Leipzig university researchers have coated coverslips with a thin (less than 50 nm) gold film and 5 nm chrome adhesion layer by Vac Coat?DTT?model to study optically induced 2D and 3D colloidal crystals through dynamic thermofluidic assembly. The results of this research has been published as a journal article in Frontier in Nanotechnology, with the title “Thermofluidic assembly of colloidal crystals” by D. Quinn and F. Cichos in March, 2023.

Crystalline structures as crystalline colloids demonstrate remarkable photonic features, useful in modulation of electromagnetic wave propagation. These structures can be formed in various methods, such as engineering inter-particle interactions, applying external electro-magnetic fields, using optical tweezers, or thermally induced processes, in which local heating of a plasmonic structure like a thin gold film is used to induce a temperature gradient to create/destroy crystalline colloids.

Vac Coat?Desktop Thermal Evaporator, DTT, is a high-vacuum?coating machine?suitable for uniform deposition of different source materials like gold, silver, chrome, etc., by?thermal evaporation method. DTT contains three resistive boat/basket source holders, and can be used for simultaneous material deposition if supplied with multiple high-current power supplies (optional).

Schematic of the temperature measurement using the 5CB technique.