A dual mode nanoimprint apparatus
By designing a dual-mode nanoimprinting device, the problem of existing equipment being unable to switch between roller pressing and air pressure modes was solved, achieving efficient and flexible switching of the equipment and reducing costs, while ensuring the consistency of the product's graphic structure.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- PULIN TECH (HANGZHOU) CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-30
AI Technical Summary
Existing nanoimprinting equipment has limited functionality and cannot freely switch between roller pressing and air pressing modes on the same machine. This forces research institutions or manufacturing companies to purchase two sets of equipment, increasing capital investment and management costs. Furthermore, the process verification process is cumbersome and difficult to ensure consistency.
A dual-mode nanoimprinting device is designed. The imprinting station is composed of an upper cavity assembly, a template clamp, a lower cavity assembly, and a roller assembly. It can switch between roller pressing mode and pneumatic pressing mode, and share the same set of template clamp and imprinting station, so as to realize flexible switching and coordinated operation of the two modes.
It enables the simultaneous integration of high-efficiency roller pressing mode and high-precision pneumatic pressing mode on the same equipment, reducing equipment procurement and maintenance costs, shortening the process determination cycle from R&D to mass production, and ensuring the consistency of product graphic structure.
Smart Images

Figure CN122308010A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of micro-nano fabrication technology, and more specifically, to a dual-mode nanoimprinting device. Background Technology
[0002] Nanoimprint lithography is a high-resolution, high-efficiency, and low-cost pattern transfer technology for fabricating micro- and nano-structures through mechanical replication. This technology uses a template with nanopatterns to imprint an imprinting adhesive onto a substrate under external force, thereby achieving mass replication of patterns. It has broad application prospects in many fields such as integrated circuits, photonic crystals, biochips, microfluidic devices, and OLED displays. Based on the different pressure application methods, mainstream nanoimprint lithography technologies are mainly divided into two categories: roll imprinting and pneumatic imprinting (or flatbed imprinting). Roll imprinting achieves continuous or semi-continuous imprinting through the rolling of precision rollers, resulting in high production efficiency and suitability for large-scale production of flexible roll-to-roll or roll-to-flat substrates. Pneumatic imprinting, on the other hand, applies a load through uniform gas pressure, resulting in extremely uniform pressure distribution, making it particularly suitable for high-precision, high-fidelity pattern transfer on rigid substrates (such as silicon wafers and glass).
[0003] However, in existing technology and equipment, these two imprinting modes are usually implemented by two independent, single-function devices. This means that research institutions or manufacturing enterprises that want to simultaneously meet the different needs of R&D (small batches, high precision, multiple substrates) and production (large batches, high efficiency, flexible substrates) must purchase two different sets of equipment, resulting in huge capital investment, space occupation, and equipment management costs. In addition, the process development for the same soft template requires switching and verification between the two sets of equipment, which is cumbersome and makes it difficult to ensure the consistency of process conditions, hindering the rapid transformation of R&D to production. Therefore, we have made improvements to this and proposed a dual-mode nanoimprinting device. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The present invention aims to provide a nanoimprinting device to solve the problem that existing nanoimprinting equipment has limited functionality and cannot freely switch between roller pressing and air pressing modes on the same device.
[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A dual-mode nanoimprint device is proposed to improve the above-mentioned problems.
[0006] The application is as follows: A dual-mode nanoimprinting device includes: a base plate; an upper cavity assembly disposed above the base plate; a lower cavity assembly disposed on the base plate; a template clamp for tensioning and fixing a soft template; a clamp fixing assembly disposed above the base plate for fixing and adjusting the position and angle of the template clamp; and a roller assembly disposed on the base plate. The upper cavity assembly, template clamp, lower cavity assembly, and roller assembly together constitute an imprinting station. The device has a roller pressing mode and a pneumatic pressing mode, and can selectively switch between the two modes.
[0007] As a preferred technical solution of this application, when the device is working in the rolling mode, the chamber in the upper cavity assembly is located in the avoidance position, so that a space is formed between the upper cavity assembly and the lower cavity assembly that allows the roller assembly to move freely in the horizontal direction; the roller assembly and the clamp fixing assembly move in coordination to apply roller pressure to the soft template fixed by the template clamp to complete the rolling nanoimprinting and demolding process.
