Advancement of laser-assisted and roller-based nanoimprinting technology

Nanoimprinting technology was first developed in 1995 and is now recognized as one of the most promising approaches for large-area and low-cost fabrication of nanostructures. In this chapter, three types of laser-assisted and roller-based nanoimprinting and contact-printing methods developed in recent years will be addressed. First of all, a laser-assisted roller imprinting (LARI) method which can directly transfer the pattern from a quartz mold to a silicon substrate is introduced. The advantage of LARI is that the pattern transformation is direct, fast, and without any chemical etching processes. Secondly, a light-assisted metal film patterning (LAMP) method which transfers a patterned metal film directly from a silicon mold to a substrate is discussed. The pattern transformation relies on both mechanical contact pressure and optical heating at the interface. Metal patterns with 100 nm feature size can be easily transferred in laboratory using simple equipments and setups. Finally, a contact-transfer and mask-embedded lithography (CMEL) is proposed which cleverly arranges pure mechanical forces and surface energy difference to achieve the patterning of nanostructures on various kinds of substrates. Future developments and potential applications of these roller-based nanoimprinting and nano-patterning methods will be addressed.