How light gets through periodically nanostructured metal films: a role of surface polaritonic crystals

The review reports on the results of our research work on nanostructured metal films onto porous silicon. Principal steps of the techniques allowing fabrication of metal films completely inheriting morphological pattern of different types of porous silicon are presented. It is shown, that giving of the nanostructured pattern to metal films by means of porous silicon template opens their new structural, optical, mechanical and electrical properties, which can be successfully applied in nanoelectronics and biomedicine, particularly including devices based on superconductivity effect, SERS analysis with picomolar sensitivity and transdermal drug delivery by electroporation.

Download Full-text

Is There a Critical Size in Nano Grained Metals for Ductile to Brittle Transition?

Design, Synthesis, and Applications ◽

10.1115/nano2004-46097 ◽

2004 ◽

Author(s):

Aman Haque ◽

Taher Saif

Keyword(s):

Grain Size ◽

Grain Boundary ◽

Critical Size ◽

Volume Ratio ◽

Metal Films ◽

Metal Structures ◽

Brittle Transition ◽

Ductile To Brittle Transition ◽

Metal Properties

Nanoscale metal films and electrodes are extensively used in today’s micro and nano electronics as well as nano mechanical systems. These metal structures are usually polycrystalline in nature with nano scale grains connected to each other by grain boundaries. The small size offers large grain boundary to volume ratio that is likely to affect the metal properties significantly. Here, we discuss the role of grain size and boundaries in determining the mechanical behavior of metals, such as elasticity and yielding.

Download Full-text

The role of ion-beam cleaning in the growth of strained-layer epitaxial thin transition metal films

Journal of Materials Research ◽

10.1557/jmr.1987.0446 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 446-455 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Sung I. Park ◽

A. Marshall ◽

R. H. Hammond ◽

T. H. Geballe ◽

J. Talvacchio

Keyword(s):

Tunnel Junctions ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Surface Damage ◽

Metal Films ◽

Strained Layer ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Lattice Matched

Low-energy ion-beam cleaning of the substrates prior to a deposition greatly enhances the quality of ultrathin (< 100 Å) refractory superconducting (Nb, V) films. Using this technique Nb films as thin as 7 Å have been grown, from which good tunnel junctions have been fabricated. Both the native films and the tunnel junctions are sturdy and can be thermally recycled without any degradation. In-situ surface study along with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results suggest the removal of the carbon atoms from the surface of the substrate without an apparent surface damage as the causes of the improvement. The TEM results indicate that the Nb films grow perfectly lattice matched to the sapphire substrate when the substrate is ion-beam cleaned. This strained-layer epitaxy is observed up to 40 Å, the maximum thickness investigated through TEM.

Download Full-text