Nanoimprint Lithography Method Research Articles

Fabrication of advanced thin film for high performance display by nanoimprinting process via gallium oxide solution doped tin

Line pattern replication process through nanoimprint lithography (NIL) method has been used in numerous of research fields. NIL technology is not yet utilized for displays industry, and we propose an alignment layer of the sol-gel process using NIL. One-dimensionally nanopatterned by polydimethylsiloxane sheets cause surface changes in hybrid SnGaO thin films mixed in a 3:7 ratio, which aligns the liquid crystals (LCs) uniformly in the line pattern direction. These surface changes are confirmed through atomic force microscopy data analysis, and changes in surface shapes for different the curing temperatures in the furnace are analyzed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the chemical composition of the thin films changes according to curing temperatures, and the intensities of SnO and GaO increase exponentially at 200 °C compared to those at 50 °C. Through this, the van der Waals force increases between surface molecules, in the anisotropic direction to help align the LCs. Furthermore, we performed polarized optical microscopy and pre-tilt angle analysis confirm that the LCs are energized uniformly. Finally, the performance of an actual display device transmittance and electro-optical properties; the transmittance of SnGaO is 4.51p% higher than that of the currently commercialized PI-rubbing, and the voltage-transmittance curve is a perfect graph.

Nanoimprint lithography for grayscale pattern replication of MEMS mirrors in a 200 mm wafer

In this work a multilevel nanoimprint lithography (NIL) replication process was demonstrated to produce 1D MEMS mirrors employing vertical asymmetric comb-drive electrostatic actuation, in a 200 mm wafer SOI-based process. In comparison with a direct write laser (DWL) grayscale lithography step (which for the proposed layout requires around 40 h of exposure time per wafer), this NIL method greatly enhances fabrication throughput by reliably reproducing a master's multilevel topography onto the photoresist. This study describes the NIL master fabricated using grayscale lithography, the working stamp, and the replication micromachining processes. An extensive characterization of the morphology and topography of the intermediate working stamp is provided, along with an optimization study of the replica fabrication and the alignment procedure between the replica and the mirror substrate. The MEMS device pattern was effectively replicated, exhibiting electrode gaps of 3.66 μm (grayscale process yields gaps of 3.5 μm). Discrete photoresist levels of 1.53 μm and 2.83 μm were observed, with a misalignment to the preceding metal layer of 5 μm and 10 μm in the x and y directions, respectively. These deviations were found to be within the required alignment margin defined by the layout (20 μm). The 1D MEMS mirror fabricated using this NIL process was successfully characterized using Scanning Laser-Doppler Vibrometry under atmospheric pressure conditions. The results obtained were in accordance with the theoretical design parameters, demonstrating that NIL can be successfully used as a fast, low-cost alternative lithography process to fabricate multilevel MEMS structures.

Fabrication and Characterization of Nano-Structured ZnS:Cu LED

A wide range of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) applications, from general lighting to transmission sources of the Visual Light Communication (VLC) system, makes the LEDs very important to be developed. This research focuses on comparing LED performance due to the variation in surface size and shape of the LED. The research method is carried out with a simulation and an experimental approach. Before the experiment, the LED was simulated with nanopattern variations to determine the best fabrication parameter. The simulation method is carried out using Ansys Lumerical FDTD 2021. The experiment method used to fabricate nanopatterns on the surface of a semiconductor LED layer uses the nanoimprint lithography method. Stamps for nanoimprint lithography are made using Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and the nanopattern sources are obtained from DVD and Blu-ray grating patterns. The characterization of nanoscale patterns was carried out using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The light emission intensity is measured using a lux meter at a series of emission angles. The results obtained from this research are that the smaller the width and the periodicity of the grating nanopattern, the light produced will be distributed at a wider angle, but the light intensity will decrease; conversely, for a planar surface without a grating nanopattern, level of focus and intensity of light will be higher. In addition, the thicker the ZnS:Cu layer, the better the intensity of the light produced.

