Miniaturization technique for nanoimprint replica mold with line and space pattern via mechanical deformation

Abstract

A demand for a nanoscale patterning method with high throughput exists for the fabrication of next-generation devices. Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a major breakthrough for obtaining the nanoscale pattern because of its high resolution and simple process. Because the resolution of NIL depends on the features of the master mold, it is very important to prepare a fine mold. Electron beam lithography (EBL) is typically used for the fabrication of NIL molds because EBL has a resolution of sub-10 nm. However, EBL is low throughput process and performed in a vacuum; it is difficult to obtain a large mold via EBL. On the other hand, direct laser writing (DLW) performed in the atomosphere is also promising method for the fabrication of a NIL mold because DLW can fabricate an arbitrary pattern in a large area. However, it is difficult to achieve the resolution of sub-100 nm with DLW because of a diffraction limit. To fabricate a fine mold in a large area, we have developed a miniaturization technique of a replica mold made of an elastic UV-curable resin using mechanical deformation. Although, the miniaturization of a line and space (LS) pattern of several hundreds nm width was already demonstrated, the miniaturization characteristics of a several micron and sub-100 nm width pattern are not examined. In this study, the deformation characteristics of the LS pattern with the micron and sub-100 nm width are examined. As a result, it became clear that our miniaturization technique can apply to the micron pattern. In addition, we succeeded in reducing the size of an LS pattern with a line width of less than 50 nm.

Keywords

• nanoimprint
• replica mold
• miniaturization
• mechanical deformation
• elastic uv curable resin
• line and space pattern