The nanoporous structure of anodic aluminum oxide fabricated on the Au/Nb/Si substrate

We have studied the anodization behavior of an Al film evaporated on the Au/Nb/Si substrate and demonstrated an effective approach to fabricate the through-hole anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template on the conducting substrate. The smoothness of the initial metal films and an appropriate wet etching of the oxide film anodized in the first step were found to be critical factors for successfully anodizing the Al film on Au surface. The barrier layer of the obtained AAO structure presented a convex and thinner characteristic, and the underlying Au surface became porous after the anodization. This phenomenon was similar to the case of anodizing the Al film on an ITO glass substrate and could be explained reasonably by the effect of high pressure O₂ gas impelling and H⁺ etching at the interface of the barrier oxide and the Au layer.