Sandwich structures of gold−self-assembled monolayer−gold were prepared by deposition of gold on alkylthiolate self-assembled monolayers on polycrystalline gold, using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) through a nanosieve. The arrays of sandwiches, around 600 nm in diameter, approximately 10 nm high, and spaced 1.6 μm apart, were analyzed using tapping mode atomic force microscopy. Electrochemical copper deposition experiments showed that of the islands deposited on octadecanethiolate monolayers about 15% were electrically insulated from the bottom gold electrode. This means that PLD is a suitable technique for the fabrication of metal−SAM−metal sandwich structures.

The possibilities of sub-micron patterning by means of microstencils using pulsed laser deposition were investigated. Stencils with circular and elliptical patterns were used, with pore sizes ranging from 1 µm down to 500 nm. Strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ), silicon (Si) and self-assembled monolayers on gold were used as substrate materials, whereas nickel (Ni), nickel oxide (NiO) and gold (Au) have been deposited. The results show that the chosen deposition setup makes an easy and fast way for high-quality pattern creation.