Silicon surface patterning via galvanic microcontact imprinting lithography

Surface patterning without requiring expensive facilities and complex procedures is a major scientific and technological challenge. We report a simple surface patterning strategy on a silicon wafer surface. This strategy, termed galvanic microcontact imprinting lithography (GMIL), is based on the spontaneous galvanic oxidation of silicon due to the electrically coupled silicon/gold mold with lithographically defined patterns. The galvanic induced silicon oxide pattern can be selectively removed in dilute HF solution or serve as a robust etchant resist in alkaline solution, enabling the formation of regular silicon microstructures on the silicon surface, affording an accessible, simple and cheap surface patterning method with no requirement of expensive and sophisticated instrumentation and facilities. These results may open exciting prospects for next-generation low-cost lithographic techniques.