[0008] As a preferred technical solution of this application, when the device is working in pneumatic mode, the roller assembly moves to the avoidance position; the chamber in the upper cavity assembly moves downward in the vertical direction and fits against the upper surface of the lower cavity assembly; at this time, the upper cavity assembly, the template clamp and the lower cavity assembly together constitute two independent closed cavities, and the imprinting and demolding processes are precisely controlled by applying gas pressure to the closed cavities.
[0009] As a preferred technical solution of this application, the upper cavity assembly includes: an upper cavity top plate, an upper cavity side plate, an electric cylinder body, a cavity connector, an ultraviolet exposure lamp, and a cavity body; the electric cylinder body is fixed to the upper cavity top plate, and its output shaft is fixedly connected to the cavity connector; the ultraviolet exposure lamp is fixedly connected to the cavity body; the electric cylinder body drives the cavity body to move in the vertical direction.
[0010] As a preferred technical solution of this application, the template fixture includes: an outer frame, a clamping plate, and a soft template; the soft template is clamped and fixed to both sides of the outer frame by the clamping plate.
[0011] As a preferred technical solution of this application, the lower cavity assembly includes: a lower cavity body, a substrate CHUCK assembly, a vacuum connector, and a vacuum hose; the substrate CHUCK assembly is used to support the substrate and is fixed in the lower cavity body; the vacuum connector is located on the outside of the lower cavity body and is connected to the vacuum pump through the vacuum hose; when operating in pneumatic mode, the interior of the lower cavity body is evacuated to a low vacuum state by the vacuum pump.
[0012] As a preferred technical solution of this application, the fixture fixing assembly includes: a first electric cylinder assembly, a bearing assembly, a connecting plate, a bearing frame, a fixture top plate, and a second electric cylinder assembly; the first electric cylinder assembly is fixed on the base plate, and its slider is fixedly connected to the connecting plate; the connecting plate is rotatably connected to the bearing frame through the bearing assembly; the second electric cylinder assembly is fixed on the base plate, and its slider is fixedly connected to the fixture top plate; the fixture top plate contacts the lower surface of the bearing frame, and the second electric cylinder assembly drives the fixture top plate to move up and down, thereby pushing the bearing frame to rotate around the axis of the bearing assembly to adjust the angle of the template fixture.
[0013] As a preferred technical solution of this application, the roller assembly includes: a mounting plate, a linear motor, a linear guide rail, an electric cylinder connecting plate, a third electric cylinder assembly, a roller fixing frame, and a roller body; the mounting plate is fixed to the base plate; the linear motor and the linear guide rail are fixed to the side of the mounting plate; the electric cylinder connecting plate is fixed to the slider of the linear guide rail; the third electric cylinder assembly is fixed to the side of the electric cylinder connecting plate; one side of the roller fixing frame is connected to the slider of the third electric cylinder assembly, and the other side is connected to the roller body; the linear motor drives the third electric cylinder assembly to move in the horizontal direction, and the third electric cylinder assembly drives the roller body to move in the vertical direction.
[0014] A nanoimprinting method using a dual-mode nanoimprinting apparatus includes the following steps: fixing a substrate onto a lower cavity assembly; installing a template clamp with a tensioned soft template onto a clamp fixing assembly; selecting either a roller pressing mode or a pneumatic pressing mode based on the imprinting requirements; if the roller pressing mode is selected, controlling the chamber of the upper cavity assembly to move to an avoidance position, and controlling the roller assembly and clamp fixing assembly to move in coordination to complete roller pressing imprinting and demolding; if the pneumatic pressing mode is selected, controlling the roller assembly to move to an avoidance position, and controlling the chamber of the upper cavity assembly to descend and fit against the lower cavity assembly to form a closed chamber, and controlling the gas pressure inside the chamber to complete pneumatic pressing imprinting and demolding.
[0015] As a preferred technical solution of this application, it also includes: after completing the process verification of the pneumatic mode, switching the device to the roller pressing mode for mass production without changing the template fixture.
