Electrical properties of transferred metal nanopattern using metal oxide release layer

Abstract

There is a growing demand for fine metal patterning techniques for the fabrication of next-generation devices such as patterned media, plasmon photonic devices, and nanoscale electrodes. Moreover, plastic substrate has become increasingly popular due to its many advantages that include transparency, flexibility, lightness, and low cost. The authors have developed a technique for transferring three-dimensional metal patterns onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate by nanoimprint lithography using a metal oxide release layer. In this study, the authors examined the transfer characteristics of gold with a chromium oxide layer. The authors also studied the electrical properties of the transferred gold layer. The results revealed that the release force during the transfer process is independent of the thickness of the chromium oxide release layer and a higher temperature causes a larger release force. Furthermore, the obtained nanogap gold pattern on the PET substrate has low resistivity and can be applied to a nanoscale electrode.