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Large-area flexible 3D optical negative index metamaterial formed by nanotransfer printing

Nature Nanotechnology volume 6, pages 402–407 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Negative-index metamaterials (NIMs) are engineered structures with optical properties that cannot be obtained in naturally occurring materials1,2,3. Recent work has demonstrated that focused ion beam4 and layer-by-layer electron-beam lithography5 can be used to pattern the necessary nanoscale features over small areas (hundreds of µm2) for metamaterials with three-dimensional layouts and interesting characteristics, including negative-index behaviour in the optical regime. A key challenge is in the fabrication of such three-dimensional NIMs with sizes and at throughputs necessary for many realistic applications (including lenses, resonators and other photonic components6,7,8). We report a simple printing approach capable of forming large-area, high-quality NIMs with three-dimensional, multilayer formats. Here, a silicon wafer with deep, nanoscale patterns of surface relief serves as a reusable stamp. Blanket deposition of alternating layers of silver and magnesium fluoride onto such a stamp represents a process for ‘inking’ it with thick, multilayer assemblies. Transfer printing this ink material onto rigid or flexible substrates completes the fabrication in a high-throughput manner. Experimental measurements and simulation results show that macroscale, three-dimensional NIMs (>75 cm2) nano-manufactured in this way exhibit a strong, negative index of refraction in the near-infrared spectral range, with excellent figures of merit.

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Figure 1: Fabricating 3D NIMs by transfer printing.
Figure 2: Large-area, printed 3D NIMs in supported and free-standing configurations.
Figure 3: Macroscale, printed 3D NIMs and demonstration of use in a repetitive ‘manufacturing’ mode.
Figure 4: Experimental measurements and simulation results for transmission/reflection and refractive indices of 3D NIMs.

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Acknowledgements

The work at University of Illinois was supported by a grant from the Office of Naval Research. The authors also gratefully knowledge the contribution of Sandia National Laboratory, which is a multi-programme laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the US Department of Energy (contract no. DE-AC04-94AL85000), in fabricating the large-area master mask using deep UV lithography.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Beckman Institute, and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Debashis Chanda, Kazuki Shigeta, Sidhartha Gupta, Tyler Cain, Andrew Carlson, Agustin Mihi, Paul Braun & John A. Rogers

  2. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    John A. Rogers

  3. Research and Intelligence Department, US Navy NAVAIR-NAWCWD, Chemistry Branch, China Lake, California, 93555, USA

    Alfred J. Baca

  4. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

    Gregory R. Bogart

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  1. Debashis Chanda
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Contributions

D.C. conceived the idea and designed experiments. J.A.R. provided technical guidance. D.C., K.S. and T.C. performed the experiments. D.C. measured, analysed and simulated the data. G.R.B., S.G., A.M., A.C., A.B. and P.B. contributed materials and analysis tools. D.C. and J.A.R. co-wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to John A. Rogers.

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Chanda, D., Shigeta, K., Gupta, S. et al. Large-area flexible 3D optical negative index metamaterial formed by nanotransfer printing. Nature Nanotech 6, 402–407 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2011.82

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