[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: 1. The upper cavity assembly, template clamp, template clamp fixing assembly, lower cavity assembly, and roller assembly together form the same printing station and work in coordination. It has the function of selectively switching between roller pressing mode and air pressure mode, realizing the integration of high production efficiency roller pressing mode and high precision uniform pressure air pressure mode on one machine. Users can flexibly choose the printing method according to the substrate type, accuracy requirements and production batch, which greatly improves the versatility and practicality of the equipment. 2. By sharing the same base plate, the same set of template fixtures and the same imprinting station, it has the function of imprinting two modes on the same equipment without changing the template. This has achieved the technical effect of significantly reducing equipment procurement, maintenance and site costs, eliminating systematic errors between different equipment, and greatly shortening the process determination cycle from R&D to mass production. 3. By using the same template fixture and the same soft template in two modes, it has the function of first using the air pressure mode for mild process verification, and then switching to the roll pressing mode for efficient production. This reduces the risk of damage to expensive templates when the process is not mature, and ensures the consistency of the final product graphic structure under different production modes. Attached Figure Description
[0017] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of a dual-mode nanoimprint device provided in this application; Figure 2 An enlarged schematic diagram of the upper cavity component of a dual-mode nanoimprint device provided in this application; Figure 3 An enlarged structural schematic diagram of the template fixture of a dual-mode nanoimprint device provided in this application; Figure 4 An enlarged structural schematic diagram of the lower cavity component of a dual-mode nanoimprint device provided in this application; Figure 5 An enlarged structural schematic diagram of a template clamping assembly for a dual-mode nanoimprint device provided in this application; Figure 6 This is an enlarged structural schematic diagram of the roller assembly of a dual-mode nanoimprint apparatus provided in this application.
[0018] The image shows: 1. Upper cavity assembly; 2. Template clamp; 3. Clamp fixing assembly; 4. Lower cavity assembly; 5. Base plate; 6. Roller assembly; 101. Electric cylinder body; 102. Upper chamber top plate; 103. Upper chamber side plate; 104. Ultraviolet exposure lamp; 105. Chamber connecting piece; 106. Chamber body; 201. Pressure plate; 202. Outer frame; 203. Flexible template; 301. Substrate CHUCK assembly; 302. Lower cavity; 303. Vacuum connector; 304. Vacuum hose; 401. First electric cylinder assembly; 402. Bearing assembly; 403. Connecting plate; 404. Bearing frame; 405. Fixture top plate; 406. Second electric cylinder assembly; 501. Third electric cylinder assembly; 502. Roller fixing frame; 503. Roller body; 504. Electric cylinder connecting plate; 505. Linear motor; 506. Linear guide rail; 507. Mounting plate. Detailed Implementation
[0019] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.
[0020] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate some embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments, features, and technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other.
[0021] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.
[0022] like Figures 1-6 As shown, this embodiment proposes a dual-mode nanoimprint device, comprising: Base plate 5; The upper cavity assembly 1 is disposed above the base plate 5. The upper cavity assembly 1 includes: an upper cavity top plate 102, an upper cavity side plate 103, an electric cylinder body 101, a chamber connector 105, an ultraviolet exposure lamp 104, and a chamber body 106. The electric cylinder body 101 is fixed to the upper cavity top plate 102, and its output shaft is fixedly connected to the chamber connector 105. The ultraviolet exposure lamp 104 is fixedly connected to the chamber body 106. The electric cylinder body 101 drives the chamber body 106 to move vertically. The output shaft of the electric cylinder body 101 can move up and down, thereby driving the chamber connector 105, the chamber body 106, and the ultraviolet exposure lamp 104 connected to it to move up and down as a whole.
[0023] In roller pressing mode, the output shaft of the electric cylinder 101 is in a retracted state (close to the motor side), so that the chamber 106 and the ultraviolet exposure lamp 104 are both in an upper clearance position, making room for the movement of the roller assembly 6. In pneumatic mode, the output shaft of the electric cylinder 101 extends (away from the motor side), pushing the chamber 106 down until its lower edge is tightly attached to the upper surface of the lower chamber assembly 4, forming a closed chamber. At this time, the ultraviolet exposure lamp 104 also descends to a suitable position so as to cure the imprinting adhesive with ultraviolet light when needed. The setting of the ultraviolet exposure lamp 104 enables the device to achieve ultraviolet curing nanoimprinting in both modes.
