Template-assisted three-dimensional nanolithography via geometrically irreversible processing.

An innovative and versatile nanofabrication technique based on template assisted three-dimensional (3D) nanolithography is presented that takes advantage of the irreversibility of conformal growth and conformal etching at locations with negative surface curvatures in 3D templates. Using colloidal crystals as templates, nanoring particles are generated with quantity much higher than conventional methods. Relying on the same principle, metallodielectric photonic crystals with discrete metal elements are fabricated that show strong absorption in the near-IR and transmission at longer wavelengths.