Parallel fabrication of plasmonic nanocone sensing arrays

Conical diffractions of multilayered gratings modeled by Cartesian rigorous coupled-wave analysis

Rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) has become one of the most efficient electromagnetic solvers to cope with the diffractions of large-scale periodic nanostructures. Conventional RCWAs focus on planar diffractions and their iterative stabilities. Conical diffractions, as more general incidence cases, are paid little attention in developing their universal and stable implementations for multilayered gratings. Here, we reformulate RCWA algorithms step by step for conical diffractions in a global Cartesian coordinate system. By applying some mathematics tricks, it is found that boundary conditions in conical diffractions can be reduced to the same forms as that of planar diffractions. Conventional stable algorithms including enhanced transmittance matrices and scattering matrices can be directly implemented to attain robust diffraction efficiencies as well as electromagnetic fields for multilayered gratings. An exemplary application in diffractive-waveguide-based augmented reality verified our algorithms.

Plasmonic enhancement of photovoltaic characteristics of organic solar cells by employing parabola nanostructures at the back of the solar cell

In this paper, we demonstrate the enhanced performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) comprising low band gap photoactive layers (PMDPP3T:PC70BM) and 2-dimensional (2D) arrays of either Ag nano-spheres, nano-hemispheres, or nano-parabolas embedded at the back of the OSCs. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations were performed to compare the performance of the OSCs containing the different plasmonic nanostructures, in terms of optical absorption, short circuit current density (JSC) and power conversion efficiency (PCE). The results demonstrate that single junction OSCs consisting of this new active layer polymer (PMDPP3T), blended with PC70BM, and plasmonic nanostructures at the back of the OSC can enhance the optical absorption in the visible and the NIR region. We demonstrate that the aspect ratio of the nanoparticles embedded at the back of OSCs is a vital parameter for light absorption enhancement. It is observed that the performance in terms of JSC and PCE enhancement of OSC having 2D arrays of Ag nano-parabola at the back of the solar cell improved by 26.41% and 26.37%, respectively, compared to a planar OSC. The enhancement in photon absorption can be attributed due to the enhancement of light scattering from metallic nanostructures near their localized plasmon resonance.

Tuning temperature gradients in subwavelength plasmonic nanocones with tilted illumination

Inducing and controlling temperature gradients in illuminated subwavelength plasmonic structures is a challenging task. Here, we present a strategy to remotely induce and tune temperature gradients in a subwavelength metallic nanocone by adjusting the angle of incidence of linearly polarized continuous-wave illumination. We demonstrate, through rigorous three-dimensional numerical simulations, that properly tilting the incident illumination angle can increase or decrease the photoinduced temperature gradients within the nanostructure. We analyze the apex-base photoinduced temperature gradient for different illumination directions, resembling typical illumination schemes utilized in surface or tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Selectively accessing the hotspots of optical nanoantennas by self-aligned dry laser ablation

Plasmonic nanostructures serve as optical antennas for concentrating the energy of incoming light in localized hotspots close to their surface. By positioning nanoemitters in the antenna hotspots, energy transfer is enabled, leading to novel hybrid antenna-emitter-systems, where the antenna can be used to manipulate the optical properties of the nano-objects. The challenge remains how to precisely position emitters within the hotspots. We report a self-aligned process based on dry laser ablation of a calixarene that enables the attachment of molecules within the electromagnetic hotspots at the tips of gold nanocones. Within the laser focus, the ablation threshold is exceeded in nanoscale volumes, leading to selective access of the hotspot areas. A first indication of the site-selective functionalization process is given by attaching fluorescently labelled proteins to the nanocones. In a second example, Raman-active molecules are selectively attached only to nanocones that were previously exposed in the laser focus, which is verified by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Enabling selective functionalization is an important prerequisite e.g. for preparing single photon sources for quantum optical technologies, or multiplexed Raman sensing platforms.

