This paper reports on an investigation of contact damage induced in molds and substrate materials used in microand nanoimprint lithography. Silicon, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), glass, and silicon carbide were studied. A finite element analysis using ABAQUS software was conducted to investigate the stress induced in mold and substrate materials when they come in contact with each other at a uniaxial pressure of 1 MPa. A spherical indentation experiment was conducted for a model study for various indentation loads and numbers of contact cycles. We examined the contact damage during the spherical indentation. Indentation stress-strain curves, surface views of contact damage, and mechanical properties were characterized for the mold and substrate materials.
Analysis and experiment on mold and resin materials for the nanoimprint process are conducted in this study. We developed FEM analysis of indentation stress induced in mold materials when they come in contact with 1MPa expanded uniaxial stress. Experimental analyses of viscosity, thermal expansion coefficient, and shrinkage rate of acrylate-based UV resin are likewise undertaken. Experimentally, Hertzian indentation and adhesion tests are used as model test systems for the micro/nanoimprint process. For the study, indentation test variables investigated are the contact load for various mold materials such as Si, glass, and PDMS(polydimethylsiloxane). The adhesion test is performed to measure the maximum uniaxial load required to separate the mold from the resin material. The results highlight that the adhesion stresses are not negligible during the demoulding process, while the indentation stresses are negligible during the imprint process.
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