Arrays of gold nanostars by optical printing

Obtaining arrays of single nanoparticles with three-dimensional complex shapes is of interest for many applications, but remains an open challenge of nanotechnology. Current nanolithographic methods do not allow for the preparation of nanoparticles with complex features like nanostars.

In our recent paper in Nano Letters, we present an investigation of the optical printing of gold nanostars of different sizes as a function of laser wavelength and power. We found that tuning the laser to the main resonances of the nanostars in the near-infrared makes it possible to avoid nanoparticles reshaping due to plasmonic heating, enabling their deposition at the single particle level and in ordered arrays. Some examples in below