Nanometer Scale Patterning of Langmuir−Blodgett Films of Gold Nanoparticles by Electron Beam Lithography

Electron beam lithography on Langmuir−Blodgett films of alkanethiol-capped gold nanoparticles is shown to be a viable strategy to define nanometer scale structures of such particles. Sub-50 nm wide “nanowires”, the thickness of which is controlled at the single particle level, are created with e-beam doses in the mC/cm 2 range. It is shown that the patterns are formed by radiation-induced cross-linking of the alkyl chains and that they can be contacted and studied electrically.