Polymer replication of 3D microstructures employing a high content fluorine separation layer

Abstract

The combination of prototyping with a subsequent replication process has long been the choice for time efficient and economic production schemes. We adopted this method and developed a new technology for the fabrication of three dimensional microstructures based on excimer laser ablation of acrylic polymers and direct inverse replication. Our replicas are made of an acrylic monomer blend cured with UV-photons and electrons. In order to protect the master copy and to secure a safe and non-destructive separation of master copy and replica, the master copy was homogeneously coated with a high content fluorine layer. This coating was applied employing an adjusted C 6F 14 plasma polymerization process, resulting in an even 5 nm to ≤2 μm thin anti-adhesion layer. In order to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the laser processed master copy and replicas, we employed SEM, XPS and optical profiling. The coating's surface smoothness was measured to be as low as 4 nm (rms-value) and the surface's fluorine atomic concentration could be raised up to 68.6%. We have been observing a constant chemical composition at the replica's and master copy's surface over a period of 20 replication cycles and, in addition, no increase in master copy's surface roughness. The results demonstrate that the utilized anti-adhesion layer serves as an enduring separation coating.