Nanoimprint composite daughter board and diffraction optical waveguide

Abstract

The utility model provides a nanoimprint composite daughter board which comprises a soft film substrate and is characterized in that an imprint micro-nano structure is formed on one side of the soft film substrate, and at least one strengthening layer is arranged between the soft film substrate and the imprint micro-nano structure or on the surface, far away from the imprint micro-nano structure, of the soft film substrate; the curvature change of the strengthening layer is smaller than that of the soft film substrate in the using process. In the coining and demolding process, the strengthening layer can strengthen the tensile property or deformation resistance of the soft film substrate in the whole technological process, so that acting force can be more uniformly formed in all areas of the soft film substrate, and structural deformation caused to local areas of the soft film substrate due to too large pressure of a compression roller can be prevented; or, during demolding, due to the demolding acting force applied to the soft film substrate, the reinforcing layer can prevent the structural area of the soft film substrate from deforming, and the imprinting and demolding quality and the reuse rate of the soft film substrate are improved on the whole.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of nanoimprinting technology, in particular to a nanoimprinting composite subplate and a diffractive optical waveguide. Background Art

[0002] Nanoimprinting is a micro-nano process for batch and high-efficiency production. A micro-nano structure is formed by imprinting a substrate through a subplate. One imprinting method, as disclosed in CN118409479A, adsorbs the upper surface of an imprinting template 22 to a first transparent plate 21, and adsorbs the structural surface of a product 23 downward on a second transparent plate 24 for imprinting operation. This method realizes the imprinting of the entire structural surface through the first transparent plate 21, and can reproduce the structure on the imprinting template 22 well, but it also causes glue overflow around the imprinting template. Another imprinting method, as disclosed in CN117806119A, discloses a form of using multiple rollers 118, 120, 122 to imprint a flexible template 116. One or more of the rollers 118, 120, 122 move individually or together in the vertical direction to change the vertical position of the flexible template 116 in the processing area 130 of the imprinting assembly 104, so as to realize the imprinting of the micro-nano structure.

[0003] It is known that since the imprinting template (i.e., the imprinting subplate) is flexible, when imprinting or demolding by the above two methods in the prior art, by applying a force to the imprinting template, it is inevitably easy to cause the imprinting template to be stretched and deformed, especially during demolding. Since the functional structure areas on the imprinting template are all imprinted micro-nano structures, and their sizes are from dozens of nanometers to hundreds of nanometers. For example, a diffraction grating is often obtained by imprinting. A slight force will cause the imprinted micro-nano structure of dozens of nanometers to hundreds of nanometers to deform. Especially for a diffraction grating, such a slight deformation will seriously affect the grating structure, thereby affecting the quality of the imprinted product of the imprinting template. When a single imprinting template undergoes multiple imprinting and demolding processes, the deformation amount of the imprinted micro-nano structure area will be even greater, resulting in a reduction in the quality of the imprinted product and a decrease in the yield rate, which is not conducive to batch production and is unacceptable to those skilled in the art.

[0004] The utility model intends to propose a nanoimprinting composite subplate to improve the imprinting process of the existing imprinting template, especially for the imprinted diffraction grating structure of dozens of nanometers to hundreds of nanometers, so as to realize the multiple reuse of the nanoimprinting composite subplate and improve the mass production yield. Summary of the Utility Model

[0005] The present utility model provides a nanoimprint composite subplate and a diffractive optical waveguide to improve the tensile resistance of the existing soft film subplate, minimize the deformation of the imprinted micro-nano structure on the soft film subplate under external force as much as possible, reduce the deformation amount of the imprinted micro-nano structure during multiple imprinting and demolding processes, and stably improve the mass production yield; at the same time, improve the reuse efficiency of the soft film subplate to further reduce the manufacturing cost, improve the production efficiency and economic benefits. On the other hand, it is applicable to the imprinting method in the form of a pressure roller.

[0006] A nanoimprint composite subplate includes a soft film substrate. It is characterized in that an imprinted micro-nano structure is formed on one side of the soft film substrate, and at least one reinforcing layer is further provided between the soft film substrate and the imprinted micro-nano structure or on the surface of the soft film substrate away from the imprinted micro-nano structure; the curvature change of the reinforcing layer is smaller than the curvature change of the soft film substrate during use.

[0007] Further, the nanoimprint composite subplate is configured to be in a rolled or single-sheet form.

[0008] The thickness of the reinforcing layer is 10 μm to 200 μm.

