Custom-specific UV nanoimprint templates and life-time of antisticking layers

Abstract

UV nanoimprint lithography (UV NIL) is attracting more and more interest, because of its potential to become a high-resolution, low-cost patterning technique. To establish UV NIL as a low-cost patterning technique, the costs of single templates, today obtained from 6025 quartz mask blanks, have to be reduced and the life-time of the antisticking layers has to be optimized. Within this work, a process flow was developed to obtain 49 UV nanoimprint templates with a dimension of 12.5×12.5mm2 out of a fused silica substrate with a diameter of 150mm. After sawing, etching, and cleaning, the template surfaces were covered with an antisticking layer. Next, the templates were glued onto a template holder to enable their handling with the nanoimprint tool NPS300 from Süss MicroTec. With this process flow, the prize of one single template was strongly reduced compared to quartz templates obtained from 6025 quartz mask blanks. In addition, the life-time of antisticking layers was investigated. For this purpose, the change of the surface tension of antisticking layers after an increasing number of imprints into different UV curing materials was measured and the best combination of antisticking layer and UV curing material was figured out. Finally, silicon substrates were patterned with the optimized template.