Nanoindentation behavior of UV-curable resist and its correlation with patterning defect in nanoimprint lithography

Li，Mingjie; Chen，Yulong; Luo，Wenxin; Cheng，Xing

2020-06-01

10.1088/1361-6439/ab87ed

JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING   影响因子和分区

0960-1317

1361-6439

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a useful technique for nano/micropattern replication. For ultraviolet-NIL (UV-NIL), the volume shrinkage of the resist upon curing is strongly affected by the applied UV exposure, possibly due to the various degrees of cross-linking. The applied UV intensity also influences the mechanical behaviors of the cured resist and the demolding force separating between the mold and the cured resist. The mechanical properties of the resists cured at different levels are studied in detail by nanoindentation. The statistically derived defect rate of the replicated pattern strongly depends on the demolding process and the mechanical strength of the cured resist. By simply decreasing the applied UV exposure during curing, the volume shrinkage can be reduced to ∼3%. Such low volume shrinkage also induces high plasticity of the cured resist and low demolding force, which yield a low defect rate of replicated patterns (e.g. ∼1E-4) even with a blank silicon mold without surfactant coating. Several different types of patterning defects are found to be linked to the mechanical properties of the cured resists. The quantitative guidance on the tailoring of the mechanical properties of the cured resist for a targeting defect rate is provided. The information gained in this work will bring insights into resist formulation design and nanoimprint process optimization to improve the fidelity and mitigate the defect rate of the pattern transfer in UV-NIL.

defect rate demolding force Nanoimprint nanoindentation resist UV-curing

SCI ; EI

英语

第一 ; 通讯

Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee for basic science[JCYJ20160301114303878] ; Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Nanoimprint Technology[ZDSYS20140509142721431]

Engineering ; Science & Technology - Other Topics ; Instruments & Instrumentation ; Physics

Engineering, Electrical & Electronic ; Nanoscience & Nanotechnology ; Instruments & Instrumentation ; Physics, Applied

WOS:000535543100001

IOP PUBLISHING LTD

20202208770574

Defects ; Optimization ; Molds ; Shrinkage ; Nanoimprint lithography ; Curing

Reproduction, Copying:745.2 ; Nanotechnology:761 ; Chemical Reactions:802.2 ; Optimization Techniques:921.5 ; Solid State Physics:933 ; Mechanical Variables Measurements:943.2 ; Materials Science:951

ENGINEERING

2-s2.0-85085564157

Scopus

Department of Materials Science and Engineering,Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Nanoimprint Technology,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China

Li，Mingjie,Chen，Yulong,Luo，Wenxin,et al. Nanoindentation behavior of UV-curable resist and its correlation with patterning defect in nanoimprint lithography[J]. JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING,2020,30(6).

Li，Mingjie,Chen，Yulong,Luo，Wenxin,&Cheng，Xing.(2020).Nanoindentation behavior of UV-curable resist and its correlation with patterning defect in nanoimprint lithography.JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING,30(6).

Li，Mingjie,et al."Nanoindentation behavior of UV-curable resist and its correlation with patterning defect in nanoimprint lithography".JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING 30.6(2020).