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Published on: January 23, 2013
A fast thermal-curing nanoimprint resist based on cationic polymerizable epoxysiloxane
Jizong Zhang1, Xin Hu, Jian Zhang
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, People's Republic of China. haixiong@nju.edu.cn.
Nanoscale Research Letters
|July 11, 2012
Summary
Researchers developed a fast-curing nanoimprint resist using epoxysiloxane oligomers. This UV-assisted thermal curing process enables rapid fabrication of nanoscale patterns with high precision.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Nanoimprint lithography requires high-performance resists for fabricating nanoscale patterns.
- Existing thermal-curable resists often have slow curing times or require harsh conditions.
- Developing resists with tunable properties and rapid curing is crucial for efficient nanofabrication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize epoxysiloxane oligomers with controllable viscosity and polarity.
- To develop a novel thermal-curable nanoimprint resist based on these oligomers.
- To investigate the UV-assisted thermal curing mechanism and its effect on resist properties and pattern fabrication.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of epoxysiloxane oligomers via hydrosilylation of 4-vinyl-cyclohexane-1,2-epoxide with poly(methylhydrosiloxane).
- Formulation of a thermal-curable nanoimprint resist.
- Nanoimprint lithography using UV-assisted thermal curing.
- Characterization of resist properties (viscosity, polarity, mechanical strength, etching resistance) and fabricated patterns (feature size, geometry).
Main Results:
- Epoxysiloxane oligomers with tunable viscosity and polarity were successfully synthesized.
- The developed resist demonstrated rapid cross-linking in air at 110°C within 30 s after UV preexposure.
- Excellent resist properties including oxygen insensitivity, mechanical strength, and high etching resistance were achieved.
- Nanoscale patterns with feature sizes as small as 30 nm were fabricated using UV-assisted thermal nanoimprint lithography.
- Curing times were reduced to approximately 10 s at moderate temperatures due to UV preexposure-induced cation generation.
Conclusions:
- A novel epoxysiloxane-based nanoimprint resist with rapid UV-assisted thermal curing capabilities was developed.
- The resist offers excellent material properties and enables high-resolution pattern fabrication.
- The findings present a promising approach for efficient and high-performance nanofabrication processes.
