Patterning luminescent nano-crystalline LaPO4:Eu and CePO4:Tb particles embedded in hybrid organosilica with soft-lithographic techniques

Eu3+-doped LaPO4 and Tb3+-doped CePO4 luminescent nanoparticles embedded in hybrid organosilica were patterned by two soft lithographic techniques. The role of various parameters such as solution chemistry, thermal protocols, and modification of the mold-substrate surface energies related to pattern shape formation and adhesion to the substrates have been studied. The shrinkage of the oxide patterns and shape evolution during the process was also examined. The patterns were characterized with optical and photoluminescence (PL) microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Compositional analyses were carried out with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low-energy ion scattering (LEIS), and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The results indicated that the final patterns obtained with these two techniques for the same material have different shapes and adherence to the substrates.