Formation of patterned arrays of Au nanoparticles on SiC surface by template confined dewetting of normal and oblique deposited nanoscale films

We report on the formation of patterned arrays of Au nanoparticles (NPs) on 6H SiC surface. To this end, we exploit the thermal-induced dewetting properties of a template confined deposited nanoscale Au film. In this approach, the Au surface pattern order, on the SiC substrate, is established by a template confined deposition using a micrometric template. Then, a dewetting process of the patterned Au film is induced by thermal processes. We compare the results, about the patterns formation, obtained for normal and oblique deposited Au films. We show that the normal and oblique depositions, through the same template, originate different patterns of the Au film. As a consequence of these different starting patterns, after the thermal processes, different patterns for the arrays of NPs originating from the dewetting mechanisms are obtained. For each fixed deposition angle a, the pattern evolution is analyzed, by scanning electron microscopy, as a function of the annealing time at 1173 K (900 degrees C). From these analyses, quantitative evaluations on the NPs size evolution are drawn. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.