[0009] The radius of curvature of the soft film substrate is not greater than 30 mm; the linear thermal expansion coefficient is lower than 6E -6 / K / 20. In some embodiments, the reinforcing layer is selected from PC, PET, UTG ultra-thin glass or a hardening coating.

[0010] Further, the reinforcing layer includes a first reinforcing layer and a second reinforcing layer.

[0011] Furthermore, the thicknesses of the first reinforcing layer and the second reinforcing layer may be the same or different.

[0012] The materials of the first reinforcing layer and the second reinforcing layer are different.

[0013] The linear thermal expansion coefficient of the soft film substrate is not higher than 8E -5 / K 20°C.

[0014] The thickness of the reinforcing layer is less than the thickness of the soft film substrate.

[0015] A diffractive optical waveguide is obtained by imprinting with the nanoimprint composite subplate in any of the above embodiments.

[0016] An embodiment of the present application provides a nanoimprint composite sub-board, which includes a flexible film substrate. An imprinted micro-nano structure is formed on one side of the flexible film substrate, and at least one reinforcing layer is further provided between the flexible film substrate and the imprinted micro-nano structure or on the surface of the flexible film substrate away from the imprinted micro-nano structure; the curvature change of the reinforcing layer is smaller than the curvature change of the flexible film substrate during use. During the imprinting and demolding processes, the reinforcing layer can strengthen the tensile resistance or deformation resistance of the flexible film substrate and the imprinted micro-nano structure throughout the process, so that the acting force can be more evenly formed in each area of the flexible film substrate, and it can prevent the structural deformation of the local area of the flexible film substrate caused by excessive pressure of the pressing roller; or, during demolding, due to the demolding acting force applied to the flexible film substrate, the reinforcing layer can prevent the structural area of the flexible film substrate from deforming, and overall improve the quality of imprinting and demolding, as well as the reuse rate of the flexible film substrate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a nanoimprint composite sub-board provided by the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a nanoimprint composite sub-board provided by the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the imprinting of a nanoimprint composite sub-board provided by the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of a nanoimprint composite sub-board provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0022] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of the present invention, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0023] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the description, claims and above-mentioned drawings of the present utility model are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily need to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present utility model described here can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units does not necessarily have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0024] As pointed out in the background art section, how to improve the problem of deformation of the imprinted micro-nano structure caused by the imprinting or demolding of the imprinting subplate in the prior art, so as to improve the integrity of the imprinted micro-nano structure and improve the imprinting quality and accuracy.

[0025] A nanoimprint composite subplate 100 includes a soft film substrate 11, an imprinted micro-nano structure 12 is formed on one side of the soft film substrate 11, and at least one reinforcing layer 10 is further provided between the soft film substrate 11 and the imprinted micro-nano structure 12 or on the surface of the soft film substrate 11 away from the imprinted micro-nano structure 12; the curvature change of the reinforcing layer 10 is smaller than the curvature change of the soft film substrate 11 during use.

[0026] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of providing at least one reinforcing layer 10 between the soft film substrate 11 and the imprinted micro-nano structure 12; on the other hand, Figure 4 shows that at least one reinforcing layer 10 is further provided on the surface of the soft film substrate 11 away from the imprinted micro-nano structure 12. Both cases are within the protection scope of the present application.

[0027] More specifically, in the present application, the soft film substrate 11 is equivalent to the imprinting template or flexible template in the prior art. The present application adds at least one reinforcing layer on the imprinting template or flexible template in the prior art to form a composite subplate structure, and then realizes the imprinting process of the micro-nano structure by means of a pressing roller; during the imprinting and demolding processes, the reinforcing layer can strengthen the anti-tensile performance or anti-deformation ability of the soft film substrate 11 during the entire process, so that the acting force can be more evenly formed in each area of the soft film substrate 11, and can prevent the structural deformation of the local area of the soft film substrate 11 caused by excessive pressure of the pressing roller; or, during demolding, due to the demolding acting force applied to the soft film substrate 11, the reinforcing layer can prevent the structural area of the soft film substrate 11 from deforming, and overall improve the quality of imprinting and demolding and the reuse rate of the soft film substrate.

[0028] InFigure 1 shows that an imprinted micro-nano structure 12 is formed on the lower side of the flexible film substrate 11. Due to the characteristics of the imprinted micro-nano structure, only the black rectangular area is used as a schematic in Figure 1 and does not represent the actual characteristics of the imprinted micro-nano structure. In this application, the imprinted micro-nano structure includes, for example, diffraction grating structures, 3D micro-nano devices in the art, such as diffusers, metal wire grids, etc., and micro-nano structures with sizes ranging from more than a dozen nanometers to several hundred nanometers. In this regard, the present utility model does not make specific structural limitations.

