Solid-state superionic stamping with silver iodide–silver metaphosphate glass

Abstract

This paper demonstrates and analyzes the new use of the glassy solid electrolyte AgI–AgPO3 for direct nanopatterning of thin silver films with feature resolutions of 30 nm. AgI–AgPO3 has a high room temperature ionic conductivity withAg + as the mobile ion, leading to silver etch/patterning rates of up to20 nm s − 1 at an applied bias of 300 mV. The glass can be melt-processed at temperatures below200 °C, providing a facile and economical pathway for creating large area stamps, including the25 mm2 stamps shown in this study. Further, the glass is sufficiently transparent to permitintegration with existing tools such as aligners and imprint tools, enabling high overlayregistration accuracy and facilitating insertion into multi-step fabrication recipes.