Superhydrophobic-Superhydrophilic Hybrid Surface with Highly Ordered Tip-Capped Nanopore Arrays for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectroscopy

The designed superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic hybrid surface (SSHS) with highly ordered tip-capped nanopore arrays can be used as an intelligent and fast platform to realize different analyte solutions with different concentrations to be detected at the same time by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This surface is fabricated in a large area by a facile and low-cost method of programmed multistep anodization of aluminum and pore widening process followed by selective chemical modification. The highly ordered tip-capped nanopore arrays can induce the highly sensitive and reproducible Raman signal, whose enhanced factor for rhodamine 6G (R6G) at 1358 cm^-1 is 4.46 × 10⁶. The superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic hybrid property can realize the homogeneous distribution of the concentrated analyte in a droplet at the fixed place, which can avoid the diffusion-limit problem and further enhance the Raman signal. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of dried droplets with different concentrations of R6G or thiram is tested on SSHS, which show good reproducibility. The detection limits of R6G and thiram on SSHS are 10^-10 and 10^-7 M in 50 μL droplets, respectively. Due to the industrial compatibility of the fabrication technique, this smart surface has the potential to evolve into a general platform to develop various advanced chemical and biological sensors.

Precise tailoring of evaporated gold nanocones using electron beam lithography and lift-off

The ability to fabricate nanocones with precise dimensions is essential for several emerging applications. We demonstrate here a method which can be used to fabricate arrays of gold nanocones with high dimensional precision using lithographic and lift-off means. electron beam (ebeam) writing of a spin-coated PMMA-based bilayer resist deposited onto silicon wafers is used to form a shadow mask. This mask gradually closes as the deposition of gold (using ebeam evaporation) proceeds-the result is arrays of gold nanocones on the silicon wafer surface after lift-off of the resist. Observations using scanning electron microscopy enable a statistical study of the dimensions of 360 gold nanocones-the results demonstrate the high precision of the nanocones dimensions. The fabrication process enables the creation of arrays of nanocones with a base diameter varying from 53.6 ± 2.1 nm to 94.1 ± 2.4 nm, a vertical height ranging from 71.3 ± 4.1 nm to 153.4 ± 3.4 nm, and an apex radius of curvature ranging from 8.4 ± 1.2 nm to 11.6 ± 1.5 nm. The results are compared with the predictions of a deposition model which considers the evolving shadow masking during the gold deposition to compute the nanocone profile.

Parallel Aligned Nickel Nanocone Arrays for Multiband Microwave Absorption

Magnetic nanostructures with conical shape are highly desired for pursuing extraordinary magnetic properties and microwave absorption. However, the fabrication of such nanostructures with controlled shape and size uniformities and alignment is not yet realized. Accordingly, the magnetic properties and their application as microwave absorber are not well understood. Here, we report on the first demonstration of controlled fabrication of soft magnetic nickel nanocone arrays with sharp geometry, large aspect ratio, uniform size, and parallel alignment. The imaginary part of the relative complex permeability shows multiband absorption in the 2-17 GHz range. Such an exceptional microwave absorption results from the uniform conical shape and size and the parallel alignment. The absorption mechanisms are discussed under the framework of natural resonance and exchange resonance. The natural resonance is dependent on the shape anisotropy and facilitated by the conical geometry. The exchange resonance is well explained by the observation of the bulk spin waves with exchange coupling at the tip of nanocones using the inelastic light scattering and is consistent with exchange theory predictions for the quantization of bulk spin waves. We expect that our work will shed light on the physical insights into the magnetic properties of nanocones and find great potential in applications of microwave absorption.

Directed Self-Assembly of Polystyrene Nanospheres by Direct Laser-Writing Lithography

In this work, we performed a systematic study on the effect of the geometry of pre-patterned templates and spin-coating conditions on the self-assembling process of colloidal nanospheres. To achieve this goal, large-scale templates, with different size and shape, were generated by direct laser-writer lithography over square millimetre areas. When deposited over patterned templates, the ordering dynamics of the self-assembled nanospheres exhibits an inverse trend with respect to that observed for the maximisation of the correlation length ξ on a flat surface. Furthermore, the self-assembly process was found to be strongly dependent on the height (H) of the template sidewalls. In particular, we observed that, when H is 0.6 times the nanospheres diameter and spinning speed 2500 rpm, the formation of a confined and well ordered monolayer is promoted. To unveil the defects generation inside the templates, a systematic assessment of the directed self-assembly quality was performed by a novel method based on Delaunay triangulation. As a result of this study, we found that, in the best deposition conditions, the self-assembly process leads to well-ordered monolayer that extended for tens of micrometres within the linear templates, where 96.2% of them is aligned with the template sidewalls.

