Solid-state superionic stamping with silver iodide-silver metaphosphate glass

This paper demonstrates and analyzes the new use of the glassy solid electrolyte AgI-AgPO(3) for direct nanopatterning of thin silver films with feature resolutions of 30 nm. AgI-AgPO(3) has a high room temperature ionic conductivity with Ag( + ) as the mobile ion, leading to silver etch/patterning rates of up to 20 nm s( - 1) at an applied bias of 300 mV. The glass can be melt-processed at temperatures below 200 °C, providing a facile and economical pathway for creating large area stamps, including the 25 mm(2) stamps shown in this study. Further, the glass is sufficiently transparent to permit integration with existing tools such as aligners and imprint tools, enabling high overlay registration accuracy and facilitating insertion into multi-step fabrication recipes.