Large area μm and sub-μm structuring of gold layers with microcontact printing using 4-prime and 1-prime PDMS stamps

Microcontact printing (μCP) using PDMS stamps and alkanethiol chemistry is a straightforward method for the structuring of gold layers. We fabricated PDMS stamps from 4-prime Si wafers structured by photolithography, as well as from 1-prime masters produced with UV-nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) directly on a rigid glass back-plate. Large area μm and sub-μm structuring of gold layers was demonstrated using these PDMS stamps. The masters, the stamps and the resulting gold structures were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy