Parametric Investigation of Laser-Assisted Direct Imprint (LADI) Technique

Abstract

Nano-imprinting Lithography (NIL) has been considered as the most promising technique for nano-scaled fabrication and patterning. Recently, a new approach known as Laser-Assisted Direct Imprinting(LADI) has been proposed and demonstrated as an even more efficient way for direct nanofabrication and nanopatterning. In this study, we focused on silicon materials and utilized a single KrF excimer laser pulse (248 nm wavelength and 30 ns pulse duration) as the heating source. Molds of micro-scaled size have been prepared using conventional photolithography techniques. A working platform based on an Excimer Laser Micro-Machining system is constructed for LADI process. The influence of laser fluence and the imprinted pressure on the resulting structures was verifying by varying the laser fluence (1.0 ~ 1.2 J/cm2) and the imprinted load (3 ~ 9kg). The results have shown that the morphology and the imprinted depth were directly related to the laser fluence and the imprinted pressure. Quantitative data are obtained and will be addressed.