• Melvin, Tracy
• Carpignano, Francesca
• Boden, Stuart
• Horak, Peter
• Pechstedt, Katrin
• Noual, Adnane
• Grant-Jacob, James A.
• Silva, Gloria
• Brocklesby, William

Abstract

The design and fabrication of nanopores within three-dimensionally structured gold films with spherical microcavities of 1.2 µm diameter and 0.6 µm deep in hexagonal close-packed arrays, are described. The cavities are fabricated by electroplating gold around self-assembled arrays of polymer spheres. Following removal of the spheres, and 'lift-off' of the 3D structured gold film, some of the microcavities were milled with a Helium Ion Microscope to provide nanopores through the centre of the microcavity base right through the film. The geometry of the nanopore within the device is designed using theoretical approaches to provide the optimal electric field intensity in the very centre of the nanopore when excited with light of ~ 600 nm (in water). In this paper we report the theoretical simulations used to evaluate the optimal geometry of the nanopore within the centre/base of the gold microcavity. Although a number of various geometries and sizes of pores were considered the theoretical results provide evidence that a pore of 50nm with rounded corners will provide the greatest electrical field intensity inside the pore and the fabrication results provide a demonstrated practical approach for creation of these nanopores within these 3D gold structured films.

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• pore
• polymer
• simulation
• gold