[0024] The lower cavity assembly 4 is disposed on the base plate 5. The lower cavity assembly 4 includes: a lower cavity body 302, a substrate CHUCK assembly 301, a vacuum connector 303, and a vacuum hose 304. The substrate CHUCK assembly 301 is used to support the substrate (such as a silicon wafer, glass substrate, or flexible thin film) and is fixed in the lower cavity body 302 by screws. The vacuum connector 303 is disposed on the outside of the lower cavity body 302 and is connected to the vacuum pump through the vacuum hose 304. When operating in pneumatic mode, the lower cavity body 302 is evacuated to a low vacuum state by the vacuum pump. When the device operates in roll forming mode, the interior of the lower cavity assembly 4 remains open to the atmosphere and no vacuum is applied. After the substrate is clamped by the substrate CHUCK assembly 301, the imprinting and demolding are completed with the coordinated cooperation of the roller assembly 6 and the template clamping assembly 2. When the device operates in pneumatic mode, the lower chamber assembly 4 is connected to the vacuum pump via vacuum connector 303 and vacuum hose 304. Under the action of the vacuum pump, the interior of the lower chamber 302 is evacuated to a low vacuum state; at the same time, the chamber of the upper chamber assembly 1 descends and fits against the lower chamber 302, forming a closed space; by introducing compressed air into the chamber, a controllable pressure difference can be formed between the chamber and the lower chamber 302, thereby driving the soft template 203 to press evenly against the substrate, completing the pneumatic imprinting; during the demolding stage, smooth demolding can be achieved by adjusting the air pressure in the chamber and the lower chamber 302.
[0025] Template clamp 2 is used to tension and fix the flexible template 203. Template clamp 2 includes an outer frame 202, a pressure plate 201, and the flexible template 203. The flexible template 203 is pressed and fixed to both sides of the outer frame 202 by the pressure plate 201. The flexible template 203 is placed in a predetermined position on the outer frame 202. The pressure plate 201 presses the edges of the flexible template 203 against both sides of the outer frame 202, and the pressure plate 201 is fastened to the outer frame 202 by screws, thereby achieving firm tension of the flexible template 203. This structure ensures that the flexible template 203 can remain flat and stable during the imprinting process.
[0026] The clamp fixing assembly 3, disposed above the base plate 5, is used to fix and adjust the position and angle of the template clamp 2. The clamp fixing assembly 3 includes: a first electric cylinder assembly 401, a bearing assembly 402, a connecting plate 403, a support frame 404, a clamp top plate 405, and a second electric cylinder assembly 406. The first electric cylinder assembly 401 is fixed on the base plate 5, and its slider is fixedly connected to the connecting plate 403. The connecting plate 403 is rotatably connected to the support frame 404 through the bearing assembly 402. The second electric cylinder assembly 406 is fixed on the base plate 5, and its slider is fixedly connected to the clamp top plate 405. The clamp top plate 405 contacts the lower surface of the support frame 404. The second electric cylinder assembly 406 drives the clamp top plate 405 to move up and down, thereby pushing the support frame 404 to rotate around the axis of the bearing assembly 402 to adjust the angle of the template clamp 2. When the slider of the second electric cylinder assembly 406 moves up and down, it drives the top plate to move up and down. Since the arc-shaped top surface of the top plate is in contact with the support frame 404, the lifting and lowering of the top plate will push the support frame 404 to rotate around the axis of the bearing assembly 402, thereby precisely adjusting the tilt angle of the support frame 404 and the template clamp 2 on it. The first electric cylinder assembly 401 can also drive the entire support frame 404 and the template clamp 2 to make fine adjustments in the horizontal direction through the movement of its slider, so as to align with the roller assembly 6 or the lower cavity assembly 4. This ability to adjust the angle and position is crucial for achieving accurate printing in both modes.
[0027] Roller assembly 6, mounted on base plate 5, provides rolling pressure in rolling mode. Roller assembly 6 includes: mounting plate 507, linear motor 505, linear guide rail 506, electric cylinder connecting plate 504, third electric cylinder assembly 501, roller fixing frame 502, and roller body 503. Mounting plate 507 is fixed to base plate 5. Linear motor 505 and linear guide rail 506 are fixed to the side of mounting plate 507. Electric cylinder connecting plate 504 is fixed to the slider of linear guide rail 506. Third electric cylinder assembly 501 is fixed to the side of electric cylinder connecting plate 504. One side of roller fixing frame 502 is connected to the slider of third electric cylinder assembly 501, and the other side is connected to roller body 503. Linear motor 505 drives third electric cylinder assembly 501 to move horizontally, and third electric cylinder assembly 501 drives roller body 503 to move vertically. When the linear motor 505 is working, it can drive the electric cylinder connecting plate 403 and the third electric cylinder assembly 501 on it to move horizontally along the linear guide rail 506, thereby driving the roller to move horizontally so that it can span the entire imprinting area; when the third electric cylinder assembly 501 is working, its slider can move up and down, thereby driving the roller to move vertically, realizing the contact or separation between the roller and the template, and controlling the imprinting pressure.
