Requirements for graphoepitaxial alignment through solid-state dewetting of Au films

Graphoepitaxial alignment of Au particles through solid-state dewetting of gold films on substrates patterned with topographic features has been demonstrated. Gold films were dewetted on surfaces with a diperiodic array of pits with inverted pyramidal shapes. Under specific conditions, films dewet to form a periodic array of monodisperse particles in the pits. Thick films pull out of the pits rather than dewet into the pits. While particles that form on flat surfaces or between the pits have a (111) out-of-plane texture and random in-plane orientation, particles in pits have (100) out-of plane texture and in-plane alignments such that Au (111) planes are parallel with the facets of the pits. Requirements for relative geometric characteristics of the pits and the film thickness, and requirements on surface-energy anisotropy, are defined for formation of monodisperse graphoepitaxially-aligned particles. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3567302]