Numerical Investigation of Laser-Assisted Nanoimprinting on a Copper Substrate from a Perspective of Heat Transfer Analysis

The technique of laser-assisted nanoimprinting lithography (LAN) has been proposed to utilize an excimer laser to irradiate through a quartz mold and melts a thin polymer film on the substrate for micro- to nano-scaled fabrications. In the present study, the novel concept of that copper was adopted as the substrate instead of silicon, which is conventionally used, was proposed. The micro/nano structures on the copper substrate could be fabricated by chemical/electrochemical etching or electroforming ; following by the patterns have been transferred onto the substrate using LAN process. Alternatives of the substrate materials could lead versatile applications in micro/nano-fabrication. To demonstrate the feasibility of this concept numerically, this study introduced optical multiple reflection theory to perform both analytical and numerical modeling during the process and to predict the thermal response theoretically

Nanoimprint Lithography Technology and Applications

Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) has been an interesting and growing field in recent years since its beginnings in the mid-1990s. During that time, nanoimprinting has undergone significant changes and developments and nowadays is a technology used in R&D labs and industrial production processes around the world. One of the exciting things about nanoimprinting process is its remarkable versatility and the broad range of applications. This reprint includes ten articles, which represent a small glimpse of the challenges and possibilities of this technology. Six contributions deal with nanoimprint processes aiming at specific applications, while the other four papers focus on more general aspects of nanoimprint processes or present novel materials. Several different types of nanoimprint processes are used: plate-to-plate, roll-to-plate, and roll-to-roll. Plate-to-plate NIL here also includes the use of soft and flexible stamps. The application fields in this reprint are broad and can be identified as plasmonics, superhydrophibicity, biomimetics, optics/datacom, and life sciences, showing the broad applicability of nanoimprinting. The sections on the nanoimprint process discuss filling and wetting aspects during nanoimprinting as well as materials for stamps and imprinting