Scalable, Lithography-Free Plasmonic Metasurfaces by Nano-Patterned/Sculpted Thin Films for Biosensing

Abstract

Scientific research in plasmonic metasurfaces has been widely widespread in the last years, motivated by the recent advances in the nanofabrication field and the increasing demand for high throughput sensing platforms. The recent advances in electronics, microfluidics, and signal processing have enabled the complete development of highly integrated devices with broad application potential. However, the progress observed from a fabrication point of view has been remarkable, led by the potential benefits metamaterials can offer in plasmonic sensing: sensor miniaturization, multiplexing opportunities, and extreme sensitivity biodetection. Although conventional top-down approaches, i.e., electron-beam lithography, have been extensively employed to develop plasmonic metasurfaces for biosensing, lithography-free bottom-up nanofabrication strategies based on nano-patterned/sculpted thin-films are candidates to surpass the limitations of top-down lithographic techniques with large-scale and high-throughput fabrication processes for 2D and 3D plasmonic metasurfaces over a broad material set. This perspective paper focuses on the challenges and opportunities to achieve lithography-free plasmonic metasurfaces by nano-patterned/sculpted thin films to conduct scalable and high-throughput plasmonic metamaterials for sensitive biosensing platforms.

Recent advances in the metamaterial and metasurface-based biosensor in the gigahertz, terahertz, and optical frequency domains

“…Meanwhile, the thermal dewetting (TDW) technique creates large-scale metallic nanostructures through post-thermal annealing. GLAD and TDW also aid in the creation of unique, complex, and highly ordered nanostructures with chirality or hyperbolic dispersion for biosensing using traditional lithography [ 230 ]. Examples include the detection of human IgG antigen based on the thermal dewetting technique using Au nanoislands [ 231 ].…”

Organs‐on‐Chips: Trends and Challenges in Advanced Systems Integration

“…thermal dewetting can help surpass these challenges and, even more, enhance the capabilities of conventional lithographic techniques. [79] In the case of the biorecognition layer, new biofunctionalization strategies are required, considering that a biosensor's final performance implies a direct correlation between the transducer and the biorecognition elements. Traditional biofunctionalization methods are truly time-consuming and require multiple steps.…”

“…As we recently proposed, lithography‐free methods like glancing angle deposition and thermal dewetting can help surpass these challenges and, even more, enhance the capabilities of conventional lithographic techniques. [ 79 ]…”