Controlled Self-Assembly of Hexagonal NanoparticlePatterns on Nanotopographies.

Diblockcopolymer micelle nanolithography (BCML) is a versatileand efficient method to cover large surface areas with hexagonallyordered arrays of metal nanoparticles, in which the nanoparticlesare equally spaced. However, this method falls short of providinga controlled allocation of such regular nanoparticle arrays with specificspacing into micropatterns. We present here a quick and high-throughputmethod to generate quasi-hexagonal nanoparticle structures with well-definedinterparticle spacing on segments of nanotopographic Si substrates.The topographic height of these segments plays a dominant role indictating the spacing between the gold nanoparticles, as the nanoparticlearrangement is controlled by immersion forces and by their self-assemblywithin the segments. Our novel strategy of employing a single-stepBCML routine is a highly promising method for the fabrication of regulargold nanopatterns in micropatterns for a wide range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]