Mechanical constraint and release generates long, ordered horizontal pores in anodic alumina templates
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Accepted version
Date
2012-04-05
Authors
Bolger, Ciara T.
Fois, Giovanni
Petkov, Nikolay
Sassiat, Nicolas
Burke, Micheal
Quinn, Aidan J.
Corss, Graham L. W.
Holmes, Justin D.
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Publisher
IOP Publishing
Published Version
Abstract
We describe the formation of long, highly ordered arrays of planar oriented anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) pores during plane parallel anodization of thin aluminum 'finger' microstructures fabricated on thermally oxidized silicon substrates and capped with a silicon oxide layer. The pore morphology was found to be strongly influenced by mechanical constraint imposed by the oxide layers surrounding the Al fingers. Tractions induced by the SiO2 substrate and capping layer led to frustrated volume expansion and restricted oxide flow along the interface, with extrusion of oxide into the primary pore volume, leading to the formation of dendritic pore structures and meandering pore growth. However, partial relief of the constraint by a delaminating interfacial fracture, with its tip closely following the anodization front, led to pore growth that was highly ordered with regular, hexagonally packed arrays of straight horizontal pores up to 3 µm long. Detailed characterization of both straight and dendritic planar pores over a range of formation conditions using advanced microscopy techniques is reported, including volume reconstruction, enabling high quality 3D visualization of pore formation.
Description
Keywords
AAO , Mechanical constraint , Anodisation , Stress , Pores , Planar , Order , Anodic oxidation , Interfaces (materials) , Optical microscopy , Silicon compounds , Silicon oxides , Three dimensional computer graphics , Visualization
Citation
Ciara, T. B., Giovanni, F., Nikolay, P., Nicolas, S., Micheál, B., Aidan, J. Q., Graham, L. W. C. and Justin, D. H. (2012) 'Mechanical constraint and release generates long, ordered horizontal pores in anodic alumina templates', Nanotechnology, 23(17), 175602 (10 pp). doi:10.1088/0957-4484/23/17/175602
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© 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Nanotechnology. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://stacks.iop.org/0957-4484/23/i=17/a=175602