Alumina Film (alumina + film)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Formation of Thick Porous Anodic Alumina Films and Nanowire Arrays on Silicon Wafers and Glass,

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 8 2003
O. Rabin
Abstract A method for the fabrication of thick films of porous anodic alumina on rigid substrates is described. The anodic alumina film was generated by the anodization of an aluminum film evaporated on the substrate. The morphology of the barrier layer between the porous film and the substrate was different from that of anodic films grown on aluminum substrates. The removal of the barrier layer and the electrochemical growth of nanowires within the ordered pores were accomplished without the need to remove the anodic film from the substrate. We fabricated porous anodic alumina samples over large areas (up to 70 cm2), and deposited in them nanowire arrays of various materials. Long nanowires were obtained with lengths of at least 9 ,m and aspect ratios as high as 300. Due to their mechanical robustness and the built-in contact between the conducting substrate and the nanowires, the structures were useful for electrical transport measurements on the arrays. The method was also demonstrated on patterned and non-planar substrates, further expanding the range of applications of these porous alumina and nanowire assemblies. [source]


Nanoparticle Arrays on Surfaces Fabricated Using Anodic Alumina Films as Templates,

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 5 2003
M.S. Sander
Abstract High density nanoparticle arrays on surfaces have been created using a template-assisted approach. Templates were produced by evaporating aluminum onto substrates and subsequently anodizing the aluminum to produce nanoporous alumina films. The resulting templates have a narrow distribution of pore sizes tunable from ,,25 to ,,70 nm. To demonstrate the flexibility of this approach for producing nanoparticle arrays on various substrates, templates have been fabricated on silicon oxide, silicon, and gold surfaces. In all cases, a final chemical etching step yielded pores that extended completely through the template to the underlying substrate. Because the templates remain in intimate contact with the substrate throughout processing, they may be used with either vacuum-based or wet chemical deposition methods to direct the deposition of nanoparticles onto the underlying substrates. Here we have produced gold nanodot arrays using evaporation and gold nanorod arrays by electrodeposition. In each case, the diameter and height of the nanoparticles can be controlled using the confining dimensions of the templates, resulting in high density (,,1010,cm,2) arrays of nanoparticles over large areas (>,1 cm2). [source]


A New Optically Reflective Thin Layer Electrode (ORTLE) Window: Gold on a Thin Porous Alumina Film Used to Observe the Onset of Water Reduction

ELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 1-2 2004

Abstract The fabrication and unique characteristics of a new type of thin layer electrode, an optically reflective thin layer electrode (ORTLE), are described. The electrode was fabricated by the anodization of a thin layer of aluminum sputtered onto a plain glass microscope slide to create a 750,nm-thick porous alumina film. A thin film of gold was then sputtered atop the porous and transparent alumina film. The gold layer remained porous to allow solution into the pores but was optically thick and reflective. Reflectance measurements made through the microscope slide did not interrogate the bulk solution, but show spectral features that shift with the optical properties of the material filling the pores of the alumina film. A simple series of experiments, in which the potential of the ORTLE was stepped negatively to various values in an aqueous sodium sulfate solution, shows that interference fringes shift measurably in the ORTLE spectrum at potentials several hundred millivolts positive of the potential at which gas evolution was visible to the naked eye. [source]


Focused-Ion-Beam-Based Selective Closing and Opening of Anodic Alumina Nanochannels for the Growth of Nanowire Arrays Comprising Multiple Elements,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 13 2008
Nai-Wei Liu
A lithographic process based on focused ion beam bombardment is developed for selectively closing and opening nanochannels on a porous anodic alumina film. This resist-free process is based on the use of focused ion beams with different energies that strike a balance between material sputtering and material relocation. This process is used to selectively grow nanowire patterns of different elements. [source]


Wide-range length metrology by dual-imaging-unit atomic force microscope based on porous alumina

MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 3 2004
Dongxian Zhang
Abstract A new dual-imaging-unit atomic force microscope (DIU-AFM) was developed for wide-range length metrology. In the DIU-AFM, two AFM units were combined, one as a reference unit, and the other a test one. Their probes with Z piezo elements and tips were horizontally set in parallel at the same height to reduce errors due to geometric asymmetry. An XY scanner was attached to an XY block that was able to move in the X direction with a step of about 500 nm. A standard porous alumina film was employed as the reference sample. Both reference sample and test sample were installed at the center of the XY scanner on the same surface and were simultaneously imaged. The two images had the same lateral size, and thus the length of the test sample image could be accurately measured by counting the number of periodic features of the reference one. The XY block together with the XY scanner were next moved in the X direction for about 1.5 ,m and a second pair of reference and test images were obtained by activating the scanner. In this way, a series of pairs of images were acquired and could be spliced into two wide-range reference and test images, respectively. Again, the two spliced images were of the same size and the length of test image was measured based on the reference one. This article presents a discussion about the structure and control of the DIU-AFM system. Some experiments were carried out on the system to demonstrate the method of length calculation and measurement. Experiments show a satisfactory result of wide-range length metrology based on the hexagonal features of the porous alumina with a periodic length of several tens of nanometers. Using this method the DIU-AFM is capable of realizing nanometer-order accuracy length metrology when covering a wide range from micron to several hundreds of microns, or even up to millimeter order. Microsc. Res. Tech. 64:223,227, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Nanoparticle Coating for Advanced Optical, Mechanical and Rheological Properties,

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 16 2007
F. Hakim
Abstract Primary titania nanoparticles were coated with ultrathin alumina films using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). The deposited films were highly uniform and conformal with an average growth rate of 0.2,nm per coating cycle. The alumina films eliminated the surface photocatalytic activity of titania nanoparticles, while maintained their original extinction efficiency of ultraviolet light. Deposited films provided a physical barrier that effectively prevented the titania surface from oxidizing organic material whereas conserving its bulk optical properties. Parts fabricated from coated powders by pressureless sintering had a 13,% increase in surface hardness over parts similarly fabricated from uncoated particles. Owing to its homogeneous distribution, the secondary alumina phase suppressed excessive grain growth. Alumina films completely reacted during sintering to form aluminum titanate composites, as verified by XRD. Coated particles showed a pseudoplastic behavior at low shear rates due to modified colloidal forces. This behavior became similar to the Newtonian flow of uncoated nanoparticle slurries as the shear rate increased. Suspensions of coated particles also showed a decreased viscosity relative to the viscosity of uncoated particle suspensions. [source]