Materials and processes in UV-assisted nanoimprint lithography

International audienceNanoimprint lithography (NIL), first proposed by S. Chou in 1995 [1], is a high resolution and high throughput lithography technique based on the mechanical deformation of a resist layer with a stamp (or mold) presenting a surface topography (including eventually three-dimensional (3D) features). A schematic of this technique is shown in Figure 1.1. After the pattern formation, the polymer layer may be used as a resist mask for additional processing steps (transfer etching in the substrate, ion implantation, material deposition, lift-off . . .), or this layer may be used as it is, as a functional material. A residual resist layer is always observed under the mold protrusions after imprinting. This layer can be removed with an anisotropic 'breakthrough' plasma etching step to obtain a conventional lithography resist mask [...