HARD TEMPLATES FOR FABRICATION OF NANOSTRUCTURED FILMS

Abstract

In this paper, we review on classes of materials that can be used as hard templates to fabricate nanostructured thin film materials. The hard templates discussed are anodized aluminum oxide (AAO), block copolymer (BC) self-assembly films, and mesoporous thin films (MTFs), with emphasis on MTFs since it has not been reviewed for the application as templates while the first two materials have been reviewed previously by others. Each one of the three classes of templates has advantages and drawbacks. Considering the pore dimensions available by each one of them, the three templates are complementary to one another. Some of the features of MTFs appear to be advantageous over the other types of templates. All and all, these three appear to have complementing features to cover the various aspects required for templates to synthesize nanostructured thin films.