Effect of resin accumulation on filling process in roll-to-roll UV imprint lithography

Abstract

A numerical model based on the sliding mesh technique is proposed to study the effect of the accumulation of ultraviolet (UV) resin on the imprint quality for roll-to-roll (R2R) UV imprint lithography. In addition, an open-channel model is proposed to investigate the characteristics of UV resin accumulation during the filling process. The velocity vectors in the filling area when UV resin accumulation occurs were calculated, and the simulation results reveal that UV resin accumulation is beneficial for the escape of air bubbles during the filling process, thus improving the filling quality. Moreover, the UV resin accumulation is related to the imprinting speed, which determines the extent of completion of the filling process. Good agreement was observed between the simulation and experimental results. The presented method provides insights on UV resin accumulation during the filling process and is beneficial for parameter optimization in the R2R imprinting process.