Single-shot Laser-assisted Nanofabrication of Plasmonic Nanorings

Simple high-performing two-step technique for fabrication different functional plasmonic nanostructures including nanorods, separated and crossed nanorings, as well as more complex hybrid structures on both glass and silicon substrates was proposed. In this technique the noble metal film covering bulk glass or silicon substrates is irradiated by single tightly focused nanosecond laser pulse followed by slow polishing of the fabricated nanostructures by accelerated argon ion (Ar⁺) beam. Nanosecond laser pulse locally modifies its initial thickness of metal film through the initiation of ultrafast melting and subsequent hydrodynamic processes, while the following Ar⁺ polishing reveals only the features of its topography - plasmonic structures on the glass/Si substrate. We demonstrate that both the type and lateral size of the resulting functional plasmonic nanostructure are determined by the pulse energy, metal film thickness as well as the optical spot size, while subsequent Ar⁺ polishing allows varying the height of the resulting nanostructures. The proposed simple two-step high-throughput technique represents the next step towards direct lased-induced fabrication of complex functional plasmonic nanostructures and is well-suited for both large-scale fabrication of ordered arrays comprising hundreds of nanoelements and single nanostructure at a given point on the sample surface.