New design concepts for the fabrication of nanometric gap structures: electrochemical oxidation of OTS mono- and bilayer structures

A reliable nanofabrication concept to engineer metallic nanometric gap structures and to incorporate silver nanoparticles within the gaps utilizing a combination of self-assembly strategies and electrochemical oxidation lithography is developed. The approach uses the differences in oxidation kinetics of n-octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) monolayer and bilayer structures. The processes are investigated in detail and form the basis for a new nanofabrication process.