CN116954017A - Ultraviolet nanoimprint method and apparatus using metal template - Google Patents
Ultraviolet nanoimprint method and apparatus using metal template Download PDFInfo
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- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 title claims abstract description 34
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- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 64
- 239000002086 nanomaterial Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 17
- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Nickel Chemical compound [Ni] PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 48
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims description 42
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- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000002861 polymer material Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 18
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- 229920001721 polyimide Polymers 0.000 description 2
- LLHKCFNBLRBOGN-UHFFFAOYSA-N propylene glycol methyl ether acetate Chemical compound COCC(C)OC(C)=O LLHKCFNBLRBOGN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
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- ICXAPFWGVRTEKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 2-[4-(1,3-benzoxazol-2-yl)phenyl]-1,3-benzoxazole Chemical compound C1=CC=C2OC(C3=CC=C(C=C3)C=3OC4=CC=CC=C4N=3)=NC2=C1 ICXAPFWGVRTEKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
- G03F7/0002—Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping
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- Shaping Of Tube Ends By Bending Or Straightening (AREA)
Abstract
Ultraviolet nanoimprint methods and apparatus using a metal template are provided. The method comprises the following steps: providing a photoresist layer on a material to be processed; providing an opaque metal template with a preset nanostructure pattern on the photoresist layer and transferring the preset nanostructure pattern to the photoresist layer; providing a light guide at a surface of the material to be processed facing away from the photoresist layer, and providing an ultraviolet light source at least one side of the light guide; and changing, by the light guide, a propagation direction of light incident on the at least one side of the light guide from the ultraviolet light source to exit the light toward the photoresist layer.
Description
Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to ultraviolet nanoimprint methods and apparatus using a metal template.
Background
Nanoimprint technology is an important fabrication technology for nanoscale electronic devices. In the known nanoimprint technology, a desired pattern, which is generally complicated in structure and precise in size, is generally formed on a substrate such as silicon, quartz, or the like to obtain a template; the desired pattern on the template is then replicated by pressurizing the template with the aid of a transfer medium such as photoresist; the desired pattern is finally transferred to the material to be processed by etching the photoresist.
According to the pattern replication mode, known nanoimprint techniques are mainly classified into three categories of thermoplastic imprint (HEL), ultraviolet imprint (UV-NIL) and microcontact imprint (μcp), wherein microcontact imprint is generally used in the field of medical biology; the thermoplastic imprinting requires heating to melt the photoresist and cooling to solidify the photoresist, increasing the time of the process and increasing the difficulty of the process.
Compared with thermoplastic nanoimprint technology with harsh process conditions, the ultraviolet nanoimprint technology can be performed at normal temperature, and has the advantages of high yield, low cost and simple process. During the ultraviolet nanoimprint process, an ultraviolet light source is typically used to irradiate from above so that light passes through the template to reach the photoresist layer, thereby curing the photoresist layer to replicate the pattern. Therefore, the ultraviolet nanoimprint process generally uses a substrate of a light-transmitting material to prepare a template, and the utilization rate of ultraviolet irradiation, the curing efficiency of photoresist, and the like are key factors affecting the imprint accuracy in the ultraviolet nanoimprint technology.
Disclosure of Invention
At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides an ultraviolet nanoimprint method and apparatus using a metal template that enables the use of an opaque metal template that is resistant to corrosion, resistant to heat, high in strength, good in toughness, and has good mechanical properties in ultraviolet nanoimprint technology, while providing ultraviolet irradiation utilization and photoresist curing efficiency that ensure imprint accuracy.
To achieve the above object, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template, including:
providing a photoresist layer on a material to be processed;
providing an opaque metal template with a preset nanostructure pattern on a photoresist layer and transferring the preset nanostructure pattern to the photoresist layer;
providing a light guide at a surface of the material to be processed facing away from the photoresist layer, and providing an ultraviolet light source at least one side of the light guide; and
changing, by the light guide, a propagation direction of light incident on the at least one side of the light guide from the ultraviolet light source to exit the light toward the photoresist layer.
In some examples, before providing the photoresist layer on the material to be processed, the method further comprises: placing the material to be processed on a light-tight supporting substrate; and is also provided with
Providing a light guiding means at a surface of the material to be processed facing away from the photoresist layer comprises: the light guide device is placed on the opaque support substrate such that the light guide device is positioned between the material to be processed and the opaque support substrate.