[0028] The upper cavity assembly 1, template clamp 2, lower cavity assembly 4, and roller assembly 6 together constitute the printing station; the device has a roller pressing mode and a pneumatic pressing mode, and can selectively switch between the roller pressing mode and the pneumatic pressing mode.
[0029] When the device is in roll pressing mode, the chamber body 106 in the upper cavity assembly 1 is in the avoidance position, so that a space is formed between the upper cavity assembly 1 and the lower cavity assembly 4 that allows the roller assembly 6 to move freely in the horizontal direction; the roller assembly 6 and the clamp fixing assembly 3 move in coordination to apply roller pressure to the soft template 203 fixed by the template clamp 2 to complete the roll pressing nanoimprinting and demolding process.
[0030] A nanoimprinting method using a dual-mode nanoimprinting apparatus includes the following steps: fixing a substrate to a lower cavity assembly 4; installing a template clamp 2 with a tensioned soft template 203 onto a clamp fixing assembly 3; selecting either a roller pressing mode or a pneumatic pressing mode according to the imprinting requirements; if the roller pressing mode is selected, controlling the chamber body 106 of the upper cavity assembly 1 to move to an avoidance position, and controlling the roller assembly 6 and the clamp fixing assembly 3 to move in coordination to complete roller pressing imprinting and demolding; if the pneumatic pressing mode is selected, controlling the roller assembly 6 to move to an avoidance position, and controlling the chamber body 106 of the upper cavity assembly 1 to descend and fit against the lower cavity assembly 4 to form a closed chamber body 106, and completing pneumatic pressing imprinting and demolding by controlling the gas pressure inside the chamber body 106; further including: after completing the process verification of the pneumatic pressing mode, switching the apparatus to the roller pressing mode for mass production without changing the template clamp 2.
[0031] in: The workflow of the roll forming mode is as follows: The substrate to be imprinted is placed on the substrate CHUCK assembly 301 of the lower cavity assembly 4 and fixed; the template clamp 2, with the flexible template 203 tensioned, is installed onto the support frame 404 of the clamp fixing assembly 3 and fixed by positioning pins and magnetic attraction; the electric cylinder of the upper cavity assembly 1 is controlled to raise the cavity to a clearance position; the linear motor 505 and the third electric cylinder assembly 501 of the roller assembly 6 are controlled to move the rollers to the initial position; the first electric cylinder assembly 401 and the second electric cylinder assembly 406 of the clamp fixing assembly 3 are controlled to adjust the horizontal position of the template clamp 2 and... The angle is adjusted to precisely align the roller with the substrate; the third electric cylinder assembly 501 of the roller assembly 6 is controlled to lower the roller and press the soft template 203 against the substrate; the linear motor 505 of the roller assembly 6 is controlled to make the roller roll from one end of the imprinting area to the other end, completing the filling of the imprinting adhesive and the transfer of the pattern; if it is a UV-curable adhesive, the UV exposure lamp 104 can be turned on for curing during or after the imprinting process; after curing, the roller assembly 6 is controlled to move again, for example, by adjusting the angle of the roller with the assistance of the clamp fixing assembly 3, to complete the demolding; the roller is reset and the imprinted substrate is removed; The pneumatic mode workflow is as follows: The substrate to be imprinted is placed on the substrate CHUCK assembly 301 of the lower cavity assembly 4 and fixed; the template clamp 2 with the tensioned soft template 203 is installed on the carrier frame 404 of the clamp fixing assembly 3 and fixed by positioning pins and magnetic attraction; the linear motor 505 of the roller assembly 6 is controlled to move the roller to the leftmost clearance position to ensure that it will not interfere with the subsequent chamber closure; the electric cylinder of the upper cavity assembly 1 is controlled to lower the chamber until its lower edge is tightly attached to the upper surface of the lower cavity assembly 4 to form one or more closed chambers; the vacuum pump is started to evacuate the lower cavity 302 through the vacuum connector 303 and the vacuum hose 304 to make it reach the predetermined low vacuum state; compressed gas is introduced into the chamber through the gas passage interface provided on the upper cavity assembly 1 to make the pressure in the chamber higher than the pressure in the lower cavity 302, forming a pressure difference. The pressure difference drives the soft template 203 to deform downwards uniformly, pressing it against the substrate to complete the filling of the imprinting adhesive and the transfer of the pattern. During or after the imprinting process, the ultraviolet exposure lamp 104 is turned on for curing. After curing, the soft template 203 is smoothly demolded from the substrate by adjusting the air pressure in the chamber and the lower chamber 302 (for example, making the pressure in the lower chamber 302 slightly higher than that in the chamber, or making the two pressures equal and then slowly separating). The chamber of the upper chamber assembly 1 is reset, and the imprinted substrate is taken out.
