Structural, optical, and electrical properties of silver gratings prepared by nanoimprint lithography of nanoparticle ink

A facile method for fabrication of silver gratings using silver nanoparticle ink and nanoimprint lithography is investigated. The properties of silver nanoparticle ink grating and planar samples, with and without a PMMA layer, are compared with thermally evaporated silver on nanoimprinted PMMA. The grating pattern is successfully fabricated using nanoimprint lithography with the silver nanoparticle ink directly on a glass substrate and on a PMMA layer. We find that the use of PMMA adversely affects the structural, optical and electrical properties of the silver nanoparticle planar surfaces and gratings. Gratings nanoimprinted directly into silver nanoparticle ink on a glass substrate are found to have similar performance to gratings produced by thermal evaporation of silver on nanoimprinted PMMA and benefit from an easier fabrication process. The silver nanoparticle ink shows promise for the fabrication of patterned silver thin films and may be useful for upscaling and roll-to-roll processes