| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1688488 | Vacuum | 2014 | 6 Pages |
•DC and RF sputtered AlOx surfaces had been treated by a single UV laser pulse.•Focusing effect of silica nanospheres of the Langmuir–Blodgett film was confirmed.•Ordered pit, or ordered hillock and crater patterns of 200 nm size were fabricated.•Preparing nanostructures with periods below 100 nm is possible with this technique.•The method enables the direct patterning of various materials.
Hexagonal nanopatterns were fabricated in sputter deposited Al-oxide thin films by means of single UV laser pulses via a layer of self-assembled silica nanospheres. The hexagonal pattern was projected to the surface due to the focussing effect of the silica nanolenses enhancing the local impact of the pulse. As a result of the laser pulse large area ordered structure of nano-pits were formed in RF (radio frequency) sputtered amorphous Al-oxide films, while nano-craters were created in DC (direct current) sputter deposited layers that consist of Al nanocrystals embedded in amorphous matrix. The two different mechanisms governing the nanostructure formation in the a-AlOx and nc-Al/AlOx composite layers were revealed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), cross-sectional Transmission Electron Microscopy (XTEM), spectroscopic ellipsometry and computer simulation.
