Abstract

A soft inkpad imprinting technique to produce stacked micrometer and submicrometer polymer patterns on substrates is presented. A thin soft inkpad is used to coat a polymer film onto the protrusions of a surface treated hard mold. The polymer film on the protrusions of the hard mold is then transferred to a substrate. Simultaneously, a negative pattern of the hard mold is formed on the soft inkpad that may also be transferred to a substrate. Numerical simulations are used to study the mechanisms of pattern transfer by soft inkpad imprinting. With the use of polymer blends, both positive and negative polymeric gratings with 700 nm period were produced. The soft inkpad allows multiple transfers of polymers with similar solubilities to the hard mold since no chemical solution is used for coating. High aspect ratio polymer stacks can be formed without alignment. This capability is an important advantage when forming submicrometer and nanometer multiple-layered polymer structures because current nanoimprint systems have limited overlay accuracy.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.