Methods are reported for the fabrication of colloidal crystal wires with tubular packings. Both free and silica-encased wires have been prepared. Porous silicon membranes are infiltrated with silica spheres, treated with silane, and annealed. After removal of the silicon template, short annealing times were found to result in colloidal crystal wires with varied packing geometries, while repeated annealing cycles produced a thin translucent silica sheath around the wires. Packing in the wires varies with the channel diameter of the Si membrane. The channels used in this study typically produce colloidal crystal wires with six strands, though wires with four to seven strands have been observed. Both chiral and achiral packings are also possible.
We report a simple technique to form various kinds of three-dimensional structures in silicon. The process flow is only composed of two steps: lithography and electrochemical etching (“LEE”). The LEE process is an easy and low-cost solution for the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio structures such as walls, tubes, and pillars. Here we demonstrate the possibility to apply the LEE process on the submicrometer scale, indicating that it is a promising tool for silicon nanomachining.
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