Nanostructured aluminum oxide thin film-based fluorescent sensing: Effects of nanopore size, density and thickness

Herein, the effects of the nanopore size, the nanopore density and the thickness of the nanostructured aluminum oxide (NAO) thin film on the fluorescence enhancement are reported for the first time. It has been found that the fluorescence enhancement of the NAO thin film can be tuned by changing the nanopore size and density. Also, the fluorescence enhancement shows big change when the thickness of NAO thin film increases from 1.1 μm to 2.4 μm, but small variations have been observed when the thickness of NAO thin film changes between 2.4 μm to 4.4 μm. These experiments suggest the possible optimum fluorescence enhancement of the NAO thin film by modifying the dimensional parameters of the NAO. In addition, the enhanced single yeast cell fluorescence imaging on the NAO thin film has also been demonstrated.