In some examples, providing an opaque metal template with a pre-set pattern of nanostructures on a photoresist layer includes: a metallic nickel template having a pre-patterned nanostructure is provided on the photoresist layer.
In some examples, transferring the pre-set pattern of nanostructures to the photoresist layer comprises: the opaque metal template is pressed mechanically or hydraulically in a direction towards the photoresist layer.
In some examples, altering, by the light guide, a propagation direction of light incident on the at least one side of the light guide from the ultraviolet light source to cause the light to exit toward the photoresist layer comprises: the light is subjected to at least one of light reflection, light refraction, light diffusion and light convergence by the light guide means.
In some examples, providing an ultraviolet light source at least one side of the light guide comprises: an ultraviolet light source is provided at opposite sides of the light guide.
In some examples, the material to be processed is a polymeric material.
In some examples, the method further comprises: the opaque metal template is removed and the photoresist layer is etched to expose the material to be processed under the photoresist layer.
The embodiment of the disclosure also provides an apparatus for the ultraviolet nanoimprint method, including:
the light-tight support substrate is used for bearing a material to be processed;
the light guide device is arranged on the light-tight supporting substrate and is positioned between the material to be processed and the supporting substrate when the supporting substrate bears the material to be processed; and
an ultraviolet light source arranged at least one side surface of the light guide device, wherein
The light guide is configured to change a propagation direction of light incident on the at least one side of the light guide from the ultraviolet light source to exit the light toward a direction away from the support substrate.
In some examples, the light guide device includes a light guide plate.
In some examples, the thickness of the light guide plate is in the range of 0.1mm to 10 mm.
In some examples, the light guide plate includes a first surface proximate to the support substrate and a second surface distal from the support substrate, the light guide device further comprising:
a reflective element disposed on the first surface of the light guide plate; and
and a diffusion element arranged on the second surface of the light guide plate.
In some examples, the diffusing element includes a microlens array including a plurality of microlens structures arranged in an array.
In some examples, the microlens structure is a spherically curved microlens with a diameter in the range of 10 μm to 10 mm.
In some examples, the spherically curved microlenses have a diameter of 50 μm.
In some examples, the ultraviolet light sources are disposed at opposite sides of the plurality of sides of the light guide.
The ultraviolet nanoimprint method and apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure introduce a light guide device and set an ultraviolet light source on a side surface of the light guide device, and adjust a propagation direction of ultraviolet light incident from the side surface thereof to be emitted toward the upper side by the light guide device. In this way, a template can be prepared using a metallic material that is corrosion resistant, heat resistant, high in strength, good in toughness, and has good mechanical properties in an ultraviolet nanoimprint process, while also providing an ultraviolet irradiation utilization rate and a photoresist curing efficiency that ensure imprint accuracy. In addition, since the light guide device adopts a laminated structure such as an optical film, the ultraviolet nanoimprint apparatus of the embodiments of the present disclosure is compact and occupies only a small space.
Drawings
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in more detail embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the disclosure, without limitation to the disclosure. In the drawings, like reference numerals generally refer to like parts or steps.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an ultraviolet nanoimprint process using a nickel template;
FIGS. 2A-2B are flowcharts of an ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a nickel template provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2C is a schematic illustration of an implementation of the UV nanoimprint method shown in FIGS. 2A-2B using a nickel template;
FIG. 2D is a schematic illustration of a pre-set nano-pattern formed on a nickel template used in the UV nanoimprint method shown in FIGS. 2A-2B;
FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of the steps of an ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a nickel template provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the overall structure of an apparatus used in an ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a nickel template according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
fig. 5 illustrates a schematic structural diagram of a light guide device in an ultraviolet nanoimprint apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Detailed Description
For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure more apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent that the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without the need for inventive faculty, are within the scope of the present disclosure, based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure.
Unless defined otherwise, technical or scientific terms used in this disclosure should be given the ordinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The terms "first," "second," and the like, as used in this disclosure, do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. The word "comprising" or "comprises", and the like, means that elements or items preceding the word are included in the element or item listed after the word and equivalents thereof, but does not exclude other elements or items. "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. are used merely to indicate relative positional relationships, which may also be changed when the absolute position of the object to be described is changed.
The inventor of the application discovers in research that compared with the template preparation materials such as silicon, quartz and the like which are commonly used in the known ultraviolet nanoimprint technology, the metal nickel has the advantages of corrosion resistance, heat resistance, high strength, good toughness and good mechanical property, and can replace silicon and quartz to become an important material for preparing the nanoimprint template. However, the nickel material is opaque and ultraviolet light cannot pass through, so when the template prepared from the nickel material is used for ultraviolet nanoimprint, light cannot be irradiated downwards by using a light source positioned above the material to be processed according to the traditional process method to solidify the photoresist.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a nickel template. As shown in fig. 1, the method mainly comprises:
s101, providing a photoresist layer on the surface of a material to be processed;
s102, placing a nickel template with a preset pattern on the surface of the photoresist layer, and pressing the nickel template to transfer the preset pattern to the photoresist layer;
s103, carrying out ultraviolet irradiation on the side, away from the nickel template, of the material to be processed by using an ultraviolet light source so as to solidify the photoresist layer; and
and S104, removing the template and etching the photoresist layer to expose the material to be processed under the photoresist layer.
As described above, the method of the embodiment shown in fig. 1 is to transfer the uv light source, which is typically located on the side of the light transmissive template, to the side of the material to be processed, which is typically a transparent material, so that the uv light irradiates through the material to be processed to reach the photoresist layer to cure the photoresist layer.
However, the inventors of the present application have further found in research that in nanoimprint processes, the material to be processed is typically placed in a carrier substrate that is opaque. In this case, even if the embodiment shown in fig. 1 irradiates the material to be processed from below using an ultraviolet light source, the ultraviolet light cannot pass through the opaque carrier substrate, which makes the photoresist unable to be reliably and effectively cured, affecting the accuracy of nanoimprint.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ultraviolet nanoimprint method that allows the use of an opaque metal template that is corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant, high in strength, good in toughness, and has good mechanical properties in ultraviolet nanoimprint technology that generally uses an opaque template, while also providing ultraviolet irradiation utilization and photoresist curing efficiency that ensure imprint accuracy
Fig. 2A-2B are flowcharts of an ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a nickel template according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, fig. 2C is a schematic diagram of an implementation of the ultraviolet nanoimprint method shown in fig. 2A-2B, and fig. 2D is a schematic diagram of a preset nano pattern formed on the nickel template used in the ultraviolet nanoimprint method shown in fig. 2A-2B.
As shown in fig. 2A-2C, the method mainly includes:
s201, providing a photoresist layer 204 on a material 202 to be processed;
s202, providing an opaque metal template 205 with a preset nanostructure pattern on a photoresist layer 204 and transferring the preset nanostructure pattern to the photoresist layer 204;
s203, providing a light guiding device 201 at a surface of the material 202 to be processed facing away from the photoresist layer 204, and providing an ultraviolet light source 203 at least one side of the light guiding device 201; and
s204, changing, by the light guiding device 201, a propagation direction of the light incident on the at least one side of the light guiding device 201 from the ultraviolet light source 203 so that the light exits toward the photoresist layer 204.
In step S201, the material 202 to be processed may be, for example, a polymer material placed on the opaque supporting substrate 200; common polymeric materials may include, for example, polyimide (PI), poly-p-Phenylene Benzobisoxazole (PBO), bis-p-chloromethylbenzene (BCB), epoxy, silicone, acrylic derivatives, and the like; common support substrate materials include, for example, marble or other metals such as industrial aluminum. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not specifically limited thereto.
In step S201, the photoresist layer 204 may be, for example, a layer of a solution having a low viscosity and sensitive to ultraviolet light having a certain wavelength, and may be provided on the surface of the material 202 to be processed by spin coating, spray coating, or the like in a manner known in the art. For example, the material of the photoresist layer may be a UV paste, or may be a solution of UV paste diluted in Propylene Glycol Methyl Ether Acetate (PGMEA) solution. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not specifically limited thereto.
In step S202, the preset nanostructure pattern may be, for example, a diffraction grating, a Diffractive Optical Element (DOE), a microlens array, a surface relief structure, etc., as shown in fig. 2D, and may be formed on the template 205 using a lithography method such as high-resolution Electron Beam Lithography (EBL), extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), ion Beam Lithography (IBL), X-ray lithography (XRL), etc., as known in the art. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not specifically limited thereto.
In step S202, the opaque metal mold 205 may be, for example, a nickel metal mold, which is corrosion resistant, heat resistant, high in strength, good in toughness and has good mechanical properties. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other metal templates having similar properties may be used.
In step S202, the preset nanostructure pattern may be transferred to the photoresist layer 204, for example, by imprinting, which is known in the art, mechanically, hydraulically, etc., according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the imprinting device 206 may be pressurized toward the template 205 using a roller and the imprinting device may be rolled at a uniform speed for a predetermined time by controlling the pressure, whereby the photoresist solution may be able to sufficiently fill nano cavities in a preset nano-structured pattern on the template 205. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not specifically limited thereto.
In step S203, the light guiding device 201 may be disposed on the support substrate 200, between the material 202 to be processed and the support substrate 200, for example; and the ultraviolet light source 203 may be disposed on at least one side of the light guiding device 101, for example, on two opposite sides of the light guiding device 201.
The ultraviolet light source 203 used in embodiments of the present disclosure may be, for example, an ultraviolet lamp, mercury lamp, or the like, as known in the art, capable of providing ultraviolet light, and the ultraviolet light provided by the ultraviolet light source may be, for example, in the UVA-UVC band. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not specifically limited thereto.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S204, the light guiding device 201 may change a propagation direction of the light incident on the at least one side of the light guiding device 201 from the ultraviolet light source 203 by at least one of light reflection, light refraction, light diffusion and light convergence, so that the light exits toward the photoresist layer 204; thus, the ultraviolet light can penetrate the transparent material 202 to be processed to reach the photoresist layer 204, and the photoresist solution which is fully filled in the nanometer cavities in the preset nanometer structure pattern and is sensitive to ultraviolet light with specific wavelength is irradiated and solidified, so that the preset nanometer structure pattern is copied onto the photoresist layer 204 in a reverse direction.
As shown in fig. 2B, after the step S204, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it may further include:
s205: the opaque metal template 205 is removed and the photoresist layer 204 is etched to expose the material 202 to be processed under the photoresist layer 204.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S205, for example, a reverse pattern formed by curing a photoresist solution on the material to be processed 202 may be used as a mask for an etching process, for example, anisotropic etching may be used, etc., to finally form the same pattern as the preset nanostructure pattern on the opaque metal template 205 in the material to be processed 202, thereby transferring the pattern on the template 205 onto the material to be processed 202.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are not specifically limited herein to S205, and for example, the "reverse-replicated" patterned photoresist layer described above may also be processed using lift-off or other means customary in the art.
It should be noted here that, although the steps of the ultraviolet nanoimprint method are described by the numerical marks of S201-S205 in the above embodiments of the present disclosure, the numerical marks do not represent that there is a fixed order of the steps, but may be adjusted according to the process conditions and needs. For example, a photoresist may be provided on the material to be treated, and then a light guide may be provided at an appropriate position, or a light guide may be provided first, and then the material to be treated coated with the photoresist may be placed at an appropriate position. Embodiments of the present disclosure are not particularly limited in this regard as long as it is ensured that the light guide is located at a surface of the material to be processed remote from the template and the ultraviolet light source is located at least one side of the light guide, and that the adjustment of the ultraviolet illumination and light direction is performed after transferring the nanopattern on the template to the photoresist layer.
Exemplary embodiments of the above-described ultraviolet nanoimprint method illustrated in fig. 2A-2D will be described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 3 to enable one skilled in the art to better understand the implementation and technical effects of the method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other various possible implementations will readily occur to those skilled in the art based on the following examples.
Fig. 3 is an exploded schematic view of steps of an ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a nickel template according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, the ultraviolet nanoimprint method of the present embodiment mainly includes the following steps:
placing a light guide 301 on a marble supporting substrate 300, placing a glass plate 302 to be processed on the light guide 301, and placing ultraviolet lamps 303 on left and right sides 3011, 3012 of the light guide 301;
coating a UV glue on the glass plate 302 using a spin coating process to form a UV glue layer 304;
placing a metallic nickel template 305 on the glass plate 302 coated with the UV glue layer 304, wherein the metallic nickel template 305 has been formed with a surface relief structure 3050 in advance through a high resolution electron beam lithography process;
the metallic nickel template 305 is pressed down using the imprinting roller 306 and the imprinting roller 306 is rolled at a constant speed for a predetermined time by controlling the pressure so that the solution in the UV glue layer 304 fills the cavities 3052 of the surface relief structure 3050 sufficiently for forming the reverse pattern 3040 later;
simultaneously, the ultraviolet lamps 303 on the left side and the right side of the light guide device 301 are turned on, so that ultraviolet light sources are incident on the left side 3011 and the right side 3012 of the light guide device 301, and change the propagation direction and emit upwards after dimming in the light guide device 301;
the ultraviolet irradiation is continued for a predetermined time calculated according to the characteristics of the UV glue used, the required exposure dose and the exposure power of the ultraviolet lamp used, so that the UV glue layer 304 is sufficiently cured;
turning off the ultraviolet lamp 303 and removing the metallic nickel template 305 from the glass plate 302, leaving a reverse pattern 3040 of UV glue on the surface of the glass plate 302 opposite the surface relief structure 3050 on the metallic nickel template 305;
and etching the UV glue layer 304 by using the reverse pattern 3040 formed by curing the UV glue as a mask by adopting an anisotropic etching process until the glass plate 302 below the UV glue layer 304 is exposed. Thereby, the same pattern 3020 as the surface relief structure 3050 on the metallic nickel template 305 is transferred onto the glass plate 302.
As described above, in the ultraviolet nanoimprint method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, a light guide is introduced and an ultraviolet light source is disposed at a side of the light guide, and a propagation direction of ultraviolet light incident from the side thereof is adjusted to be emitted upward by the light guide. In this way, a template can be prepared using a metallic material that is corrosion resistant, heat resistant, high in strength, good in toughness, and has good mechanical properties in an ultraviolet nanoimprint process, while also providing an ultraviolet irradiation utilization rate and a photoresist curing efficiency that ensure imprint accuracy.
Table 1 shows quality comparison of patterns obtained by a conventional nanoimprint method using a PET template (i.e., UV illumination from above and below a transparent PET template) and a nanoimprint method using a metallic nickel template according to an embodiment of the present disclosure under equivalent UV illumination conditions and rolling conditions. As is clear from table 1, for images having original dimensions of 200nm, the drawn dimensions of the patterns obtained by the conventional method using a PET template and the method using a metallic nickel template according to the embodiment of the present disclosure were 46 μm and 3 μm, respectively, namely: the method provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can transfer the original graph with higher precision, and only slight stretching exists; further, while the conventional method using a PET template generates a standard deviation of the dimension of about 3.0 μm after continuously imprinting 100 pieces of the element to be processed, the method using a metallic nickel template provided according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can reduce the standard deviation of the dimension to 0.8 μm. Thus, the nanoimprint method using the metallic nickel template provided according to the embodiment of the present disclosure significantly improves imprint accuracy.
Table 1
| PET template | Metal nickel template | |
| Original length of pattern | 200nm | 200nm |
| Stretch dimension | 46μm | 3μm |
| 100 continuous impression size standard deviation | 3.0μm | 0.8μm |
As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an apparatus for the above ultraviolet nanoimprint method, including:
an opaque support substrate 400 for carrying a material 402 to be processed;
a light guide device 401 disposed on the opaque supporting substrate 400, and located between the material to be processed 402 and the supporting substrate 400 when the supporting substrate 400 carries the material to be processed 402; and
an ultraviolet light source 403 is disposed at least one side of the light guide 401, for example, the left side 4011 and/or the right side 4012 in fig. 4.
The light guide 401 is configured to change the propagation direction of light rays incident on the at least one side 4011 and/or 4012 of the light guide 401 from the ultraviolet light source 403 such that the light rays exit toward a direction away from the support substrate 400 (e.g., an upward direction in fig. 4).
The support substrate 400, the light guiding device 401, the material to be processed 402 and the uv light source 403 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4 may be, for example, the support substrate 200, the light guiding device 201, the material to be processed 202 and the uv light source 203 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2 or the support substrate 300, the light guiding device 301, the material to be processed 302 and the uv light source 303 in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, or any structures, devices and apparatuses known in the art capable of implementing the corresponding steps of the uv nanoimprint method described with reference to fig. 2A-2D and fig. 3, and the relevant contents may be referred to the relevant descriptions of the embodiment in fig. 2A-2D and fig. 3.
An exemplary embodiment of a light guide device in an apparatus such as that shown in fig. 4, used in an ultraviolet nanoimprint method such as that shown in fig. 2 and 3, will be described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 5, so that those skilled in the art will better understand implementation and technical effects of the method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other various possible implementations will readily occur to those skilled in the art based on the following examples.
As shown in fig. 5, the light guide device 500 in the present exemplary embodiment includes a light guide plate 501. Alternatively, the light guide plate 501 may be a dot type light guide plate or a prism type light guide plate, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and any light guide plate capable of converting, for example, horizontally incident (side incident) ultraviolet light into vertically upward emergent light may be used as known in the art. In some examples, the thickness of the light guide plate 501 is in the range of 0.1 mm-10 mm, so that it can be adapted to most of the ultraviolet LED lamp beads on the market, which are smaller in size.
In some examples, as shown in fig. 5, the light guide apparatus 500 may further include a reflective element 502, such as a reflective layer or sheet, disposed at a first surface 5011 of the light guide plate 501 (the bottom surface of the light guide plate 501 in fig. 5) remote from the material to be treated. The reflective element 502 can reduce the loss of light at the bottom surface 5011 of the light guide plate 501, and reuse the light reaching the bottom surface 5011 of the light guide plate 501 by reflection, thereby improving the light utilization rate of the light guide plate 501.
In some examples, as also shown in fig. 5, the light guide apparatus 500 may further include a diffusing element 503 disposed at the second surface 5012 (the top surface of the light guide plate 501 in fig. 5) of the light guide plate 501 proximate to the material to be processed (not shown, see fig. 4). The diffusion element 503 can uniformly diffuse light, and improve uniformity of ultraviolet irradiation.
In some examples, the diffusing element 503 may be a diffuser, such as a diffuser employing MLA (micro lens array) technology. The MLA type diffusion sheet utilizes a closely arranged lens array to refract light to a target area, has the characteristics of small size, high integration level and the like, and can further reduce the thickness of the light guide device.
As shown in fig. 5, in some examples, the diffusing element 503 is an MLA-type diffusing plate composed of a transparent substrate 5031 and a plurality of microlenses 5032 arrayed on the transparent substrate 5031. The embodiment of the present disclosure is not particularly limited herein to the structure of the microlens 5032, and may have a spherical curved surface, an aspherical curved surface, or any other curved surface design as long as a desired light diffusion effect can be achieved. In the example using a spherically curved surface, the diameter of the microlens 5032 may be designed according to the thickness of the light guide plate, and may be in the range of 10 μm to 10mm, such as 50 μm, for example.
It should be noted herein that although an example including the light guide plate 501, the reflective sheet 502, and the MLA diffusion sheet 503 has been described with reference to fig. 5, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the light guide device 500 of the embodiment of the present disclosure may have other optical structures capable of achieving the described functions. For example, although the example of the light guide 500 of fig. 5 uses a combination of a light guide plate, a reflective sheet, and a diffusion type microlens array, in other examples, a combination of a light guide plate, a reflective sheet, a condensing type microlens array, and a double diffusion film may be used. In these examples, the microlenses of the condensing microlens array have a curved surface design different from that of the microlenses 5032 in the above examples, which does not function as a diffusing element, but as a condensing element. The first diffusion film and the second diffusion film may be disposed at a side of the condensing element close to the light guide plate 501 and a side remote from the light guide plate 501, respectively. Thus, the first diffusion film may uniformly diffuse the light emitted from the top surface 5012 of the light guide plate 501, the condensing microlens array may collect the light emitted from the first diffusion film to increase the light intensity, and the second diffusion film may again uniformly diffuse the enhanced light emitted from the condensing microlens array, thereby increasing the light uniformity while increasing the light intensity.
In some examples, the light guide 500 may be an integrated structure, for example, the light guide plate 501, the reflective sheet 502, and the diffusion type microlens array 503 may be made into an integrated laminated structure, or the light guide plate 501, the reflective sheet 502, the light-collecting type microlens array, and the double diffusion film may be made into an integrated laminated structure, so that the light guide 500 may be directly fixed on a support substrate and located between the support substrate and the material to be processed when the support substrate carries the material to be processed, so that the apparatus of the embodiment of the present disclosure is compact and occupies only a small space.
