JP5176618B2 - Imprint mold and imprint method using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mold used for imprint technology ranging from a micron order to a nano order. In addition, the present invention relates to an imprint method using the mold.

  Conventionally, thin film microfabrication techniques such as photolithography have been used when it is desired to perform microfabrication ranging from micron order to nano order on the surface of a substrate such as resin. However, the thin film microfabrication technology requires a large capital investment, and the processing cost itself is high and processing time is required.

  Therefore, in recent years, imprint technology has been developed in place of thin film microfabrication technology. The imprint technique is a technique in which a mold having a predetermined fine pattern is first prepared and the predetermined fine pattern is transferred to the substrate by pressing the mold against a substrate such as a resin. Therefore, although microfabrication technology is required for mold fabrication, once the mold is completed, the pattern transfer process is simple and low cost.

For imprint technology, it is important to produce a mold for imprint. For example, in Patent Document 1, a concavo-convex pattern is formed on a substrate made of quartz glass using a fine processing technique by photolithography or electron beam lithography.
JP 2007-258419 A

  In the imprint mold described in Patent Document 1, a metal film can be coated on the surface by plating or the like, for example, in order to improve wear resistance. However, since it is difficult to form a uniform and uniform plating film with respect to a fine concavo-convex pattern from the micron order to the nano order, the wear resistance is insufficient.

  In addition, the imprint mold described in Patent Document 1 has a drawback in that the mold releasability is still poor when the mold is pressed against the base material and then released from the pattern.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imprint mold that can solve the above-described problems.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an imprint method using the above-described imprint mold.

The present invention is an imprint mold provided with a porous metal plating film having pores having an average pore diameter of 10 μm or less on the surface in a portion where a fine pattern is formed .

  In the imprint mold according to the present invention, the main component of the metal is preferably Ni.

  The present invention is also directed to an imprint method having a step of forming a columnar structure on a base material by pressing the mold against the base material. The substrate is preferably a resin, for example.

  According to the imprint mold of the present invention, since the fine pattern is made of the porous metal plating film itself, the releasability after being pressed against a substrate such as a resin is improved. In particular, a sufficient release action may be obtained without applying a release agent to the surface of the mold.

  Moreover, according to the imprint mold of the present invention, since the fine pattern is made of the porous plating film itself, there is no nonmetallic portion on the surface of the fine pattern, and the wear resistance is enhanced. Further, when the main component of the metal is Ni, the wear resistance and durability are further enhanced.

  Furthermore, since the fine pattern of the imprint mold of the present invention is composed of the porous plating film itself, it is not necessary to use a thin film microfabrication technique for forming the fine pattern, and is easily obtained at low cost. Therefore, in the imprint method using the imprint mold of the present invention, even if many types of patterns are necessary, a large number of imprint molds can be prepared inexpensively and easily. It is.

  A device such as a biosensor requires a columnar structure made of a resin of micron order to nano order, but the required dimensional accuracy is relatively low. Therefore, a device such as a biosensor can be manufactured at low cost by using the inexpensive imprint method of the present invention.

  The imprint mold of the present invention includes a porous metal plating film having pores having an average pore diameter of 10 μm or less on the surface. That is, pores in the porous metal plating film are used for the uneven portions necessary for the fine pattern. As in the prior art, a substrate having a fine pattern that has been subjected to a microfabrication technique and coated with a normal plating film is excluded.

  In this porous metal plating film, there are a large number of pores ranging from micron order to nano order in the film. The pores are also opened on the surface of the plating film, and the average diameter of the opening when the surface of the plating film is viewed from the front is 10 μm or less.

  The imprint mold of the present invention includes at least the porous metal plating film, but in addition to this, a support base or the like may be added.

  Furthermore, since the mold for imprinting of the present invention is excellent in releasability, there are some which do not form a release agent on the surface. If no release agent is used, the wear resistance will be excellent.

  Next, an imprint method using the imprint mold of the present invention will be described.

  The imprint method of the present invention is not different from a normal imprint method except that the imprint mold of the present invention is used. That is, when the imprint mold of the present invention is pressed against the surface of a substrate such as a resin, the resin of the substrate flows into pores opened on the surface of the porous metal plating film. Then, after the mold is released, for example, a resin columnar structure is formed.

  The shape of the columnar structure naturally depends on the shape of the pores of the porous metal plating film. Therefore, it is possible to form columnar structures having various shapes and sizes by controlling the shape of the pores by changing the conditions of the porous metal plating.

  Example 1 First, an alumina substrate having a size of 50 × 50 mm and a thickness of 0.635 mm was prepared. On the surface of the alumina substrate, Pd fine particles serving as catalyst nuclei for electroless plating were adhered to the surface of the alumina substrate by a commonly used method.

  The pretreated alumina substrate was immersed in an electroless Ni plating bath shown below for 30 minutes to form a porous Ni plating film on the surface of the alumina substrate.