[0029] In the present utility model, it is defined that the curvature change of the reinforcement layer 10 is smaller than the curvature change of the flexible film substrate 11 during use. Specifically, this use process includes when performing an imprinting operation or when the flexible film substrate is demolded.

[0030] When performing an imprinting operation, due to possible differences in the thickness of the spin-coated resist on different regions of the wafer surface, or due to different magnitudes of the acting forces of the imprinting roller at different positions during imprinting, by defining that the curvature change of the reinforcement layer 10 is smaller than the curvature change of the flexible film substrate 11 during use, on the one hand, it can improve the unevenness of the spin-coated resist on the wafer surface, and on the other hand, it can alleviate the damage to the imprinted structure in this region caused by different magnitudes of the acting forces to a certain extent; thus, overall, the quality of imprinting is improved.

[0031] When performing a demolding operation, by defining that the curvature change of the reinforcement layer at this time is smaller than the curvature change of the flexible film substrate 11 during the demolding process, it is possible to prevent the flexible film substrate 11 from deforming at different positions due to the acting force during demolding.

[0032] In some embodiments, the imprinting process defined by the present utility model includes, for example, adsorbing the upper surface of the imprinting template to the first transparent plate and imprinting downward through the first transparent plate as pointed out in the background art section; it also includes the imprinting method of moving one or more of the rollers in the vertical direction alone or together to change the vertical position of the flexible template in the processing area of the imprinting assembly as pointed out in the background art section. The nanoimprint composite sub-plate 100 of the present application is equivalent to the imprinting template or the flexible template pointed out in the background art section; by changing the single-layer film method of the imprinting template or the flexible template in the prior art, the present utility model defines that the imprinting template or the flexible template includes at least two layers of structures, and then imprints the nanoimprint composite sub-plate 100 through the method of the transparent plate or the imprinting roller, thereby imprinting and forming a micro-nano structure.

[0033] Furthermore, the curvature change of the reinforcement layer 10 is smaller than that of the soft film substrate 11 during use. At the same time, the formed nanoimprint composite sub-board 100 is adapted to an imprinting method such as a roller reel type, and the curvature of the reinforcement layer 10 needs to meet the requirement of rolling up the entire nanoimprint composite sub-board 100 through a reel. In this regard, those skilled in the art select the curvature requirement of the reinforcement layer according to the specific reel type winding method.

[0034] Further, the material of the reinforcement layer 10 can be selected such as PC (polycarbonate) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate). Its material can be the same as that of the soft film substrate 11, but their hardness and curvature requirements are different; or the material of the reinforcement layer 10 is different from that of the soft film substrate 11, and the hardness and curvature of both materials are different. PC and PET are transparent, have a high UV light transmittance, are easy to imprint and bond, are not easy to have bubbles, and can be used in the form of rolls or single sheets. However, for the aforementioned materials, in any case, the curvature change of the reinforcement layer is smaller than the curvature change of the soft film substrate 10 during the demolding process.

[0035] In some other embodiments, the material of the reinforcement layer 10 can be selected as UTG ultra-thin glass (Ultra Thin Glass), or a hardening coating, which is different from the material of the soft film substrate 11. UTG ultra-thin glass has a certain flexibility, is transparent, has a high UV light transmittance, is not easy to have bubbles during imprinting and bonding, has a small thermal expansion coefficient, is not easy to stretch and deform, has high heat resistance and high thermal shock resistance, and can achieve alignment imprinting. To meet the requirements of rolling up, UTG ultra-thin glass needs to meet the performance requirements of the roll-up type.

[0036] Further, the material of the reinforcement layer 10 can be selected as a composite material. According to the advantages of flexible substrates such as PET and PC, hardening coatings, and UTG, a polymer composite material is formed, which can well meet the current alignment imprinting and double-sided imprinting, reduce the deviation between the process and the design, can meet the process conditions of large tensile strength and large temperature change, and maintain a high output.

[0037] In some embodiments, the thickness of the reinforcement layer is less than the thickness of the soft film substrate to facilitate the demolding process of the soft film substrate.

[0038] In some embodiments, the thickness of the reinforcement layer is 10 μm to 200 μm.

[0039] Implementably, the reinforcement layer 10 and the soft film substrate 11 can be integrally formed by bonding of multi-layer materials; or by laminating, the multi-layer materials are laminated together.

