Templated self-assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the controlled self-assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles into films and patterned trenches on silicon, using electron beam lithography and various characterization techniques.

Contribution

It introduces a method for templated self-assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles with patterned trenches, advancing nanofabrication techniques.

Findings

Successful fabrication of nanoparticle films and trenches 40-1000 nm wide.

Characterization shows uniform nanoparticle distribution and magnetic properties.

Method enables precise patterning for potential nanotechnology applications.

Abstract

We report on self-assembled iron oxide nanoparticle films on silicon substrates. In addition to homogeneously assembled layers, we fabricated patterned trenches of 40-1000 nm width using electron beam lithography for the investigation of assisted self-assembly. The nanoparticles with a diameter of 20 nm +/- 7% were synthesized by thermal decomposition of iron oleate complexes in trioctylamine in presence of oleic acid. Samples with different track widths and nanoparticle concentration were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry.