Application of Ni-P Alloys to A Mold Material for Thermal Imprinting on Pyrex Glass

Abstract

The author developed a low-cost mold for imprinting on Pyrex glass. The mold was fabricated by the processing of micro-/nano-patterns made by FIB etching on an amorphous NiP alloy layer electroless-plated on Cu/Cr/Si, Ni/Ti/Si, and Inconel-600 substrates, followed by a thermal treatment, since a 400 °C for 3 h thermal treatment was known to increase the hardness of a NiP layer. The wt.% of P was changed to 4, 8, and 16; and scratch test and imprint experiments on the Pyrex glass showed Ni-16P/polished-Inconel-600 mold giving a best result. We also successfully demonstrated the making of line/space patterns, microlenses, and AIST logos on Pyrex glass. It was also experimentally proved that a NiP alloy can be used as a mold material to imprint on Pyrex glass at high temperature around 640 °C under vacuum without employing any release agent.