Large-scale fabrication of uniform gold nanoparticles in ultrahigh vacuum

This paper reports an approach to the fabrication of uniform Au nanoparticles in ultrahigh vacuum. Au atoms are physically vaporized by electron beam evaporation, and their subsequent growths on the substrate surface are chemically controlled by a self-assembled organic monolayer. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy results reveal that large quantities of uniform Au nanoparticles are thus fabricated. The diameters of the as-grown Au nanoparticles are about 5-7 nm, and the particle densities are 1.3-1.5×1012 cm−2. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirms the chemical interactions between the top Au nanoparticles and the organic sublayer, by which the fabrication is achieved.