Abstract
This paper addresses the issue of mold release quality in an electrochemical replication of an optical polyvinyl chloride (PVC) mold, which has microlens array or microprisms array on its surface. The main idea is to deposit a nanoscale Cr thin layer as an antisticking layer on the PVC mold surface, followed by Ag film deposition as the conductive layer using magnetron sputtering, and finally, a nickel layer is electrochemically deposited on the Ag surface. By doing so, the upripping of the nickel mold from the PVC mold becomes easier, resulting in better mold release quality. The experiment results showed that when the Cr antisticking layer was used, the release strength between the nickel mold and the PVC substrate reduced from 1.94 N/cm to 1.43 N/cm, the surface roughness of the PVC substrate after mold release reduced from 0.60 μm to 0.55 μm, the surface roughness of the nickel mold reduced from 0.63 μm to 0.49 μm, the retroreflection coefficient of the nickel mold increased from 1600 cd·lx−1·m−2 to 2100 cd·lx−1·m−2, and the surface energy of the PVC substrate reduced from 31.47 mN/m to 15.53 mN/m.
Highlights
Thin optical films have been developed rapidly for their applications in new energy technologies, new media, and information technologies [1]
The microlens array or microprisms array on the thin optical films is formed by imprinting the cavities of the nickel mold, which is obtained by electrodeposition of nickel on an original mold [10]
The thickness of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) optical mold is only 0.2 mm, and the increase of temperature during the Cr film growth in EBeam evaporation and other thermal spraying methods will lead to its deformation, which seriously affects the optical properties of microprisms [28]
Summary
Thin optical films have been developed rapidly for their applications in new energy technologies, new media, and information technologies [1]. The microlens array or microprisms array on the thin optical films is formed by imprinting the cavities of the nickel mold, which is obtained by electrodeposition of nickel on an original mold [10]. The thickness of PVC optical mold is only 0.2 mm, and the increase of temperature during the Cr film growth in EBeam evaporation and other thermal spraying methods will lead to its deformation, which seriously affects the optical properties of microprisms [28]. Magnetron sputtering method was selected to deposit the antisticking layer of PVC mold in the current study [29,30]. The release strength between the nickel mold and the original mold, the surface roughness, and reflective performance of the nickel mold with and without the Cr antisticking layer were studied and compared, and the explanations are provided
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