Cleaning of structured templates from nanoparticle accumulation using silicone

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxan (PDMS) turned out to be a simple and cost efficient material for the removal of nanoparticles from patterned surfaces. After molding the particle-laden surface using liquid silicone, surface cleaning is realized by curing the PDMS comprising the encapsulated particles and subsequent removal. The method is proven for silicon, SiO 2 and gold surfaces occupied by carbon and Polytetrafluorethylen (PTFE or Teflon) particles. Samples up to 2 inch wafers were successfully cleaned. The effect of PDMS on the surface energy is verified by contact angle measurements showing a clear change in wetting for H 2O. This effect is abolished by oxygen plasma and HF-Dip

Vertical GaN Nanowires and Nanoscale Light-Emitting-Diode Arrays for Lighting and Sensing Applications

“…This method provides an accurate way to transfer the mask patterns into the desired vertical nanostructures, however it is also very challenging . With a high bonding energy of 8.92 eV/atom, GaN is harder than other common semiconductor materials (e.g., silicon − ) and requires mainly physical etching conditions, especially since SF 6 and H 2 with their nontoxic and noncorrosive features were used as etching gases in this work. This was done to avoid the usage of more commonly used, but corrosive, chloride- and bromide-based gases in the fabrication process, which may damage the established Cr masks.…”

P1.2.10 Recycling of Cantilevers for Nanoparticle Detection by Lift-off Technique

“…Recycling by typical wet chemical cleaning methods does not end up in cleaned unladen surfaces. An approach using silicone which can incorporate and detach the particles from flat surfaces [5] was found to fail because of the fragility of the cantilevers. The approach focused in this contribution circumvents the direct attachment of NPs to the silicon using a sacrificial layer on top of the silicon.…”