Replicated biopolymer pattern on PLLA-Ag basis with an excellent antibacterial response

The design of functional micro or nanostructured surfaces is undergoing extensive research for their intriguing multifunctional properties and for large variety of potential applications in biomedical field (tissue engineering or cell adhesion), electronics, optics or microfluidics. Such nanosized topographies can be easily fabricated by various lithography techniques and can be also further reinforced by synergic effect by combining aforementioned structures along materials with already outstanding antibacterial properties. In this work we fabricated novel micro/nanostructured substrates using soft lithography replication method and subsequent thermal nanoimprint lithography method, creating nanostructured films based on poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) fortified by thin silver films deposited by PVD. Main nanoscale patterns were fabricated by replicating surface patterns of optical discs (CDs and DVDs), which proved to be easy, fast and inexpensive method for creating relatively large area patterned surfaces. Their antimicrobial activity was examined in vitro against the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains. The results demonstrated that nanopatterned films actually improved the conditions for bacterial growth compared to pristine PLLA films, the novelty is based on formation of Ag nanoparticles on the surface/and in bulk, while silver nanoparticle enhanced and nanopatterned films exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against both bacterial strains, with circa 80 % efficacy in 4 h and complete bactericidal effect in span of 24 h.

Racetrack Ring Resonator Integrated with Multimode Interferometer Structure Based on Low-Cost Silica–Titania Platform for Refractive Index Sensing Application

In this work, a racetrack ring resonator (RTRR) integrated with a multimode interferometer (MMI) structure based on a silica–titania (SiO2:TiO2) platform is projected for refractive index sensing application. The typical ring resonator structure requires a gap of ~100 nm to 200 nm between the bus waveguide (WG) and the ring structure which makes it challenging to fabricate a precise device. Thus, the device proposed in this paper can be considered a “gapless” ring resonator structure in which the coupling of light between the ring and bus WG can be achieved via an MMI coupler. A minor change in the refractive index in the vicinity of the MMI structure can trigger a shift in the resonance wavelength of the device. Thus, this simple and fascinating structure can be employed as a refractive index sensor. The device’s sensitivity is ~142.5 nm/RIU in the refractive index range of 1.33 to 1.36 with a figure of merit (FOM) of 78.3. This simple device structure can potentially be fabricated via a low-cost and highly efficient sol–gel process and dip-coating method combined with the nanoimprint lithography (NIL) method.

Realization of high aspect ratio metalenses by facile nanoimprint lithography using water-soluble stamps

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has attracted attention recently as a promising fabrication method for dielectric metalenses owing to its low cost and high throughput, however, high aspect ratio (HAR) nanostructures are required to manipulate the full 2π phase of light. Conventional NIL using a hard-polydimethylsiloxane (h-PDMS) mold inevitably incurs shear stress on the nanostructures which is inversely proportional to the surface area parallel to the direction of detachment. Therefore, HAR structures are subjected to larger shear stresses, causing structural failure. Herein, we propose a novel wet etching NIL method with no detachment process to fabricate flawless HAR metalenses. The water-soluble replica mold is fabricated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) which is simpler than an h-PDMS mold, and the flexibility of the PVA mold is suitable for direct printing as its high tensile modulus allows high-resolution patterning of HAR metalenses. The diffraction-limited focusing of the printed metalenses demonstrates that it operates as an ideal lens in the visible regime. This method can potentially be used for manufacturing various nanophotonic devices that require HAR nanostructures at low cost and high throughput, facilitating commercialization.

Refractive Index Tuning of All-Inorganic TiO2 Nanocrystal-Based Films and High Aspect Ratio Nanostructures Using Atomic Layer Deposition: Implications for High-Throughput Fabrication of Metalenses

