Nanoimprint Lithography Patterning of Functional Materials
Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division
NIST only participates in the February and August reviews.
One of the benefits of nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is that it can directly pattern functional materials, not just sacrificially resist formulations that are used to transfer the pattern through etching or deposition processes into the functional material of interest. NIL is a simple stamping technique amenable to patterning a wide range of materials. However, NIL often imposes harsh processing conditions as the material of interest is squeezed into the nanoscale cavities in the mold. The material experiences large shear fields and incredibly large areas of interface or surface are created during the imprint. In many instances, the desired properties of the functional material can be altered by the NIL processes. Examples might include changes in the pore structure of an imprinted nanoporous material or changes in the crystal orientation of an organic semiconductor compound that leads to changes in the I-V characteristics. We are interested in this class of problems where new measurements are needed to characterize the relevant changes to the desired properties of a functional material after they are patterned by NIL.