Large-Scale Nanofabrication of Designed Nanostructures Using Angled Nanospherical-Lens Lithography for Surface Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy.

Nanophotonics has been a focused research discipline for the past decade and has resulted in many novel concepts that promise to change human life. However, the actual penetration of this research into real products is severely limited mostly due to the slow development of economic nanofabrication. In this study, we have demonstrated a versatile and low-cost nanofabrication method referred to as "angled nanospherical-lens lithography (A-NLL)", which is able to produce large-scale and periodic nanopatterns. The nanopatterns designed within a two-dimensional polar chart can be carefully fabricated on the substrate. The fabricated patterns easily cover an area larger than 1 cm2, which is beneficial as platforms for surface enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) where an expensive and bulky IR microscope is not required. We believe that the proposed A-NLL method is ideal for industrialization of future nanophotonic applications.