Fabrication of Patterned Polymer Nanowire Arrays

A method for the large-scale fabrication of patterned organic nanowire (NW) arrays is demonstrated by the use of laser interference patterning (LIP) in conjunction with inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching. The NW arrays can be fabricated after a short ICP etching of periodic patterns produced through LIP. Arrays of NWs have been fabricated in UV-absorbent polymers, such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and Dura film (76% polyethylene and 24% polycarbonate), through laser interference photon ablation and in UV transparent polymers such as PVA (polyvinyl acetate) and PP (polypropylene) through laser interference lithography of a thin layer of photoresist coated atop the polymer surface. The dependence of the structure and morphology of NWs as a function of initial pattern created by LIP and the laser energy dose in LIP is discussed. The absence of residual photoresist atop the NWs in UV-transparent polymers is confirmed through Raman spectroscopy.