High refractive index (RI) components and nanostructures are of great interest for compact optics, waveguides, photonics, and metamaterials. Herein, we demonstrate that atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be used as a short postfabrication step to dramatically increase the RI of nanocrystal (NC)-based films and patterned nanostructures in conjunction with a single-step, direct nanoimprint lithography (NIL). The initial RI of TiO2 NC-based films was n = 1.95 at 543 nm which can then be increased to 2.00 by post-calcination and further up to 2.15 by TiO2 ALD. Fifteen cycles of ALD were sufficient to achieve this rapid increase of RI, and any intermediate RI value can be tuned by adjusting the number of ALD cycles accordingly. Nanoscale interstitial gaps between TiO2 NCs allowed a uniform diffusion of ALD precursors, resulting in a much denser structure and the RI increase. An array of 4 mm-sized metalenses were fabricated to demonstrate the effects of the RI tuning on the performance of optical devices. The focusing efficiencies of the as-imprinted metalenses (smallest dimension ∼ 80 nm, highest aspect ratio ∼ 8) were 61% on average, but the post-treatments including calcination and ALD significantly increased the average efficiency to 67% and up to 75% for the best-performing lens. This approach combines the fast, scalable, and versatile solvent-assisted NIL method to pattern optical nanostructures with a short post-patterning deposition and densification step that significantly enhances optical performance.

Fabrication of a Rose-Petal-Inspired Micro/Nanostructured Surface via the Ultraviolet Nanoimprint Lithography and Roll-Press Methods

Rose petals exhibit functionalities, such as high contact angles (CAs) and high adhesion with water. Their surfaces comprise hierarchical micro/nanostructures. Nanopatterns can be fabricated on a microstructure via several conventional processes. However, the shortcoming of this approach is the challenge of fabricating a large hydrophobic surface. To address this issue, we employ a technology, which we had introduced to fabricate a large moth-eye film. First, we fabricate a nanostructure (moth-eye) as the hydrophobic surface, after which we fabricate the microstructure via a roll-press process on it to obtain the adhesion area. The fabricated surface exhibits high hydrophobicity and adhesion.

Coupled modes enhance random lasing in plasmonic double grating structure

In this work, we experimentally and theoretically proved a flexible fine random laser from a two-face double grating plasmonic structure based on PDMS. Accordingly, PDMS was fabricated using the nanoimprint lithography method and coated by a thin gold layer with a thickness of 35 nm using a PVD device and light-emitting polymer (F8PT) to enhance the scattering and efficiency of the random laser. Using a plasmonic gold grating as a substrate, the simulation results compared the upside and downside of the plasmonic double grating structure. Moreover, an enhancement was observed in light transmission, and it is common to predict high efficiency in random lasing properties. The experimental results showed a comparison between normal plasmonic double grating samples and symmetric and asymmetric double grating -based nanostructures with thicknesses of 200, 400 and 600 μm and reported that random lasing properties had better results for samples with thinner spaces based on coupled mode effects. Correspondingly, this was done by increasing the intensity and decreasing the lasing threshold from 22 μJ in normal double grating to 16 μJ in the thinnest double grating structure.

Effect of Flexibility and Size of Nanofabricated Topographies on the Mechanobactericidal Efficacy of Polymeric Surfaces.

Driven by the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the design of intrinsically bactericidal surfaces has been gaining significant attention. Proposed surface topography designs are often inspired by naturally occurring nanopatterns on insect wings that mechanically damage bacteria via membrane deformation. The stability of and the absence of chemicals in such surfaces support their facile and sustainable employment in avoiding surface-born pathogen transmission. Recently, the deflection of controllably nanofabricated pillar arrays has been shown to strongly affect bactericidal activity, with the limits of mechanical effectiveness of such structures remaining largely unexplored. Here, we examine the limits of softer, commonly used polymeric materials and investigate the interplay between pillar nanostructure sizing and flexibility for effective antibacterial functionality. A facile, scalable, UV nanoimprint lithography method was used to fabricate nanopillar array topographies of variable sizes and flexibilities. It was found that bacterial death on nanopillars in the range of diameters ≤100 nm and Young's moduli ≥1.3 GPa is increased by 3.5- to 5.6-fold, while thicker or softer pillars did not reduce bacterial viability. To further support our findings, we performed a finite element analysis of pillar deformation. It revealed that differences in the amount of stress exerted on bacterial membranes, generated from the stored elastic energy in flexible pillars, contribute to the observed bactericidal performance.

