Electric field imprinting of sub-micron patterns in glass–metal nanocomposites

We demonstrate that the dissolution of 10 nm metal nanoparticles localized in the subsurface layer of silicate glass by static electric field can be employed to alter the optical density and surface profile of the glass-metal composite with spatial resolution of 200 nm. The developed technique, which can be referred to as electric field imprinting (EFI), offers an attractive alternative to conventional micro- and nano-pattering techniques.