Well‐ordered nanostructured organic/inorganic hybrid thin film construction via UV nanoimprint lithography applicable to liquid crystal systems

Abstract

In this study, a well‐ordered unidirectional nanostructure was successfully imprinted on a UV curable polymer/indium oxide hybrid film using UV nanoimprint lithography (NIL). The surface morphologies of the hybrid films were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the uniform nanostructure with a period of 820 nm and height of 30 nm was observed on a 6 min UV‐irradiated film by line profile from AFM. The chemical modification of the films according to UV irradiation time was analyzed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nanopatterned hybrid film was applied to the liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer and the polarized optical microscopy and pretilt angle analysis demonstrated the highly uniform and homogeneous LC alignment state. The unidirectional nanostructure guided the LCs orientation and the aligned surface anisotropy which induces the uniform LC alignment. The hybrid film chemical affinity was analyzed by contact angle measurement, and the increased surface energy after UV irradiation contributed to the homogeneous LC alignment. Therefore, various organic/inorganic hybrid films can be used for nanostructure construction via UV NIL, and it has a high potential for application in diverse LC systems.

Preparation of Tilted Grating Structure by Nanoimprinting Material with High Refractive Index

“…Due to the influence of various factors such as the wavelength of light waves and the size of the physical numerical aperture, it is difficult to produce images with a characteristic size less than 7 nm in traditional optical lithography. As the next generation lithography technology, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology has achieved a characteristic size below 5 nm, and according to relevant research, the process precision of NIL has reached 2 nm [1] . Moreover, Nanoimprint lithography technology has the advantages of convenience, speed, and low cost, and has good application and market prospects in the fields of optoelectronic devices, biochips, and fluid devices.…”