Fabrication of Ordered Arrays of Multiple Nanodots Using Anodic Porous Alumina as an Evaporation Mask

Dot—or multiple dot—arrays of nanometer dimensions have applications in nanodevices. Control of the size and site of each dot is essential as variations can alter the optical or catalytic properties of the composite metal nanoparticles. A method is presented in which anodic porous alumina, a typical self-organized structure, is used as an evaporation mask for the shadow evaporation of a metal beam, enabling the spatially resolved deposition of the metal—or several different metals—at the bottom of the apertures of the mask. Each dot in the array is composed of two or three deposits of one or more metals.