| Metal enhanced fluorescence is a phenomenon in which fluorescent material experiences increased emission intensity when in close proximity to metallic surfaces which contain plasmonic nanostructures. In this study, several methods for fabricating these plasmonic structures is investigated. These fabrication methods include direct imprinting, soft lithography, and microcontact printing. These methods offer a low cost and comparatively simple alternative to conventional photolithographic and etching techniques, which can provide a means for rapidly producing heat stable plasmonic grating patterns and surfaces which contain a high density of plasmonic nanogap features. These nanogap features were shown to produce a mean enhancement factor for Rhodamine 6G fluorescent dye of up to 21 times, and a maximum enhancement factor of 28.4 times compared to glass using a 100 watt mercury vapor lamp on an epifluorescence microscope fitted with a TRITC optical filter cube.;Soft lithography and microcontact printing are further explored in this study for the fabrication of heat stable organosilicate nanochannels which have a channel spacing of 320nm, and a channel height of 25-30nm. These techniques are used in conjunction with lift-off lithography to rapidly fabricate multi-layered channel structures across large surface areas. |
