Nanopatterning Gold by Templated Solid State Dewetting on the Silica Warp and Weft of Diatoms

Figure 5

(a) FESEM image of N. palea coated with 5 nm Au and annealed at 300°C for 60 min. (b) shows the outcome of annealing a 5 nm Au film at 600°C for 10 minutes. Details of the particle distributions are compared at the bottom for N. palea in the magnification of region (1) and that of the adjacent silica-on-silicon substrate (2). In the latter case, the sternum associated with the raphe marks the boundary between the diatom and the substrate. Blurring of the image in (b) is caused by charging during FESEM image acquisition.

(a)

(b)