Light-induced mass transport in amorphous chalcogenides: Toward surface plasmon-assisted nanolithography and near-field nanoimaging (Phys. Status Solidi B 7/2014)

• Published in: Physica Status Solidi. B: Basic Solid State Physics Vol. 251; no. 7; pp. np - n/a
• Main Authors: Trunov, M. L., Lytvyn, P. M., Nagy, P. M., Csik, A., Rubish, V. M., Kökényesi, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2014
• Subjects: Anisotropy; Chalcogenides; Electric fields; Glass; Gold; Nanostructure; Noble metals; Topography
• ISSN: 0370-1972; 1521-3951
• DOI: 10.1002/pssb.201470141

Surface plasmon (SP)‐assisted nanolithography has been introduced as a new technique for producing surface topography variation with sub‐wavelength resolution in photosensitive thin films. The technique utilizes near fields generated by specially designed nanoparticles (NPs) of noble metals with different dimensions and shapes incorporated into the matrix of the photoresist. The subject of special interest is the mass‐transport processes at nano‐scale stimulated in the composite layer (amorphous film‐NPs) either by uniform or periodically distributed optical fields. Trunov et al. (pp. 1354‐1362) examine two light‐sensitive composites (As20Se80/Au NPs and Se/Au NPs) and establish that photoinduced masstransport in these films can be enhanced at the nanoscale by localized plasmonic fields generated in gold NPs. It was found that irradiation by light in the presence of SP resonance roduces profound surface nanostructurizations, and variation in surface topography follows closely and permanently the underlying near‐field intensity pattern. An appropriate model of mass‐transport based on the existence of moving anisotropic dipolar units and internal electric field in chalcogenide glasses as a main driving force of this movement is suggested.