Benchtop Fabrication of Submicrometer Metal Line and Island Arrays Using Passivative Microcontact Printing and Electroless Plating

An entirely benchtop method of fabricating long‐range, planar arrays of discrete metal structures on glass or SiO2/Si surfaces without the use of e‐beam or photolithography, resist masks, or chemical etching is reported. This approach combines microcontact printing and directed electroless plating for the controlled deposition of islands or lines of gold or silver. The Figure shows gold lines ca. 50 nm in height deposited on a pre‐patterned glass surface.