Role of fluorinated monomer for simple demolding in nanoimprint lithography

Abstract

In this study, we explored the effect of a fluorinated monomer on nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and determined the optimum amount of fluorinated monomer required in the formulation for better NIL. To estimate the role of the fluorinated monomer for demolding, NIL was conducted using copolymers of nonfluorinated silane monomers and fluorinated silane monomers. Epoxy ring-opening photopolymerization based on the cationic polymerization mechanism was utilized for the NIL process. The physical properties of the photopolymerized copolymeric materials, such as tensile strength, elongation, modulus, and impact strength, as well as surface characteristics such as the contact angle were reported. Aluminum deposition on the nanoimprinted pattern, which is instrumental in fabricating a wire grid polarizer, was also conducted. According to the study results, the use of a copolymer containing 20 mol % of the fluorinated monomer in NIL proved to be the best formulation for easy demolding and for ensuring optimum levels of the physical properties.