Epitaxial Growth of DNA-Assembled Nanoparticle Superlattices on Patterned Substrates

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 13; no. 12; pp. 6084 - 6090
• Main Authors: Hellstrom, Sondra L, Kim, Youngeun, Fakonas, James S, Senesi, Andrew J, Macfarlane, Robert J, Mirkin, Chad A, Atwater, Harry A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 11-12-2013
• Subjects: Arrays; Assemblies; Chemical synthesis methods; Collective excitations (including excitons, polarons, plasmons and other charge-density excitations); Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Crystal defects; DNA - chemistry; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Epitaxial growth; Exact sciences and technology; Gold - chemistry; Materials science; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanocrystalline materials; Nanoparticles; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals; Nanostructure; Nanostructures - chemistry; Optics and Photonics; Physics; Plasmonics; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Superlattices; Surface and interface electron states; Self-assembly; nanoparticles; plasmonics; DNA; epitaxy; Grain boundaries; Crystal defects; Optoelectronics; Epitaxial layers; Epitaxy; Template reaction; Hybridization; Chip; Extended defects; Nanoelectronics; Nanoparticles; Superlattices; Growth mechanism; Plasmons; Arrays; Nanostructured materials
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl4033654

DNA-functionalized nanoparticles, including plasmonic nanoparticles, can be assembled into a wide range of crystalline arrays via synthetically programmable DNA hybridization interactions. Here we demonstrate that such assemblies can be grown epitaxially on lithographically patterned templates, eliminating grain boundaries and enabling fine control over orientation and size of assemblies up to thousands of square micrometers. We also demonstrate that this epitaxial growth allows for orientational control, systematic introduction of strain, and designed defects, which extend the range of structures that can be made using superlattice assembly. Ultimately, this will open the door to integrating self-assembled plasmonic nanoparticle materials into on-chip optical or optoelectronic platforms.