Versatile nanosphere lithography technique combining multiple-exposure nanosphere lens lithography and nanosphere template lithography

A versatile nanosphere composite lithography (NSCL) combining both the advantages of multiple-exposure nanosphere lens lithography (MENSLL) and nanosphere template lithography (NSTL) is demonstrated. By well controlling the development, washing and the drying processes, the nanosphere monolayer can be well retained on the substrate after developing and washing. Thus the NSTL can be performed based on MENSLL to fabricate nanoring, nanocrescent and hierarchical multiple structures. The pattern size and the shape can be systemically tuned by shrinking nanospheres by using dry etching and adjusting the tilted angle. It is a natural nanopattern alignment process and possesses a great potential in the scope of nano-science due to its low cost, simplicity, and versatility for variuos nano-fabrications.