[0032] Based on the above implementation, some structural optimizations are made: For example, in addition to using positioning pins and magnetic attraction, the connection between template clamp 2 and clamp fixing component 3 can also be achieved by using pneumatic grippers, vacuum adsorption or electromagnetic chucks for quick fixing, so as to further improve the efficiency and convenience of template replacement. For example, the substrate chumc unit 301 in the lower cavity assembly 4 can be one or more combinations of vacuum adsorption chumc, electrostatic chumc, or mechanical clamping chumc, to accommodate substrates of different types and sizes. In pneumatic mode, to more accurately control the imprinting pressure, a high-precision pressure sensor can be installed in the upper cavity assembly 1 or the lower cavity assembly 4, and the sensor signal can be fed back to the control system to achieve closed-loop control of the gas pressure. For example, to ensure imprinting accuracy, an alignment system can be added to the device. This alignment system may include an optical microscope and a CCD camera mounted on the upper cavity assembly 1 or the lower cavity assembly 4, used to capture alignment marks on the template and substrate, and to achieve high-precision alignment between the template and substrate by controlling the micro-motion mechanism of the clamping assembly 3 or the lower cavity assembly 4. Since the two modes of the present invention share the same base, alignment system, and control system, a high degree of consistency in process conditions can be ensured between the two modes.
[0033] When researchers need to verify the process of a new type of soft template 203 or a new type of imprinting adhesive, they can first set the device to pneumatic mode. This is because pneumatic mode offers uniform pressure, good controllability, and a lower risk of damage to the template and substrate. Through pneumatic mode, a set of baseline process parameters can be quickly obtained, and the feasibility of the template and the basic performance of the imprinting adhesive can be verified.
[0034] After completing initial verification and obtaining stable process parameters, if a shift to high-efficiency production is required, R&D personnel can switch the equipment to roll forming mode. Since the two modes share the same template, substrate support system, and environmental conditions, the debugging of roll forming mode can draw on the experience gained in air pressure mode (such as imprinting adhesive thickness, curing energy, etc.), thereby greatly shortening the process exploration time for roll forming mode.
[0035] Furthermore, R&D personnel can use the same soft template 203 to quickly conduct comparative experiments on the two modes under identical equipment conditions, analyzing the differences between them in terms of image fidelity, residual layer thickness, and production efficiency. The results of this comparative experiment eliminate interference from systematic errors between different devices, making them more realistic and reliable, and providing direct and robust data support for ultimately selecting the most suitable mass production mode.
[0036] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the technical solutions described herein. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Therefore, any modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present invention, as well as all technical solutions and improvements that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention, are covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.
Claims
1. A dual-mode nanoimprint device, characterized in that, include: Base plate (5); The upper cavity assembly (1) is disposed above the base plate (5); The lower cavity assembly (4) is disposed on the base plate (5); Template clamp (2) is used to tension and fix the soft template (203); The clamp fixing assembly (3) is set above the base plate (5) and is used to fix and adjust the position and angle of the template clamp (2); Roller assembly (6) is disposed on the base plate (5); The upper cavity assembly (1), the template clamp (2), the lower cavity assembly (4), and the roller assembly (6) together constitute the printing station; The device has a roller pressing mode and a pneumatic pressing mode, and can selectively switch between the roller pressing mode and the pneumatic pressing mode.
2. The dual-mode nanoimprint device according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the device is operating in the roller pressing mode, the chamber body (106) in the upper cavity assembly (1) is in the clearance position, so that a space is formed between the upper cavity assembly (1) and the lower cavity assembly (4) that allows the roller assembly (6) to move freely in the horizontal direction; The roller assembly (6) moves in coordination with the clamp fixing assembly (3) to apply roller pressure to the soft template (203) fixed by the template clamp (2) to complete the roller-pressed nano-imprinting and demolding process.
