Solid-state dewetting of patterned thin films

Gold particle arrays have been produced through solid-state dewetting of patterned gold thin films. Patterns included rectangles and terminated lines of different widths, lengths, and film thickness. The particle spacing in long lines followed a Rayleigh-like dependence on the cross-sectional area of the line. Shorter lines had lower numbers of particles, indicating line-end effects. In some cases, ordered particle arrays were obtained. The probability of forming ordered particle arrays was shown to depend on the relative magnitudes of the length, width, and thickness of patterned structures. These trends are captured in design maps. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3268477]