Metal nanostructures are the main building blocks of metamaterials and plasmonics which show many extraordinary properties not existing in nature. A simple and widely applicable method that can directly pattern metals with silicon molds without the need of resists, using pressures of <4 MPa and temperatures of 25-150 °C is reported. Three-dimensional structures with smooth and vertical sidewalls, down to sub-10 nm resolution, are generated in silver and gold films in a single patterning step. Using this nanopatterning scheme, large-scale vivid images through extraordinary optical transmission and strong surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates are realized. Resistless nanoimprinting in metal (RNIM) is a new class of metal patterning that allows plasmonic nanostructures to be fabricated quickly, repeatedly, and at a low-cost.
Here, we demonstrate a novel device structure design to enhance the electrical conversion output of a triboelectric device through the piezoelectric effect called as the piezo-induced triboelectric (PIT) device. By utilizing the piezopotential of ZnO nanowires embedded into the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer attached on the top electrode of the conventional triboelectric device (Au/PDMS-Al), the PIT device exhibits an output power density of 50 μW/cm, which is larger than that of the conventional triboelectric device by up to 100 folds under the external applied force of 8.5 N. We found that the effect of the external piezopotential on the top Au electrode of the triboelectric device not only enhances the electron transfer from the Al electrode to PDMS but also boosts the internal built-in potential of the triboelectric device through an external electric field of the piezoelectric layer. Furthermore, 100 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could be lighted up via the PIT device, whereas the conventional device could illuminate less than 20 LED bulbs. Thus, our results highlight that the enhancement of the triboelectric output can be achieved by using a PIT device structure, which enables us to develop hybrid nanogenerators for various self-power electronics such as wearable and mobile devices.
We describe a method of detecting nanometer-level gap and tip/tilt alignment between a focusing zone plate mask and a silicon substrate using interferometric-spatial-phase-imaging (ISPI). The zone plate mask is used to generate submicrometer focused light spot to induce silicon nanowire growth in a CVD process. ISPI makes use of diffracting fringes from gratings and checkerboards fabricated on the mask to determine the correct gapping distance for the focusing zone plates. The method is capable of detecting alignment inside a gas-flow chamber with variable pressure.
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