Large-area nanoimprinting on various substrates by reconfigurable maskless laser direct writing

Abstract

Laser-assisted, one-step direct nanoimprinting of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated to fabricate submicron structures including mesh, line, nanopillar and nanowire arrays. Master molds were fabricated with high-speed (200 mm s(-1)) laser direct writing (LDW) of negative or positive photoresists on Si wafers. The fabrication was completely free of lift-off or reactive ion etching processes. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamps fabricated from master molds replicated nanoscale structures (down to 200 nm) with no or negligible residual layers on various substrates. The low temperature and pressure used for nanoimprinting enabled direct nanofabrication on flexible substrates. With the aid of high-speed LDW, wafer scale 4 inch direct nanoimprinting was demonstrated.