Our work described in the 14th December 2006 issue of Nanotechnology was based on recent activities in the field of fullerene-based nanostructures. In particular, we had previously implemented a focused-ion beam structuring method to pin soft-landed carbon clusters at intentionally created defect sites on highly oriented pyrolitic graphite surfaces.
In the present work, we have developed a method to fabricate arrays of hexagonal nanometre-sized cavities on HOPG surfaces based on such defect sites. The method exploits the fact that the amorphous carbon generated by ion beam implantation is considerably more reactive than the graphite basal plane.
Manfred Kappes
In the first step (writing) the sp2-hybridized surface becomes locally amorphized by exposing it to a focused beam of fast Ga+ ions. Subsequently, the arrays of amorphous carbon areas are etched by molecular oxygen at pressures of up to 200 mbar – at elevated surface temperatures. All geometrical parameters of the resulting nanocavity arrays are fully controllable within a wide length range.
In future, we intend to use these arrays of nanocavities as periodically arranged nanoreactors. Furthermore, the nanomesa arrays appearing upon cavity-cavity coalescence at long etch times are promising sources of monodisperse nanographene sheets.
About the author
Artur Böttcher studied experimental physics at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun. He has worked on various aspects of modern surface science at the Fritz Haber Institute and the Humboldt University in Berlin. He is currently involved in a research program for fabrication of functional nanostructures at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. His activities are focused on the fabrication of nanostructures comprising of mass-selected carbon clusters. Manfred M. Kappes is professor of physical chemistry at the University of Karlsruhe and has a joint appointment with the Institute of Nanotechnology at the Karlsruhe Research Center (both institutions are soon to be fused into the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). His research interests include the novel properties of matter at the nanometer scale.
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