Tokyo University of Science (TUS) scholars have recently made a breakthrough in nanoimprinting technology, achieving a breakthrough in the creation of sub-10 nm resolution morphology by UV-hardened nanoimprinting (UV-NIL).
UV-NIL is a highly anticipated direction for nanoimprinting technology because it does not require high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, and has the potential to produce optical lithography-quality patterns at low cost, but it has previously been difficult to achieve resolutions smaller than 10 nm due to the understanding of the atomic-scale properties of photoresist materials. Based on molecular dynamics simulations, the team led by Tadashi Ando elucidated the mechanism of the molecular composition of photoresists and the imprinting process, and discovered and validated photoresist materials suitable for UV-NIL process.
Ando said that the team’s research results can provide guidance for the selection and design of optimized photoresist materials in the future, which will eventually lead to the practical implementation of UV-NIL processes with sub-10 nm resolution.