Photothermal conversion of SiO2@Au nanoparticles mediated by surface morphology of gold cluster layer

Photothermal effects in SiO₂@Au core–shell nanoparticles have demonstrated great potential in various applications for drug delivery, thermo-photovoltaics and photothermal cancer therapy, etc. However, the photothermal conversion of SiO₂@Au nanoparticles partially covered by disconnected gold clusters has rarely been investigated systematically. Here, we control the surface morphology of gold clusters on the photothermal conversion performance of SiO₂@Au core–shell nanoparticles by means of chemically adjusting the synthesis parameters, including amounts of gold salts, pH value and reducing agent. The macroscopic variations of the photothermal heating of different nanoparticle dispersions are significantly influenced by the nanoscale differences of gold cluster morphologies on the silica core. The temperature rise can be enhanced by the strong near-field coupling and collective heating among gold clusters with a relatively uniform distribution on the silica core. A numerical model of the simplified photothermal system is formulated to interpret the physical mechanism of the experimental observation, and shows a similar trend of temperature rise implying a reasonably good agreement with experimental data. Our work opens new possibilities for manipulating the light-to-heat conversion performance of SiO₂@Au core–shell nanoparticles and potential applications of heat delivery with spatial resolution on the nanoscale.

We manipulate the surface morphology of gold clusters on SiO₂@Au nanoparticle and found that macroscopic photothermal conversions of different nanoparticle dispersions are significantly affected by nanoscale differences of gold cluster morphologies.

Relative spectral tuning of the vertical versus base modes in plasmonic nanocones

Gold nanocones acting as optical antennas offer an excellent geometry for focusing light near the cone tip, acting as nano-light sources with spot sizes on the order of the tip radius. However only the vertical plasmon mode oscillating in the axial direction can effectively excite the tip, whereas lateral modes oscillating along the cone base create mostly unwanted background in applications. The present work investigates the three-dimensional plasmonic mode structure of nanocones both experimentally and numerically. By tuning the nanocone aspect ratio, the modes can be spectrally tuned relative to each other, making them coincide for maximum excitation, or tuning the base mode away from the vertical mode for effective background suppression.

Time-effective strategies for the fabrication of poly- and single-crystalline gold nano-structures by focused helium ion beam milling

Milling with the focused helium ion beam of a helium ion microscope is one of the most accurate ways to produce nano-structures such as plasmonic nanoantennas. In addition to good and immediate control of the dimensions, features in the sub-10 nm regime are achievable. Especially small gaps and sharp tips in this regime may lead to very high field enhancement under excitation. However, the milling rate of 30 keV helium ions is rather low, making it time-consuming to cut nano-structures out of a gold film. We present two processes to work around the low milling rate to obtain arrays of nano-structures with maximum precision within a reasonable time. These strategies can both be adapted to either poly-crystalline gold films or single-crystalline gold flakes. Using single crystals from a fabrication point of view enables even higher precision due to constant etch rates over the whole crystal as well as straight edges and vertical side-walls due to the uniform crystalline structure.

Size and shape control of a variety of metallic nanostructures using tilted, rotating evaporation and lithographic lift-off techniques

Here, we demonstrate a simple top-down method for nanotechnology whereby electron beam (ebeam) lithography can be combined with tilted, rotated thermal evaporation to control the topography and size of an assortment of metallic objects at the nanometre scale. In order to do this, the evaporation tilt angle is varied between 1 and 24°. The technique allows the 3-dimensional tailoring of a range of metallic object shapes from sharp, flat bottomed spikes to hollow cylinders and rings—all of which have rotational symmetry and whose critical dimensions are much smaller than the lithographic feature size. The lithographic feature size is varied from 400 nm down to 40 nm. The nanostructures are characterized using electron microscopy techniques—the specific shape can be predicted using topographic modelling of the deposition. Although individual nanostructures are studied here, the idea can easily be extended to fabricate arrays for e.g. photonics and metamaterials. Being a generic technique—depending on easily controlled lithographic and evaporation parameters—it can be readily incorporated into any standard planar process and could be adapted to suit other thin-film materials deposited using physical means.

