Fabrication of Nanometer-Scale Patterns by Ion-Milling with Porous Anodic Alumina Masks

The use of porous anodic alumina as a contact mask for ion-milling is demonstrated here to produce highly regular periodic arrays of nano-holes or bosses in an aluminum surface. The interaction of the molten aluminum with the alumina can be either wetting or non-wetting, according to the temperature of the melt, resulting in the formation of bosses (see Figure) or holes.