Composite material for ultra thin membranes

A membrane, comprising:

• (a) a composite layer comprising:
• a first material having a plurality of nanotrenches formed therein as a quasi-periodic, anisotropic array of vertical trenches having a wave-ordered structure pattern and with non-uniform periodicity in the range between 20 and 400 nm, wherein the nanotrenches are formed as openings between bordering elongated elements of the first material and extend completely through the first material from a top side to an opposing bottom side;
• and
• a second material deposited within the nanotrenches, said second material is different from the first material and is a catalytic material, or a material capable of component separation, or a magnetic material;
• and
• (b) a support layer upon which the composite layer is disposed, the support layer defining a plurality of channels though which the composite layer is exposed.

A composite structure comprising:

• a composite layer comprising:
• a first material having a plurality of nanotrenches formed therein as a quasi-periodic, anisotropic array of anisotropic vertical trenches having a wave-ordered structure pattern and with non-uniform periodicity in the range between 20 and 400 nm, wherein the nanotrenches are formed as openings between bordering elongated elements of the first material, at least some of which having the size in the range between 10 and 250 nm in a first horizontal dimension and between 100 and 2500 nm in a second horizontal dimension;
• and
• a second material deposited within the nanotrenches, said second material is different from the first material;
• wherein the nanotrenches extend from a top side of the composite layer to a bottom side of the composite layer and the nanotrenches are partially filled with the second material so that the second material does not extend to the bottom side of the composite layer.

A membrane manufactured in accordance with the steps comprising:

• depositing a layer of thermal SiO2 on the face surface of silicon wafer;
• forming a α-Si/metal interface by depositing a metal layer and, subsequently an amorphous silicon (α-Si) layer on top of the thermal SiO2 layer;
• forming a wave-ordered structure (WOS) with wavelength about λ=20-400 nm on the α-Si/metal interface by exposing said interface to a nitrogen ion beam;
• forming a metal nanomask comprising silicon nitride and portions of the amorphous silicon layer and metal layer;
• forming an array of nanotrenches in portions of the thermal SiO2 layer not covered by the metal nanomask;
• removing remnants of the silicon nitride and the amorphous silicon;
• and
• obliquely depositing an active material, which is a catalytic material, or a material capable of component separation, or a magnetic material, into the nanotrenches.