Uniformly distributed nano-holes are fabricated on the c-plane sapphire guided by the dome shaped Au nanoparticles (NPs) as catalysts.

Nano-hole process is discussed based on the disequilibrium of vapor, liquid, solid interface energies at the Au NP/sapphire interface induced by the Au evaporation at high temperature.

The fabrication of patterned sapphires using the Au NPs as catalysts is a flexible, economical and convenient approach and can find applications in various optoelectronics.