It was noted that colloidal self-assembly was an efficient method for obtaining ordered 3-dimensional nanostructures, but suffered from the problem that defects were difficult to eliminate from the self-assembled nanostructures. A method for reducing the defect density was proposed here. It had been observed that, during self-assembly, the colloidal system went through a transition state having a higher mobility than that of the final rigid nanostructure. This offered the opportunity of annealing-out defects such as vacancies and dislocations. Using in situ reflectance spectra measurements of a self-assembling system, the feasibility of this transition-state annealing method was demonstrated.

Transition State Annealing for Defect Control During Colloidal Self-Assembly. Y.K.Koh, L.K.The, C.C.Wong: Thin Solid Films, 2008, 516[16], 5637-9