Measurement of Adhesion Force by a Symmetric AFM Probe for Nano-imprint Lithography Application

Abstract

In the nano-imprint lithography process, an important prerequisite for reproducibility is suitable adhesion properties of adhesion promoters to substrate or anti-sticking layer to the stamp. In this study, a rhombus-shaped symmetrical probe with a pillar tip was developed and fabricated using the micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS) fabrication technique and the focused ion beam (FIB) process. For the experimental setup of the adhesion test using a UV-curable resist coated AFM tip with a few surfaces of adhesion promoter, the pillar tip was covered with a UV-curable resist using a micromanipulator. An FOTS anti-sticking layer was applied on the tip by the vapor deposition method. The adhesion force between various adhesion promoters (GPTS, APMDS, APTS and DUV30J) and UV-curable resist, and the adhesion force between the FOTS anti-sticking layer and UV-curable resist were evaluated using the force-distance mode of AFM. It could be shown that the adhesion forces of GPTS and FOTS were about 7497 nN and 449 nN, respectively.