3. The dual-mode nanoimprint device according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the device is operating in the pneumatic mode, the roller assembly (6) moves to the avoidance position; The chamber body (106) in the upper cavity assembly (1) moves downward in the vertical direction and fits against the upper surface of the lower cavity assembly (4); At this time, the upper cavity assembly (1), the template clamp (2) and the lower cavity assembly (4) together constitute two independent closed chambers (106). By applying gas pressure to the closed chambers (106), the stamping and demolding processes can be precisely controlled.
4. The dual-mode nanoimprint device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper cavity assembly (1) includes: an upper cavity top plate (102), an upper cavity side plate (103), an electric cylinder body (101), a chamber connector (105), an ultraviolet exposure lamp (104), and a chamber body (106). The electric cylinder body (101) is fixed to the upper cavity top plate (102), and its output shaft is fixedly connected to the cavity connector (105); the ultraviolet exposure lamp (104) is fixedly connected to the cavity body (106); The electric cylinder (101) drives the chamber (106) to move in the vertical direction.
5. The dual-mode nanoimprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The template clamp (2) includes: an outer frame (202), a clamping plate (201), and a soft template (203); The soft template (203) is pressed and fixed to both sides of the outer frame (202) by the pressing plate (201).
6. The dual-mode nanoimprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower cavity assembly (4) includes: a lower cavity body (302), a substrate CHUCK assembly (301), a vacuum connector (303), and a vacuum hose (304). The substrate CHUCK assembly (301) is used to support the substrate and is fixed inside the lower cavity (302); The vacuum connector (303) is located on the outside of the lower cavity (302) and is connected to the vacuum pump through the vacuum hose (304); When operating in pneumatic mode, the lower cavity (302) is evacuated to a low vacuum state by the vacuum pump.
7. The dual-mode nanoimprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clamp fixing assembly (3) includes: a first electric cylinder assembly (401), a bearing assembly (402), a connecting plate (403), a bearing frame (404), a clamp top plate (405), and a second electric cylinder assembly (406). The first electric cylinder assembly (401) is fixed on the base plate (5), and its slider is fixedly connected to the connecting plate (403); The connecting plate (403) is rotatably connected to the bearing frame (404) via the bearing assembly (402); The second electric cylinder assembly (406) is fixed on the base plate (5), and its slider is fixedly connected to the top plate (405) of the fixture; The clamp top plate (405) contacts the lower surface of the support frame (404). The clamp top plate (405) is driven to move up and down by the second electric cylinder assembly (406), thereby pushing the support frame (404) to rotate around the axis of the bearing assembly (402) to adjust the angle of the template clamp (2).
8. The dual-mode nanoimprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The roller assembly (6) includes: a mounting plate (507), a linear motor (505), a linear guide rail (506), an electric cylinder connecting plate (504), a third electric cylinder assembly (501), a roller fixing frame (502), and a roller body (503); The mounting plate (507) is fixed to the base plate (5); The linear motor (505) and the linear guide rail (506) are fixed to the side of the mounting plate (507); The electric cylinder connecting plate (504) is fixed to the slider of the linear guide rail (506); The third electric cylinder assembly (501) is fixed to the side of the electric cylinder connecting plate (504); One side of the roller holder (502) is connected to the slider of the third electric cylinder assembly (501), and the other side is connected to the roller body (503); The linear motor (505) drives the third electric cylinder assembly (501) to move in the horizontal direction, and the third electric cylinder assembly (501) drives the roller body (503) to move in the vertical direction.
9. A nanoimprinting method using a dual-mode nanoimprinting apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The substrate is fixed to the lower cavity assembly (4); The template clamp (2) with the flexible template (203) tensioned is installed on the clamp fixing assembly (3); Depending on the imprinting requirements, the device can be set to either roller pressing mode or air pressure mode. If the roller pressing mode is selected, the chamber body (106) of the upper cavity assembly (1) is controlled to move to the avoidance position, and the roller assembly (6) and the clamp fixing assembly (3) are controlled to move in coordination to complete the roller pressing and demolding. If the pneumatic mode is selected, the roller assembly (6) is controlled to move to the avoidance position, and the chamber body (106) of the upper cavity assembly (1) is controlled to descend and fit with the lower cavity assembly (4) to form a closed chamber body (106). The pneumatic pressing and demolding are completed by controlling the gas pressure in the chamber body (106).
10. The nanoimprinting method of a dual-mode nanoimprinting device according to claim 9, characterized in that, Also includes: After completing the process verification of the pneumatic mode, the device is switched to the roll pressing mode for mass production without replacing the template fixture (2).