Status of UV Imprint Lithography for Nanoscale Manufacturing

Abstract

For over a decade, imprint lithography literature has touted the remarkable sub-10 nm resolution and the promise of low-cost, large-area nanoscale manufacturing. However, there has been legitimate skepticism from the device community about the viability of imprint lithography in manufacturing because of a lack of comprehensive development in areas such as long-range order, overlay, low defectivity, mask life, and high throughput. In recent years, it has become evident that imprint lithography is maturing in its manufacturing attributes not only due to development in basic technology and the infrastructure around it but also due to application drivers, specifically high-density data storage including patterned magnetic media and solid-state memory. These early applications are likely to lead to additional high-impact applications of imprint lithography in several other sectors. Here, a status of ultraviolet (UV) imprint lithography technology is provided with a specific focus on its applicability to high-volume manufacturing of nanoscale devices.