A technique to transfer metallic nanoscale patterns to small and non-planar surfaces

Conventional lithographic methods (e.g., electron-beam lithography, photolithography) are capable of producing high-resolution structures over large areas but are generally limited to large (>1 cm(2)) planar substrates. Incorporation of these features on unconventional substrates (i.e., small (<1 mm(2)) and/or non-planar substrates) would open possibilities for many applications, including remote fiber-based sensing, nanoscale optical lithography, three-dimensional fabrication, and integration of compact optical elements on fiber and semiconductor lasers. Here we introduce a simple method in which a thin thiol-ene film strips arbitrary nanoscale metallic features from one substrate and is then transferred, along with the attached features, to a substrate that would be difficult or impossible to pattern with conventional lithographic techniques. An oxygen plasma removes the sacrificial film, leaving behind the metallic features. The transfer of dense and sparse patterns of isolated and connected gold features ranging from 30 nm to 1 mum, to both an optical fiber facet and a silica microsphere, demonstrates the versatility of the method. A distinguishing feature of this technique is the use of a thin, sacrificial film to strip and transfer metallic nanopatterns and its ability to directly transfer metallic structures produced by conventional lithography.