Rolling mold for microstructured film imprinting

Abstract

A rolling mold for microstructured film imprinting includes a roller and a filmed metal template. The roller has a round outer surface. The filmed metal template is disposed with a microstructured film imprint pattern and changeably coupled to the roller by magnetic force or vacuum suction. Rolling of the roller allows the microstructured film imprint pattern to form a microstructured film, thus solving the drawbacks of the prior art.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to an imprint technology, and more particularly to a rolling mold for microstructured film imprinting.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]As the line width of an integrated circuit becomes increasingly narrower and traditional photolithography technologies are used for fabrications, the integrated circuit fabrication is restricted by the diffraction of light if the line width of an integrated circuit is smaller than the wavelength of the light; for instance, the fabrication of integrated circuits of a smaller size will be very difficult when the line width is below 100 nanometers. A research conducted by Stephen Y. Chou of Princeton University pioneered the nano-imprint lithography (NIL) imprints a pattern having a line width less than 10 nm by high temperature and high pressure, and its related technology has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,905.[0005]Thereafter, a step and stamp...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a rolling mold for microstructured film imprinting such that the rolling mold is suitable for mass production.

[0014]A further objective of the present invention is to provide a rolling mold for microstructured film imprinting such that the template of the rolling mold can be changed easily.

[0019]Compared with the prior art, a rolling mold for microstructured film imprinting in accordance with the present invention can use magnetic force or vacuum suction to couple a filmed metal template having a large area to a roller to produce a rolling mold for imprinting a microstructure. This rolling mold is applicable for mass productions, while the rolling template of the invention can be connected with or separated from the roller easily. The operation is simple and easy, and the position can be adjusted flexibly. In addition, the filmed metal template of the invention features a high hardness, a long life, and a relatively low cost. The invention is applicable for manufacturing microstructures or nanostructures with a complicated shape, and thus the scope of applicability can be broadened to overcome the limited applications of the prior art.

[0020]Summarizing the above, the present invention discloses a rolling mold for microstructured film imprinting and a method for manufacturing the same with advantages, such as high suitability for mass production, template recycling, low cost, short manufacturing process, and high industrial applicability, so as to overcome the existing problems of the prior art.

Problems solved by technology

As the line width of an integrated circuit becomes increasingly narrower and traditional photolithography technologies are used for fabrications, the integrated circuit fabrication is restricted by the diffraction of light if the line width of an integrated circuit is smaller than the wavelength of the light; for instance, the fabrication of integrated circuits of a smaller size will be very difficult when the line width is below 100 nanometers.

Since the template is made of a polymer material and manufactured by an adhering method, therefore the microstructure must be damaged when the template is separated, and the template cannot be recycled.

In the meantime, the prior art can be applied to a template with a small area, but the prior art cannot be used for the mass production of mold cavities with a large area.

Since the polymer template employed by the prior art may be worn out easily, the template not only has a shorter life, but also takes a longer time for the preparation of its operations and incurs a higher cost.

As mentioned above, the prior art is intended for fabrication of nanostructured film, the prior art is only applicable for the nanostructured films with a simple shape but cannot be used for a more complicated process when necessary.

However, as disclosed in the aforesaid patent, the optical reflective film with a surface disclosed with conical protrusions is intended to prevent wavy interferences, and the template of the roller is also made of a polymer material, and thus the aforesaid patent has the same drawback as U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,870 does, that is, the template cannot be recycled.

In the meantime, the application of this prior art requires several rollers such as a stencil roller, a filming roller, a collecting roller and a feeding roller for film fabrication, and the application is also limited to the process for manufacturing mold cavities with a small area, and it cannot be used for the production of mold cavities having a large area, and its complicated operation is unfavorable for the manufacture.

Since this prior art also uses the polymer materials, the resultant template is readily worn out and therefore short-life, takes a long time for operation-preparation, and incurs a high manufacturing cost.

This prior art is applicable for manufacturing one-dimensional or simple nanostructured films, but cannot be used for manufacturing micron or nanostructured films with a more complicated shape, and thus the scope of its application is limited.

Summarizing the shortcomings of the prior arts, their applications are unfavorable for mass production, their template cannot be recycled, and they come with a high cost, a long manufacturing time and a limited scope of application.

Images