Fabrication of controllably variable sub-100  nm gaps in silver nanowires by photothermal-induced stress

Optics Letters
Pintu GhoshQiang Li

Abstract

A technique to fabricate nanogaps with controllably variable gap width in silver (Ag) nanowires (NWs) by photothermal-induced stress utilizing a focused continuous-wave laser (532 nm) is presented. For the case of an Ag NW on gold thin film, a gap width starting from ∼20  nm is achieved with a critical minimum power (CMP) of about 160 mW, whereas in the case of an Ag NW placed on top of a zinc oxide NW, the attained gap width is as small as a few nm (<10  nm) with a CMP of only ∼100  mW. In both cases, the CMP is much lower as compared to the required CMP (∼280  mW) for an Ag NW placed on a bare silica substrate. The photothermal-induced stress combined with Rayleigh instability, melting, and sublimation of Ag aids in breaking the Ag NW. In particular, the former one plays a key role in attaining an extremely narrow gap. This technique to fabricate sub-100 nm nanogaps in metal NWs can be extensively implemented in fabrication and maintenance of nanomechanical, nanoplasmonic, and nanoelectronic devices.

References

Nov 18, 2011·ACS Nano·Simone BertolazziAndras Kis
Feb 11, 2012·Nanoscale Research Letters·Paolo MottoPierluigi Civera
Sep 24, 2013·Nanoscale·Peng PengJiming Bao
Oct 15, 2013·Nanotechnology·Daniel LangleyJean-Pierre Simonato
Jun 4, 2016·Nature Communications·Wenqi ZhuKenneth B Crozier

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Citations

Jan 30, 2020·The Journal of Physical Chemistry. a·Zhonghong ShiQiang Li

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