Generation of surface energy patterns by single pulse laser interference on self-assembled monolayers

Single pulse laser interference lithography is used to structure self-assembled monolayers of thiols on gold. This structuring process is investigated by attenuated total reflection measurements, and a demixing process of a binary polymer blend is used to visualize the produced surface energy pattern. The lithography can be realized with different wavelengths (266, 532, and 1064 nm) which shows that the structuring is a thermal process. As a first demonstration of this process, structures down to 800 nm period and 300 nm width are fabricated.