Nickel chloride 0.08mol / L
Sodium hypophosphite 0.19mol / L
Citric acid 0.05mol / L
Ammonium chloride 0.65 mol / L
Acetylene additive 1g / L
pH 9.5
Bath temperature 80 ° C
The formed porous Ni plating film was dried at 80 ° C. In this way, a mold for imprinting was produced. The surface of the obtained porous plating film was observed using SEM (scanning electron microscope). This observation photograph is shown in FIG.

  Next, the imprint mold was set on a polypropylene plate having a size of 60 × 60 mm and a thickness of 2 mm, and pressurized at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a pressure of 196 MPa for 180 seconds. Then, the temperature was returned to room temperature, and the imprint mold was separated from the plate. Thus, a polypropylene columnar structure was obtained.

  This columnar structure was observed by SEM. FIG. 2 shows an observation photograph of the surface seen from the vertical direction, and FIG. 3 shows an observation photograph of the surface seen from the direction inclined by 45 ° C. from the vertical direction.

  Example 2 An alumina substrate similar to that in Example 1 was prepared, and the alumina substrate was pretreated by the same method as in Example 1.

  The pretreated alumina substrate was immersed in an electroless Ni plating bath shown below for 30 minutes to form a porous Ni plating film on the surface of the alumina substrate.

ICP Nicolon GM-NPE (Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
Acetylene additive 1g / L
pH 4.6
Bath temperature 80 ° C
The formed porous Ni plating film was dried at 80 ° C. In this way, a mold for imprinting was produced. The surface of the obtained porous plating film was observed using SEM (scanning electron microscope). This observation photograph is shown in FIG. Even though it was porous, a porous Ni plating film having a shape and size different from those of Example 1 was obtained.

  Next, the imprint mold was set on the same polypropylene plate as in Example 1, and pressurized at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a pressure of 196 MPa for 180 seconds. Then, the temperature was returned to room temperature, and the imprint mold was separated from the plate. Thus, a polypropylene columnar structure was obtained.

  This columnar structure was observed by SEM. FIG. 5 shows an observation photograph of the surface seen from the vertical direction, and FIG. 6 shows an observation photograph of the surface seen from the direction inclined by 45 ° from the vertical direction. A columnar structure having a size and shape different from those of Example 1 was obtained.

  Example 3 An alumina substrate similar to that in Example 1 was prepared, and the alumina substrate was pretreated by the same method as in Example 1.

  The pretreated alumina substrate was immersed in an electroless Ni plating bath shown below for 30 minutes to form a porous Ni plating film on the surface of the alumina substrate.

ICP Nicolon FPF (Okuno Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
Acetylene additive 1g / L
pH 6.5
Bath temperature 80 ° C
The formed porous Ni plating film was dried at 80 ° C. In this way, a mold for imprinting was produced. The surface of the obtained porous plating film was observed using SEM (scanning electron microscope). This observation photograph is shown in FIG. A porous Ni plating film having a shape and size different from those of Examples 1 and 2 was obtained even though it was porous.

  Next, the imprint mold was set on the same polypropylene plate as in Example 1, and pressurized at a temperature of 60 ° C. and a pressure of 196 MPa for 180 seconds. Then, the temperature was returned to room temperature, and the imprint mold was separated from the plate. Thus, a polypropylene columnar structure was obtained.

  This columnar structure was observed by SEM. FIG. 8 shows an observation photograph of the surface viewed from the vertical direction, and FIG. 9 shows an observation photograph of the surface viewed from a direction inclined by 45 ° from the vertical direction. A columnar structure having a size and shape different from those of Example 1 was obtained.

2 is a SEM photograph of the surface of a porous Ni plating film in Example 1. 2 is an SEM photograph of the surface of the columnar structure in Example 1 as viewed from the vertical direction. It is the SEM photograph which looked at the surface of the columnar structure in Example 1 from the direction which inclined 45 degrees from the perpendicular direction. 4 is a SEM photograph of the surface of a porous Ni plating film in Example 2. It is the SEM photograph which looked at the surface of the columnar structure in Example 2 from the perpendicular direction. It is the SEM photograph which looked at the surface of the columnar structure in Example 2 from the direction which inclined 45 degrees from the perpendicular direction. 4 is a SEM photograph of the surface of a porous Ni plating film in Example 3. It is the SEM photograph which looked at the surface of the columnar structure in Example 3 from the perpendicular direction. It is the SEM photograph which looked at the surface of the columnar structure in Example 3 from the direction which inclined 45 degrees from the perpendicular direction.

Claims (4)

An imprint mold comprising a porous metal plating film having pores having an average pore diameter of 10 μm or less at a portion where a fine pattern is formed .   The imprint mold according to claim 1, wherein the main component of the metal is Ni.   An imprint method comprising a step of forming a columnar structure on a substrate by pressing the imprint mold according to claim 1 against the substrate.   The imprint method according to claim 3, wherein the substrate is a resin.