Electrochemical Fabrication of Supported Ni Nanostructures Through Transferred Porous Anodic Alumina Mask

Abstract

A process was developed that uses a porous anodic alumina (PAA) mask as a template to electrochemically grow supported metal nanodots and nanowires without the need of aluminum evaporation. A PAA film was fabricated from a high purity Al foil and transferred onto a copper-coated silicon wafer. Nickel was plated with direct current inside the pores of the PAA and silicon supported arrays of Ni nanodots and nanowires were obtained. The transferred porous anodic alumina template process is assessed in terms of feasibility with metallic substrates other than copper.