Effects of etching time on the bottom surface morphology of ultrathin porous alumina membranes for use as masks

We investigated the effect of etching time on the bottom surface morphologies of ultrathin porous alumina membranes (UT-PAMs) anodized in oxalic and phosphoric acid. The morphology of the bottom surface clearly changed and a unique surface undulation was observed during the etching process. Such an undulation regarding the bottom surface is attributed to the different etching rates between the dome-shaped barrier layer and the hexagonal cell walls. The results suggest that the bottom morphology of UT-PAMs formed after the barrier layer is opened significantly affects the contact area of the bottom side with the substrate. During the initial stage of the opening process for the barrier layer, the porous section will contact the substrate rather than the walls. However, as the etching time increases, the height of the porous section becomes considerably lower than that of the walls, which means that the walls will contact the substrate with a gap between the pores and the substrate. Based on our experimental results, we propose a possible schematic diagram describing the effects of UT-PAMs with differently-shaped bottom surfaces on the shapes of fabricated nanodots when the UT-PAMs are used as masks.