Microstructures and method of manufacture

Abstract

In order to provide a structure which has a sufficiently large signal strength and generates local plasmon resonance of excellent reproducibility, the invention provides a process for manufacturing a structure at least a portion of which is an aluminum member having on a surface thereof an anodized layer having a plurality of micropores, the process comprising the steps of, in order, anodizing a surface of an aluminum member so as to form an anodized layer having micropores present therein, sealing the micropores in the anodized layer by filling the micropores with metal, surface-treating the sealed anodized layer so as to remove at least a portion of upper layer surface thereof and set the average surface roughness (R_a) to at most 30 nm, and subjecting the surface-treated anodized layer to electrodeposition so as to form metal particles on the metal filled into the micropores during sealing.

Description

[0001] The entire contents of literatures cited in this specification are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a microstructure which uses an aluminum member having on a surface thereof an anodized layer having a plurality of micropores. The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing such a microstructure. [0003] Within technical fields having to do with, for example, metal and semiconductor thin films, fine lines and dots, it is known that the movement of free electrons becomes confined at sizes smaller than some characteristic length, as a result of which peculiar electrical, optical and chemical phenomena become observable. Such phenomena are called “quantum-mechanical size effects” or simply “quantum size effects.” Active research and development is currently being conducted on functional materials which employ such phenomena. Specifically, materials having structures smaller than several hundred nanomet...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0033] When the structure of the invention is used as a sample holder for Raman spectroscopy, because the metal particles are in close proximity and un

Problems solved by technology

As a result, we have discovered that in prior-art devices which employ a self-ordered anodized layer, the resonance intensity is not sufficiently large.

However, we have found that when the resulting plasmon resonance device is used as a sample holder for Raman spectroscopy, signal strength reproducibility is poor.

We have also

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