[0040] In other ways, at least one reinforcing layer 10 is further included between the soft film substrate 11 and the imprinted micro-nano structure 12. The thickness of the reinforcing layer 10 may be the same as or different from the thickness of the soft film substrate 11. Further, it is defined that the reinforcing layer 10 includes a first reinforcing layer 101 and a second reinforcing layer 102. As Figure 2 shown, the first reinforcing layer 101 and the second reinforcing layer 102 are stacked. The thicknesses of the first reinforcing layer 101 and the second reinforcing layer 102 may be different or the same. The curvatures of the first reinforcing layer 101 and the second reinforcing layer 102 may also be the same or different, but both are smaller than the curvature change of the soft film substrate 11.

[0041] More specifically, the radius of curvature of the reinforcing layer 10 is not greater than 30 mm; the linear thermal expansion coefficient is lower than 6E -6 / K / 20 °C; the Young's modulus is in the range of 50 GPa to 80 GPa.

[0042] The linear thermal expansion coefficient of the soft film substrate is not higher than 8E -5 / K 20 °C. The elastic modulus is between 2000 MPa - 2600 MPa; the tensile strength is 50 MPa to 80 MPa.

[0043] As Figure 3 described, when forming the nanoimprint composite subplate 100, a layer of imprinting glue is coated on one side surface of the wafer 20 and spin-coated. When imprinting the imprinting glue through the nanoimprint composite subplate 100, the imprinting glue is roll-imprinted from one side to the other side to form an imprinted micro-nano structure. At the same time, the nanoimprint composite subplate 100 can be in a roll form, which is convenient for loading and increasing the imprinting space, and is more convenient for the operation of the imprinting process.

[0044] A diffractive optical waveguide is obtained by imprinting with the nanoimprint composite subplate in any of the above embodiments.

[0045] A nanoimprint composite subplate provided in this application includes a soft film substrate. An imprinted micro-nano structure is formed on one side of the soft film substrate. At least one reinforcing layer is further included between the soft film substrate and the imprinted micro-nano structure; the curvature change of the reinforcing layer is smaller than the curvature change of the soft film substrate during use. During the imprinting and demolding processes, the reinforcing layer can strengthen the anti-tensile performance or the anti-deformation ability of the soft film substrate and the imprinted micro-nano structure during the entire process, so that the acting force can be more evenly formed in each area of the soft film substrate, and it can prevent the structural deformation of the local area of the soft film substrate caused by excessive pressure of the pressing roller; or, during demolding, due to the demolding acting force applied to the soft film substrate, the reinforcing layer can prevent the deformation of the soft film substrate and the imprinted micro-nano structure area, and overall improve the quality of imprinting and demolding, as well as the reuse rate of the soft film substrate.

[0046] The above specific embodiments do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present utility model. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications, combinations, sub - combinations and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the present utility model shall be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A nanoimprint composite sub-board, comprising a soft film substrate, characterized in that, An imprinted micro-nano structure is formed on one side of the flexible film substrate, and at least one reinforcing layer is further provided between the flexible film substrate and the imprinted micro-nano structure or on the surface of the flexible film substrate away from the imprinted micro-nano structure; the curvature change of the reinforcing layer is smaller than the curvature change of the flexible film substrate during use.

2. The nanoimprint composite subplate according to claim 1, wherein The nanoimprint composite sub-board is configured to be a roll or a single sheet.

3. A nanoimprint composite subplate according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that, The radius of curvature of the strengthening layer is not greater than 30 mm; the linear thermal expansion coefficient is lower than 6E -6 / K at 20 °C.

4. The nanoimprint composite sub-board according to claim 3, wherein The reinforcing layer is selected from PC, PET, UTG ultra-thin glass or a hardening coating.

5. The nanoimprint composite sub-board according to claim 4, characterized in that, The reinforcing layer includes a first reinforcing layer and a second reinforcing layer, and the thicknesses of the first reinforcing layer and the second reinforcing layer may be the same or different.

6. A nanoimprint composite subplate according to any one of claims 4 to 5, characterized in that, The thickness of the reinforcing layer is 10 μm to 200 μm.

7. The nanoimprint composite sub-board according to claim 5, wherein The materials of the first reinforcing layer and the second reinforcing layer are different.

8. A nanoimprint composite sub-board according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that, The linear thermal expansion coefficient of the flexible film substrate is not higher than 8E -5 / K at 20°C.

9. The nanoimprint composite subplate according to claim 1, wherein The thickness of the reinforcing layer is less than the thickness of the flexible film substrate.

10. A diffractive optical waveguide, characterized in that, The diffractive optical waveguide is imprinted by the nanoimprint composite sub-board according to any one of claims 1-9.

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