Anodized Aluminum Oxide/Polydimethylsiloxane Hybrid Mold for Roll‐to‐Roll Nanoimprinting

Abstract

Two types (hard and soft) of the molds are widely used in nanoimprint lithography for a high throughput over a large area, and high-resolution parallel patterning. Although hard molds have proven excellent resolutions and can be used at high temperatures, cracks often occur in the mold in addition to the requirement of high imprinting pressure. On the other hand, though soft molds can operate at lower pressures, they give poor pattern resolution. Here, a novel hybrid mold of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template attached to a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) plate is introduced. Due to the flexible nature of PDMS, various polymer nanostructures are obtained on flat and curved substrates without crack formation on the AAO mold surface. Furthermore, the hybrid mold is successfully used for roll-to-roll imprinting for the fabrication of high density array of various shaped polymeric nanostructures over a large area.

Enhancement of Antiviral Effect of Plastic Film against SARS-CoV-2: Combining Nanomaterials and Nanopatterns with Scalability for Mass Manufacturing

“…For example, fabrication of the roll mold would require developing an AAO-based roller mold which could be fabricated by means of anodization or a nickel-based nanomold which could be fabricated using electron beam lithography and electroforming. 51 , 52 The nanoimprinting process based on roll-to-roll thermal nanoimprinting, or the roll-to-roll extrusion coating nanoimprinting and coating process, would also need to be optimized in order to achieve good replication fidelity of the designed nanopattern and uniformity of the coating. 53 , 54 Such processes have been demonstrated in industry for fabricating functional nanopatterns such as antireflection, superhydrophobic, and nanophotonic surfaces.…”

“…It is worth noting that successful process integration would involve overcoming various technical challenges and would also require iterative optimization. For example, fabrication of the roll mold would require developing an AAO-based roller mold which could be fabricated by means of anodization or a nickel-based nanomold which could be fabricated using electron beam lithography and electroforming. , The nanoimprinting process based on roll-to-roll thermal nanoimprinting, or the roll-to-roll extrusion coating nanoimprinting and coating process, would also need to be optimized in order to achieve good replication fidelity of the designed nanopattern and uniformity of the coating. , Such processes have been demonstrated in industry for fabricating functional nanopatterns such as antireflection, superhydrophobic, and nanophotonic surfaces. − There are likely to be additional challenges with coatings. The UASC process could be integrated into a production line by using multiple ultrasonic spraying nozzles.…”

Fabrication and Applications of 3D Nanoarchitectures for Advanced Electrocatalysts and Sensors

“…Among numerous candidates, soft molding enables large-area fabrication, high throughput, sub-μm to sub-100 nm resolutions, and extensive geometric and compositional controllability. [73,74] Accordingly, soft molding is expected to be advantageous for the cost-effective fabrication of 3D nanostructures with sub-100 nm building blocks, extensive 3D ordering, and controlled periodicity, targets very challenging to meet if using other fabrication technologies. Specifically, among various soft-molding methods, such as replica molding, microcontact printing, and nanotransfer patterning, one practical method that has great potential for producing large-scale ordered 3D nanostructures is sequential nanotransfer printing (nTP).…”

Fabrication and applications of stimuli‐responsive micro/nanopillar arrays

“…[123][124][125] In particular, roll-to-roll nanoimprinting using AAO templates can produce high-throughput nanoarrays (Figure 6(A-D)). 126 To prevent crack formation in the curved AAO template, the AAO template was attached to a flexible PDMS plate after the removal of the Al substrate (Figure 6(A)). The AAO/PDMS hybrid mold was patched to a nanoimprinting roller, followed by imprinting the PS film at 180 C, which is above the glass transition temperature of PS (105 C) (Figure 6(B)).…”