Submicron Surface Relief Formation Using Thermal Poling of Glasses

Imprinting the relief of anodic electrode in glass surface in the course of DC electric field polarization of the glass is studied using atomic force microscopy. Square grid with rectangular relief produced on silicon by e-beam lithography and ion etching (relief height 120 nm, line width 0.5 μm, and periodicity 1 μm), and lead-silicate glass microchannel plate (channel diameter 9.5 μm and distance between the channels 12.5 μm) possessing electronic conductivity along the channels walls were used as anodic electrodes. The height of the relief formed on glass surface after polarization varied from 5 to 15 nm depending on the conditions of the processing. The mechanism of relief formation is discussed. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2009.617]