As described above, the ultraviolet nanoimprint apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure incorporates the light guide device and disposes the ultraviolet light source on the side of the light guide device, and adjusts the propagation direction of the ultraviolet light incident from the side thereof to exit toward the upper side by the light guide device. In this way, a template can be prepared using a metallic material that is corrosion resistant, heat resistant, high in strength, good in toughness, and has good mechanical properties in an ultraviolet nanoimprint process, while also providing an ultraviolet irradiation utilization rate and a photoresist curing efficiency that ensure imprint accuracy. In addition, since the light guide device adopts a laminated structure such as an optical film, the ultraviolet nanoimprint apparatus of the embodiments of the present disclosure is compact and occupies only a small space.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
The foregoing is illustrative of the present application and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few exemplary embodiments of this application have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this application. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this application as defined in the following claims. It is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of the present application and is not to be construed as limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. The application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.
Claims (16)
1. A method of ultraviolet nanoimprinting using a metal template, comprising:
providing a photoresist layer on a material to be processed;
providing an opaque metal template with a preset nanostructure pattern on the photoresist layer and transferring the preset nanostructure pattern to the photoresist layer;
providing a light guide at a surface of the material to be processed facing away from the photoresist layer, and providing an ultraviolet light source at least one side of the light guide; and
the propagation direction of light rays incident on the at least one side of the light guide from the ultraviolet light source is changed by the light guide to exit the light rays toward the photoresist layer.
2. The ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template according to claim 1, wherein, before the photoresist layer is provided on the material to be processed, the ultraviolet nanoimprint method further comprises: placing the material to be processed on a light-tight supporting substrate; and is also provided with
Providing a light guiding means at a surface of the material to be processed facing away from the photoresist layer comprises: the light guide device is placed on the opaque support substrate such that the light guide device is positioned between the material to be processed and the opaque support substrate.
3. The ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template according to claim 1, wherein the opaque metal template having a preset nanostructure pattern comprises: a metallic nickel template with a pre-set nanostructure pattern.
4. The ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template according to claim 1, wherein transferring the preset nanostructure pattern to the photoresist layer comprises: the opaque metal template is mechanically pressed in a direction towards the photoresist layer.
5. The ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template according to claim 1, wherein changing, by the light guide, a propagation direction of light rays incident on the at least one side of the light guide from the ultraviolet light source to exit the light rays toward the photoresist layer comprises: the light is subjected to at least one of light reflection, light refraction, light diffusion and light convergence by the light guide means.
6. The ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template according to claim 1, wherein providing an ultraviolet light source at least one side of the light guide device comprises: an ultraviolet light source is provided at opposite sides of the light guide.
7. The ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template according to claim 1, wherein the material to be processed is a polymer material.
8. The ultraviolet nanoimprint method using a metal template according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: the opaque metal template is removed and the photoresist layer is etched to expose the material to be processed under the photoresist layer.
9. An apparatus for the ultraviolet nanoimprint method of any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising:
the light-tight support substrate is used for bearing a material to be processed;
the light guide device is arranged on the light-tight supporting substrate and is positioned between the material to be processed and the supporting substrate when the supporting substrate bears the material to be processed; and
an ultraviolet light source arranged on at least one side surface of the light guide device,
the light guide is configured to change a propagation direction of light incident on the at least one side of the light guide from the ultraviolet light source to exit the light toward a direction away from the support substrate.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the light guide comprises a light guide plate.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the light guide plate has a thickness in a range of 0.1mm to 10 mm.
12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the light guide plate comprises a first surface proximate to the support substrate and a second surface distal from the support substrate, the light guide device further comprising:
a reflective element disposed on the first surface of the light guide plate; and
and a diffusion element arranged on the second surface of the light guide plate.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the diffusing element comprises a microlens array comprising a plurality of microlens structures arranged in an array.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the microlens structure is a spherically curved microlens having a diameter in the range of 10 μm to 10 mm.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the spherically curved microlenses have a diameter of 50 μιη.
16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the ultraviolet light sources are disposed at opposite sides of the light guide.
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