Fabrication of submicrometre 3D periodic structurescomposed of Si/SiO ₂

Abstract

The successful fabrication of 3D periodic structures composed of two transparent materials in the submicrometre range is reported for the first time. The material system comprises a-Si (n = 3.26) and SiO2 (n = 1.46), and sputter-etching leads to ‘high-fidelity’ layer-to-layer propagation of a concave-convex pattern.