Templated assembly of micropatterned Au–Ni nanoparticles on laser interference-structured surfaces by thermal dewetting

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a method for the assembly of micropatterned bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) with controllable patterns and particle sizes on laser interference-structured substrates. The microstructures of interference patterning in conjunction with the nanostructures fabricated by the direct laser interference ablation (DLIA) were used as the templates for the assembly of patterned NPs in thermal dewetting processes. The location and particle size of micropatterned Au-Ni NPs formed were well-controlled by the nanostructures on the substrate surface. The magnetic domain pattern of as-annealed Au-Ni NPs is consistent with the topography of the silicon templates. The DLIA method provides a one-step new way for the large-area and high throughput fabrication of patterned NPs with the templated dewetting method. It can be easily extended to many metal combinations and has wide applications such as magnetic recording, plasmon-enhancement and other functional nanostructured elements and devices.