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Rapid fabrication of nanostructured surfaces using nanocoining
Erik Zdanowicz1, Thomas A Dow, Ronald O Scattergood
1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. emzdanow@ncsu.edu
Nanotechnology
|September 29, 2012
Summary
A novel nanocoining process creates high-quality ordered nanofeature arrays by physically transferring patterns using a diamond die. This technique enables precise indexing and large-area fabrication of nanostructures efficiently.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Manufacturing Engineering
Background:
- Fabricating ordered arrays of nanofeatures is crucial for advanced applications.
- Existing methods often face limitations in speed, precision, or scalability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and detail a new process called nanocoining for creating high-quality ordered nanofeature arrays.
- To demonstrate the capability of nanocoining for large-area, high-throughput fabrication of nanostructures.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a diamond die with pre-structured nanofeatures for physical transfer to a mold surface.
- Employed an actuator with an elliptical tool-path to match die and mold velocities, preventing smearing.
- Developed precise die alignment and depth control techniques for consistent feature replication.
- Conducted experiments at 1 kHz, transferring 1.6 million features per second.
Main Results:
- Successfully created ordered arrays of nanofeatures on a nickel mold using the nanocoining process.
- Demonstrated precise indexing of indents to cover target areas, achieving large-area fabrication (339 mm²).
- Produced UV curable replicates from the nickel mold, with both mold and replicate analyzed via SEM and AFM.
Conclusions:
- Nanocoining is an effective method for high-quality, ordered nanofeature array fabrication.
- The process offers high throughput and scalability for manufacturing nanostructured surfaces.
- Further research can explore diverse applications of nanocoining in nanotechnology and materials science.
