Laser morphological manipulation of gold nanoparticles periodically arranged on solid supports.

Laser morphological manipulation has been performed on gold nanoparticles periodically arranged on solid supports by nanosphere lithography. It is shown that third harmonic Nd:YAG pulse laser irradiation (15 mJ/cm² per pulse) leads to an evolution from the initial polycrystalline, triangular shaped particles to spherical single crystalline particles. These morphological changes are accompanied by a significant change in the optical absorption properties of the array. This study demonstrates that laser irradiation is an excellent technique to control the properties of nanostructured materials on solid supports. Further, it is suggested that the selected area treatment possible with the laser is a valuable new technique for designing functional nanomaterials for applications such as high-density data storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]