Revisiting semicontinuous silver films as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a very promising analytical technique for the detection and identification of trace amounts of analytes. Among the many substrates used in SERS of great interest are nanostructures fabricated using physical methods, such as semicontinuous metal films obtained via electron beam physical vapor deposition. In these studies, we investigate the influence of morphology of semicontinuous silver films on their SERS properties. The morphologies studied ranged from isolated particles through percolated films to almost continuous films. We found that films below the percolation threshold (transition from dielectric-like to metal-like) made of isolated silver structures provided the largest SERS enhancement of 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) analyte signals. The substrate closest to the percolation threshold has the SERS signal about four times lower than the highest signal sample.

Self-assembled quasi-hexagonal arrays of gold nanoparticles with small gaps for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The fabrication and optical characterization of self-assembled arrangements of rough gold nanoparticles with a high area coverage and narrow gaps for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are reported. A combination of micellar nanolithography and electroless deposition (ED) enables the tuning of the spacing and size of the noble metal nanoparticles. Long-range ordered quasi-hexagonal arrays of gold nanoparticles on silicon substrates with a variation of the particle sizes from about 20 nm to 120 nm are demonstrated. By increasing the particle sizes for the homogeneously spaced particles, a large number of narrow gaps is created, which together with the rough surface of the particles induces a high density of intense hotspots. This makes the surfaces interesting for future applications in near-field-enhanced bio-analytics of molecules. SERS was demonstrated by measuring Raman spectra of 4-MBA on the gold nanoparticles. It was verified that a smaller inter-particle distance leads to an increased SERS signal.

Plasmonic nanodisc arrays on calcinated titania for multimodal analysis of phosphorylated peptides

A hybrid material of gold nanodiscs on a calcinated titania nanofilm that allows for selective quantitative and qualitative characterization of surface-enriched phosphopeptides has been designed and reported. Fabrication was realized through a combination of layer-by-layer deposition and high temperature calcination for the titania, and hole-mask colloidal lithography for the plasmonic nanostructures. The morphology of the resulting titania material was rigorously characterized, exhibiting substantially decreased surface roughness, which allows for lithographic fabrication of plasmonic nanostructures. Moreover, high specificity in adsorption and enrichment of phosphopeptides was exhibited, which was verified by LSPR shifts and matching peaks under mass spectrometric analysis. The construction of these biochips should inform other combinatorial nanofabrication techniques, in addition to allowing future phosphoproteomic analyses to be performed in a time and resource-efficient manner.

Scanning Probe Photonic Nanojet Lithography

The use of nano/microspheres or beads for optical nanolithography is a consolidated technique for achieving subwavelength structures using a cost-effective approach; this method exploits the capability of the beads to focus electromagnetic waves into subwavelength beams called photonic nanojets, which are used to expose the photoresist on which the beads are placed. However, this technique has only been used to produce regular patterns based on the spatial arrangement of the beads on the substrate, thus considerably limiting the pool of applications. Here, we present a novel microsphere-based optical lithography technique that offers high subwavelength resolution and the possibility of generating any arbitrary pattern. The presented method consists of a single microsphere embedded in an AFM cantilever, which can be controlled using the AFM motors to write arbitrary patterns with subwavelength resolution (down to 290 nm with a 405 nm laser). The performance of the proposed technique can compete with those of commercial high-resolution standard instruments, with the advantage of a one-order-of-magnitude reduction in costs. This approach paves the way for direct integration of cost-effective, high-resolution optical lithography capabilities into several existing AFM systems.

Flexible Plasmonic Color Filters Fabricated via Nanotransfer Printing with Nanoimprint-Based Planarization

We investigated the preparation and performance of large-area transmission-type flexible plasmonic color filters (PCFs). These large-area PCFs were fabricated based on a nanotransfer printing (nTP) process that involves nanoimprint-based planarization. This process is a simple surface treatment for easy transfer of a metal to a flexible plastic substrate and formation of patterned aluminum nanodots and nanoholes on a substrate surface with poor roughness. Rabbit-ear structures can form during the nTP process, and this phenomenon was analyzed by numerical simulation. As defects were not detected in a 10 000-round bending test, the PCFs fabricated using this nTP process have excellent mechanical properties.

