgments
We thank Ewold Verhagen for useful discussions and insights. The AMOLF part of this work is part of the research program of FOM which is financially supported by NWO. It is also supported by the European Research Counsel and by NANONED, a nanotechnology program of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Verschuuren, M.A., de Dood, M.J.A., Stolwijk, D. et al. Optical properties of high-quality nanohole arrays in gold made using soft-nanoimprint lithography. MRS Communications 5, 547–553 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.70
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.70