Selective electroless deposition of silver for metamaterials applications

Contacts:

Radu Malureanu, rmal@fotonik.dtu.dk, bldg. 345V/178 tel. 452-56377 (rmal@fotonik.dtu.dk)

Electroless deposition of Ag on 3D structures

Metamaterials are engineered structures that present extraordinary optical properties varying from negative refraction to magnetic behaviour in the optical regime. In order to obtain such structures, a carefully design mix of metal and dielectric has to be fabricated. Silver is one of the metals mostly used in the fabrication of metamaterials due to high plasma frequency and low collision one, thus guaranteeing one of the lowest losses in the optical range.

In our department we developed a technique capable of depositing thin (50nm) layers of silver on different non-conductive 3D surfaces. This can be considered one of the first steps into fabricating a 3D metal-dielectric structure. The next step is to be able to selectively cover the structure thus to define only specific places where the deposition will take place.

During this project, the task is to find a procedure that allows deposition of silver on 3D structures fabricated using two-photon polymerisation technique but, in the same time, leaving the substrate as clean as possible. It will involve manufacturing the 3D structures using the available Cleanroom facility and experimenting with different techniques for treating the substrate for ensuring non adhesion of the silver layer.