Patterned Plasmonic Surfaces-Theory, Fabrication, and Applications in Biosensing

Low-profile patterned plasmonic surfaces are synergized with a broad class of silicon microstructures to greatly enhance near-field nanoscale imaging, sensing, and energy harvesting coupled with far-field free-space detection. This concept has a clear impact on several key areas of interest for the MEMS community, including but not limited to ultra-compact microsystems for sensitive detection of small number of target molecules, and "surface" devices for optical data storage, micro-imaging and displaying. In this paper, we review the current state-of-the-art in plasmonic theory as well as derive design guidance for plasmonic integration with microsystems, fabrication techniques, and selected applications in biosensing, including refractive-index based label-free biosensing, plasmonic integrated lab-on-chip systems, plasmonic near-field scanning optical microscopy and plasmonics on-chip systems for cellular imaging. This paradigm enables low-profile conformal surfaces on microdevices, rather than bulk material or coatings, which provide clear advantages for physical, chemical and biological-related sensing, imaging, and light harvesting, in addition to easier realization, enhanced flexibility, and tunability.

Flexible Gold Nanocone Array Surfaces as a Tool for Regulating Neuronal Behavior

Accelerated neurite outgrowth of rat cortical neurons on a flexible and inexpensive substrate functionalized with gold nanocone arrays is reported. The gold nanocone arrays are fabricated on Teflon films by a bottom-up approach based on colloidal lithography followed by deposition of a thin gold layer. The geometry of nanocone arrays including height and pitch is controlled by the overall etching time and template polystyrene beads size. Fluorescence microscopy studies reveal high viability and significant morphological changes of the neurons on the structured surfaces. The elongation degree of neurite is maximized on the nanocone arrays created with 1 µm polystyrene beads by a factor of two with respect to the control. Furthermore, the interface between the neurons and the nanocones is investigated by scanning electron microscopy and focused ion beam cross-sectioning. The detailed observation of the neuron/nanocone interfaces reveals the morphological similarity between the nanocone tips and the neuronal processes, the existence of interspace at the interface between the cell body and the nanocones, and neurite bridging among the neighboring structures, which may induce the acceleration of neurite outgrowth. The flexible gold nanocone arrays can be a good supporting substrate of neuron culture with noble electrical and optical properties.

Plasmonic nanocone arrays for rapid and detailed cell lysate surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy analysis

A plasmonic nanocone SERS substrate with a uniform enhancement factor is developed and applied for cell lysate studies.

Effect of Grazing Angle Cross-Ion Irradiation on Ag Thin Films

Apart from the spherical shape, control over other shapes is a technical challenge in synthesis approaches of nanostructures. Here, we studied the effect of grazing angle cross-irradiation Ag thin films for the nanostructures evolution from a top-down approach. Ag thin films of different thicknesses were deposited on Si (100) and glass substrates by electron beam evaporation system and subsequently irradiated at grazing angle ions by 80 keV Ar⁺ in two steps (to induce effectively a cross-ion irradiation). Pristine films exhibited dense and uniform distribution of Ag nanoparticles with their characteristic surface plasmon resonance-induced absorption peak around 420 nm. When the film surfaces were treated with cross-grazing angle irradiation of Ar ions with varying effective fluences from 0.5 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² to 2.0 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm², it was found that fluence values governed the competition of sputtering and sputter re-deposition of Ag. As a result, lower irradiation fluence favoured the formation of cone-like nanostructures, whereas high fluence values demonstrated dominant sputtering. Fluence-dependent modification of surface features was studied through the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Theoretical justifications for the underlying mechanisms are presented to justify the experimental results.

Fabrication and characterization of plasmonic nanocone antennas for strong spontaneous emission enhancement

Plasmonic antennas are attractive nanostructures for a large variety of studies ranging from fundamental aspects of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale to industry-relevant applications such as ultrasensitive sensing, enhanced absorption in solar cells or solar fuel generation. A particularly interesting feature of these antennas is that they can enhance the fluorescence properties of emitters. Theoretical calculations have shown that nanocone antennas provide ideal results, but a high degree of manufacturing precision and control is needed to reach optimal performance. In this study, we report on the fabrication of nanocones with base diameters and heights in the range of 100 nm with variable aspect ratios using focused ion beam milling of sputtered nano-crystalline gold layers. The controlled fabrication process allows us to obtain cones with tailored plasmon resonances. The measured plasmon spectra show very good agreement with finite-difference time-domain calculations. Theoretical investigations predict that these nanocones can enhance the spontaneous emission rate of a quantum emitter by several hundred times while keeping its quantum efficiency above 60%.

