Title :
Nanopatterning using a simple bilayer lift-off process by transfer printing based on poly(dimethylsiloxane) templates
Author :
Dingjie Zheng ; Dong Dong ; Aixia Sang ; Zhengqiaoruo Zhu ; Min Zhu ; Xudi Wang
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Mech. & Automotive Eng., Hefei Univ. of Technol., Hefei, China
Abstract :
An efficient and versatile method for fabricating nanopatterns by a lift-off procedure is presented. The method involves an inked technique based on the poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) mould to fabricate a nanopatterned UV-curable resist as the top-layer and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as the underlayer. The minimal residues are left on the PMMA because PDMS absorbs the organic molecules of UV-curable resist after the transferred step. High O2 reactive ion etching selectivity of the top-layer to the underlayer is necessary to create the undercut pattern profile that is essential for the stable lift-off process. The UV-curable resist shows high etch resistance to O2 plasma and PMMA serves as an underlying resin to create an undercut profile which is essential for the lift-off process. The etch rates of the PMMA film and UV-curable resist by O2 plasma were examined as a function of bias voltage under various oxygen conditions during the etching process. To reveal the mechanism of etch resistance, the chemical composition of UV-curable resist was analysed before and after the O2 plasma etching process by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As a result, the periodical patterns were fabricated using this bilayer lift-off process, which shows great potential in the fabrication of micro/nanodevices and in their applications.
Keywords :
X-ray photoelectron spectra; nanopatterning; plasma materials processing; resists; sputter etching; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; XPS; bias voltage; bilayer lift-off process; chemical composition; etch rates; etch resistance mechanism; high oxygen reactive ion etching selectivity; inked technique; microdevice fabrication; minimal residues; nanodevice fabrication; nanopatterned UV-curable resist; organic molecules; oxygen conditions; oxygen plasma etching process; periodical patterns; poly(dimethylsiloxane) film; poly(dimethylsiloxane) mould; poly(dimethylsiloxane) templates; resin; stable lift-off process; transfer printing; undercut pattern profile;
Journal_Title :
Micro Nano Letters, IET
DOI :
10.1049/mnl.2015.0207