Synthesis of highly ordered nanopores on a photoresist template for applications in nanofabrications

Template synthesis involves preparation of nanostructures of the desired material within the pores of a nanoporous membrane. In this paper we report on the fabrication of a new type of template, photoresist spin-coated on a conductive glass substrate, as an alternative to the commonly used tracketch polymeric membranes and anodic aluminium oxide. The nanopores on the photoresist are created by photolithography using a pre-designed pattern map stored in a Focused-Ion-Beam (FIB) machine. The pores created are highly ordered, of uniform and desired diameters of between 20–35 nm, and run the full length of the resist membrane. Pore dimensions are tenable in the range of 10 nm to hundreds nanometres in diameter and in the range of several micrometers in membrane thickness. We conclude that, in addition to being functionally similar to anodic alumina, the photoresist template is simpler and safer to fabricate making it a better alternative to in-house prepared anodic alumina templates and track-etch polymeric membranes.