Aluminum Nanowire Arrays via Directed Assembly

Vertically-oriented metal nanowire arrays are rare. Here, freestanding, vertically-oriented, and lithographically-ordered Al nanowire arrays have been fabricated via directed assembly [1]. The fabrication technique is a variation on the preparation of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, using nanoimprint lithography (NIL) to direct the formation of pores on an Al film and produce Al nanowires. Near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) and conventional optical microscope data of a single nanowire lying on glass and illuminated by a laser spot show evidence of surface plasmons propagating along the nanowire. [1] N. T. Nesbitt, J. M. Merlo, A. H. Rose, Y. M. Calm, K. Kempa, M. J. Burns, M. J. Naughton, Nano Lett. (2015), DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02408