Improved reliability PERC PV modules with moth-eye nanostructured optical films using nano imprint lithography

In this study, a Moth-eye nanostructured optical film was studied to improve the reliability of the PERC PV module. Moth-eye nanostructures were composed of three types by using the Nano Imprint Lithography method and different process conditions. These are initial optical film, Moth-Eye structure (MES) optical film, and Improved Moth-Eye structure (I-MES) optical film. The I-MES film had a transmittance of 99%. Compared with the Initial film, transmittance increased by 4%. Also, PERC mini modules were manufactured using these three types of optical films and I-V analysis was performed. The Power output (Pmax) of the I-MES PV module is 4.324 W, which is a 5.5% increase compared to the Initial PV module. In addition, one of the IEC-61215 reliability Damp-heat test was conducted for 1000 h. The I-MES PV modules showed only a 0.8% degradation compared to the Initial PV modules, and it increased by 2.4% compared to the MES PV modules. These results indicate that they are suitable for increasing the long-term reliability of PV modules.

Nanoimprint Lithography Processing of Inorganic-Based Materials

We review past and recent progress in Nano-Imprint Lithography (NIL) methods to (nano-) structure inorganic materials from sol-gel liquid formulations and colloidal suspensions onto a surface. This technique, first inspired by embossing techniques, was developed for soft polymer processing, as final or intermediate materials, but is today fully adapted to hard inorganic materials with high dielectric constant, such as metal oxides, with countless chemical compositions provided by the sol-gel chemistry. Consequently, NIL has become a versatile, high throughput, and highly precise microfabrication method that is mature for lab developments and scaling up. We first describe the state-of-the-art in nanofabrication methods and the plethora of approaches developed in the last decades to imprint metal oxides from inorganic solutions. These are discussed and compared in terms of performances, issues, and ease of implementation. The final part is devoted to relevant applications in domains of interest.

Nanoimprint lithography for high-throughput fabrication of metasurfaces.

Metasurfaces are composed of periodic sub-wavelength nanostructures and exhibit optical properties that are not found in nature. They have been widely investigated for optical applications such as holograms, wavefront shaping, and structural color printing, however, electron-beam lithography is not suitable to produce large-area metasurfaces because of the high fabrication cost and low productivity. Although alternative optical technologies, such as holographic lithography and plasmonic lithography, can overcome these drawbacks, such methods are still constrained by the optical diffraction limit. To break through this fundamental problem, mechanical nanopatterning processes have been actively studied in many fields, with nanoimprint lithography (NIL) coming to the forefront. Since NIL replicates the nanopattern of the mold regardless of the diffraction limit, NIL can achieve sufficiently high productivity and patterning resolution, giving rise to an explosive development in the fabrication of metasurfaces. In this review, we focus on various NIL technologies for the manufacturing of metasurfaces. First, we briefly describe conventional NIL and then present various NIL methods for the scalable fabrication of metasurfaces. We also discuss recent applications of NIL in the realization of metasurfaces. Finally, we conclude with an outlook on each method and suggest perspectives for future research on the high-throughput fabrication of active metasurfaces.

Red and Blue color production by flexible all-dielectric structure

Color production by using plasmonic structures has been extensively studied. Due to the inherent damping of plasmons, such plasmonic structures are challenging to produce high-resolution color. Recently, color production by using all-dielectric metasurfaces has attracted much attention. Here, all-dielectric structure with different dimensions were fabricated by a nanoimprint lithography method. Color production in both reflection and transmission modes and imaging using metasurfaces were performed. The refractive index of our fabricated metasurface was calculated, and the effect of refractive index changes onto the loss, transparency, and also resolution of image and color production has been investigated. By considering the low cost and high resolution, this research will be useful for the structural color production in industrial applications.

Tunable and reversible thermo-plasmonic hot spot imaging for temperature confinement

In the present study, a novel tunable two-dimensional thermo-plasmonic grating based on gold nanorods was demonstrated by combining the plasmonic properties of the gold nanostructure and the applied external voltage. In this structure, a thin layer of the gold grating was typically deposited on a patterned polydimethylsiloxane substrate using the nanoimprint lithography method. The surface plasmon resonance of the fabricated plasmonic structure was excited by the surface plasmon imaging system based on a high numerical aperture objective lens and the charged coupled device camera. Based on the results, the number of the plasmonic hot spots due to the thermo-plasmonic effect increased by the external voltage, leading to an increase in this effect. Therefore, this reversible and tunable temperature confinement can be used as the controller of each element including cells in a defined micro-position.

