Nonlithographic fabrication of lateral superlattices for nanometric electromagnetic-optic applications

A nonlithographic technique that utilizes highly ordered anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) porous membrane as a template is employed as a general fabrication means for the formation of an array of vastly different two-dimensional lateral superlattice nanostructures. The fact that material systems as different as metals, semiconductors, and carbon nanotubes can be treated with the same ease attest to the generality of this nanofabrication approach. The original AAO membranes determine the uniformity, packing density, and size of the nanostructures. The flexibility of using a variety of materials, the accurate control over fabrication process, and the command over AAO template attributes, gives us the freedom of engineering various physical properties determined by the shape, size, composition, and doping of the nanostructures. The novel nanomaterial platform realized by this unique technique is powerfully enabling for a broad range of applications.