Process development and characterization of antisticking layers on nickel-based stamps designed for nanoimprint lithography

Thin films of different derivatives of fluorinated alkyl phosphoric acids have been deposited from aqueous solutions onto surfaces of oxidized polycrystalline nickel stamps. which are commonly used in several industrial applications of nanoimprint lithography (NIL). The films have been established in order to increase the antiadhesion tendencies at the stamp polymer interface. Thicknesses, chemical compositions, and purities of the films as well as binding mechanisms to the stamp surfaces have been determined by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results demonstrate the adsorption of highly pure films having thicknesses in the monomolecular region, whose chemical compositions are characterized by large ratios of fluorinated to nonfluorinated carbon species. The high ionic nature of Ni-oxide benefits strong ionic linkages between the phosphate groups of the fluorinated antisticking film and the stamp surface, allowing a large-scale production of imprints with patterned stamps having feature sizes down to 100 nm. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society