Conical tungsten stamps for the replication of pore arrays in anodic aluminium oxide films.

A tungsten master stamp has been generated by applying a novel procedure that includes two-step anodizing, followed by sequential anodizing and pore widening to develop nominally funnelled pores. These conical-shaped pores were filled with tungsten by sputter coating to manufacture a master stamp. Under a pressure of 65 MPa, the master stamp successfully embossed the surface of annealed and electropolished aluminium. The embossed surface was then used to control the position of pores created by anodizing under the conditions used to produce the original pore array.