Nano embossing machine PL-T

The basic idea of a nanoimprint machine is to transfer the pattern onto the corresponding substrate through a template. The transfer medium is usually a thin polymer film, which is hardened by methods such as hot pressing or irradiation to preserve the transferred pattern. The entire process includes two steps: embossing and graphic transfer. According to different imprinting methods, NIL can be mainly divided into three photolithography techniques: hot embossing, UV curing, and micro contact printing (uCP).

major function

The main function of a nanoimprint machine is to transfer the pattern onto the corresponding substrate. The transfer medium is usually a thin polymer film, which is hardened through methods such as hot pressing or irradiation to preserve the transferred pattern. Embossing technology is mainly divided into the following two types:

Hot pressing: First, apply a thin layer of thermoplastic polymer material (such as PMMA) on the substrate. Raise the temperature and reach above the glass transition temperature Tg (glass transition temperature) of this thermoplastic material. Under high elasticity, thermoplastic materials are pressed onto a nanoscale mold and subjected to appropriate pressure. The thermoplastic material fills the cavity in the mold, and after the molding process is completed, the temperature decreases to solidify the thermoplastic material, resulting in a pattern that overlaps with the mold. Subsequently, remove the mold and perform various etching processes to remove residual polymers. Next, we will proceed with the graphic transfer. Graphic transfer can be achieved through etching or stripping methods. Etching technology uses thermoplastic materials as masks to perform anisotropic etching on the underlying substrate, resulting in corresponding patterns. The peeling process first deposits a layer of metal on the surface, and then dissolves the polymer with organic solvents. As a result, the metal on the thermoplastic material will also be peeled off, leaving the metal as a mask on the substrate. Then, etching is performed to obtain the pattern.

UV embossing: In order to improve the disadvantage of thermal deformation in hot embossing, C. from the University of Texas G. Wilson and S v. Sreenivasan has developed Step Flash Imprint Lithography, which uses UV transparent quartz glass (hard mold) or PDMS (soft mold), and a low viscosity, light cured monomer solution for photoresist. First, drop a low viscosity monomer solution onto the substrate to be imprinted. Combined with microelectronics technology, the deposition of the thin film can be achieved by using a spin coating method. The template is pressed onto the wafer with very low pressure to disperse the liquid and fill the cavities in the template. UV exposure through the mold promotes polymerization and solidification of the polymer in the imprinting area. After etching the residual layer and performing pattern transfer, a high aspect ratio structure is obtained. The process of demolding and graphic transfer is similar to the hot pressing process.

Technical capabilities

The inventor of this device was Stephen Y., the inventor of nanoimprint technology at Princeton University in the United States, from 2001 to 2003 Professor Chou's nanostructure laboratory, as a research assistant, conducted a 3-year research work and developed UV curable nanoimprint technology and materials, making important contributions to the development of nanoimprint technology. After joining the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2004, he continued to conduct research on nanomicrofabrication technology and nanoimprint technology, developed several new nanoimprint materials, developed new polymer imprint templates, and proposed curved nanoimprint technology; With the support of the 863 project "Development and Application of Dual purpose Nanoimprint Equipment for UV Curing and Hot Pressing", a dual-purpose nanoimprint equipment with UV curing and hot pressing functions has been successfully developed. It has become a product and has been adopted by many universities and research institutions such as Nanjing University, Beihang University, University of National Defense Technology, Heilongjiang University, and Shenzhen Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, forming a core technology for nanoimprint with independent intellectual property rights. The technical level is synchronized with the current international advanced level in this field.

Technical Parameter

application

Nanoimprint technology is currently the main technique for processing nanochannels. Traditional photolithography technology mainly uses electrons and photons to change the physical and chemical properties of photoresist, thereby obtaining corresponding nano patterns. Nanoimprint technology, on the other hand, can mechanically construct nanoscale patterns on photoresist using physical mechanisms without using electrons and photons. It is precisely because of this mechanical effect that nanoimprint technology is no longer limited by photon diffraction and electron scattering, and can prepare nanoscale patterns over a large area. Meanwhile, due to the simplicity of the equipment used, short preparation time, and the reusability of the imprinting template, the cost of using this technology to prepare nano patterns is also relatively low. At present, the three typical types of nanoimprint technologies are: hot stamping, UV curing stamping, and micro contact printing. Applicable in their respective fields:

Hot stamping technology: optoelectronic and optical devices; In the field of microelectromechanical systems.

UV curing imprinting technology: production of nano optoelectronic devices and nano electronic devices; NEMS and MEMS processing; Manufacturing of semiconductor integrated circuits.

Micro contact printing technology: production of biochips and microfluidic devices; Biosensor (antibody grating); Production of micro mechanical components.

In terms of processing technology, it mainly includes five parts: embossing, etching, coating, detection&characterization, and others. The instruments and equipment involved mainly include: nanoimprint machine, inductively coupled plasma etching machine, electron beam evaporation coating machine, atomic force microscope&scanning electron microscope, as well as ultrasonic cleaning machine&vacuum drying oven, etc.

Sandwiched Flexible Polymer-SFP ® & Hybrid Mold ® Soft template embossing technology

Minimize the impact of dust particles on the nanoimprint results as much as possible

Nanoimprinting on irregular surfaces or curved surfaces (the above figure shows nanoimprinting on single-mode optical fibers)

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Nickel Template Metal Nickel Template Hot Pressing Technology

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Directly hot pressing on polymer substrates (such as PMMA, PET, etc.) eliminates the etching process.

Nickel templates have a long lifespan and are suitable for high-temperature and high-pressure continuous embossing.