Azopolymer-Based Nanoimprint Lithography: Recent Developments in Methodology and Applications.

Nanofabrication on soft polymeric surfaces is an essential process in many fields, for example, chip manufacturing, microfluidics, high efficiency solar cells, and anticounterfeiting. In order to achieve these applications, various nanofabrication methods have been explored. Among them, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has drawn worldwide attention because of its cheap and fast processability. In this minireview, an overview of azopolymer-based NIL is provided. Since their discovery, azopolymers have demonstrated versatile photoresponsive characteristics due to their unique physical and chemical properties that originate from the photoisomerization of azobenzene chromophores. As such, two aspects are reported in this minireview. On the one hand, various azopolymers showing photofluidization and photoswitchable glass transition temperatures have been developed, thus facilitating methodological advancements in NIL. On the other hand, these on-demand NIL methods provide greater opportunities for azopolymer-based applications, such as templating of optics, directional photo-manipulation of nanopatterns, and micro photo-actuators. Also the challenges are discussed that remain in this field.

Power Enhancement of Silicon Membrane-based Thermoelectric Energy Harvester with Tailored Holey Nanostructures

We develop SOI-based silicon membrane thermoelectric power generator with phononic crystal nanostructures. Phononic crystal nanostructures which are well designed periodic structures considering phonon mean free path enhance phonon scattering to reduce thermal conductivity of silicon membranes and improve their thermoelectric figure of merit twice. We demonstrate power enhancement of thermoelectric generator with nanostructure patterning. By using nanoimprint lithography method, we pattern this phononic crystal nanostructures in 3 x 2 mm area of silicon membrane for thermoelectric devices.

Electrically driven flexible 2D plasmonic structure based on a nematic liquid crystal

A novel 2D active plasmonic grating based on liquid crystal (LC) infiltration is demonstrated and theoretically analyzed, by combining the plasmonic properties of the gold nanostructure and the optical properties of the liquid crystal. In this structure, a thin layer of E7 liquid crystal was typically injected onto a gold nanostructure, deposited on a polydimethyl siloxane substrate, using nanoimprint lithography method. The surface plasmon resonance of the fabricated plasmonic structure can be controlled by changing the refractive index of the LC, which was achieved with an external electric field. LC molecules confined between the gold nanostructure and an indium–tin–oxide glass are randomly aligned, and they can exhibit a reversible refractive index, depending on their orientation under the external voltage and the polarization of the incident light. Both theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the wavelength of the resonance peak can be red shifted by the electric field-dependent refractive index of the LC. This experimental work provides us an active control of surface plasmon resonance using LC which can act as an ideal active medium for different applications such as a low voltage sensor with a sensitivity of 0.4375 nm V−1.

Using Nanoimprint Lithography to Create Robust, Buoyant, Superhydrophobic PVB/SiO2 Coatings on wood Surfaces Inspired by Red roses petal

Robust, buoyant, superhydrophobic PVB/SiO2 coatings were successfully formed on wood surface through a one-step solvothermal method and a nanoimprint lithography method. The as-prepared PVB/SiO2/wood specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric/differential thermogravimetric (TG–DTG) analyses. The superhydrophobic property and abrasion resistance of rose-petal-like wood were measured and assessed by water contact angle (WCA) and sand abrasion tests. The results show that PVB/SiO2/wood not only exhibited a robust superhydrophobic performance with a WCA of 160° but also had excellent durability and thermostability during the sand abrasion tests and against corrosive liquids. Additionally, the as-prepared PVB/SiO2/wood specimens show high buoyancy.

Three-dimensional radial junction solar cell based on ordered silicon nanowires

Highly ordered silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were fabricated by nanoimprint lithography and Bosch etching methods. A polycrystalline silicon shell was grown to form a radial p–n junction. To enhance its anti-reflection properties and conductivity, a thin ITO layer was deposited on the SiNWs solar cell, then a micro-grid electrode was introduced to minimize the metal areas to maximize carrier collection. Finally, shorter nanowires were used to reduce surface recombination and achieve an efficiency of 10.5%. This work is expected to show some possible techniques to improve the performance of silicon nanostructure solar cell.