Coupling single quantum dots to plasmonic nanocones: optical properties

Coupling a single quantum emitter, such as a fluorescent molecule or a quantum dot (QD), to a plasmonic nanostructure is an important issue in nano-optics and nano-spectroscopy, relevant for a wide range of applications, including tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy, plasmon enhanced molecular sensing and spectroscopy, and nanophotonic amplifiers or nanolasers, to mention only a few. While the field enhancement of a sharp nanoantenna increasing the excitation rate of a very closely positioned single molecule or QD has been well investigated, the detailed physical mechanisms involved in the emission of a photon from such a system are, by far, less investigated. In one of our ongoing research projects, we try to address these issues by constructing and spectroscopically analysing geometrically simple hybrid heterostructures consisting of sharp gold cones with single quantum dots attached to the very tip apex. An important goal of this work is to tune the longitudinal plasmon resonance by adjusting the cones' geometry to the emission maximum of the core-shell CdSe/ZnS QDs at nominally 650 nm. Luminescence spectra of the bare cones, pure QDs and hybrid systems were distinguished successfully. In the next steps we will further investigate, experimentally and theoretically, the optical properties of the coupled systems in more detail, such as the fluorescence spectra, blinking statistics, and the current results on the fluorescence lifetimes, and compare them with uncoupled QDs to obtain a clearer picture of the radiative and non-radiative processes.

Self-aligned placement and detection of quantum dots on the tips of individual conical plasmonic nanostructures

Hybrid structures of few or single quantum dots (QDs) coupled to single optical antennas are of prime interest for nano-optical research. The photoluminescence (PL) signal from single nanoemitters, such as QDs, can be enhanced, and their emission characteristics modified, by coupling them to plasmonic nanostructures. Here, a self-aligned technique for placing nanoscale QDs with about 10 nm lateral accuracy and well-defined molecular distances to the tips of individual nanocones is reported. This way the QDs are positioned exactly in the high near-field region that can be created near the cone apex. The cones are excited in the focus of a radially polarized laser beam and the PL signal of few or single QDs on the cone tips is spectrally detected.

Capturing molecules with plasmonic nanotips in microfluidic channels by dielectrophoresis

Over the last decades, different concepts have been established for the use of plasmonic nanostructures in sensing applications. One challenge in this context lies in delivering the analyte of interest to the location of the nanostructures and selectively attaching it to their surfaces. Here we present a method for the collection and concentration of molecules on arrays of metallic nanocones, making use of the high electric field gradients at the nanotips. For this purpose, the nanocones are integrated into a microfluidic channel and used as nanoelectrodes. By applying an AC voltage, dielectrophoresis is used to capture molecules from the channel region near the nanocones. Simulations of the dielectrophoretic forces in the channel are presented as well as experimental proof of the proposed method. After attachment of the molecules, optical read-out techniques can directly be performed on the plasmonic nanostructures.

Fabrication of broadband antireflective plasmonic gold nanocone arrays on flexible polymer films

Flexible broadband antireflective and light-absorbing nanostructured gold thin films are fabricated by gold vapor deposition onto Teflon films modified with nanocone arrays. The nanostructures are created by the oxygen plasma etching of polystyrene bead monolayers on Teflon surfaces. The periodicity and height of the nanocone arrays are controlled by the bead diameter and the overall etching time. The gold nanocone arrays exhibit a reflectivity of less than 1% over a wide spectral range (450-900 nm) and a wide range of incident angles (0-70°); this unique optical response is attributed to a combination of diffractive scattering loss and localized plasmonic absorption. In addition to nanocones, periodic nanostructures of nanocups, nanopyramids, and nanocavities can be created by the plasma etching of colloidal bilayers. This fabrication method can be used to create flexible nanocone-structured gold thin films over large surface areas (cm(2)) and should be rapidly incorporated into new technological applications that require wide-angle and broadband antireflective coatings.