Grooved Demolding Roller for Nanoimprint Lithography Foil Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current demolding processes in nanoimprint lithography are time-consuming and may lead to contamination or deformation of imprinted patterns, particularly in two-step processes where the imprinted polymer foil needs to be handled carefully to maintain pattern integrity from the first imprint to the second transfer step.
Innovation Solution
A demolding device with a carrier and rollers, including a grooved demolding roller that avoids contact with the imprinted pattern, allows for intermittent passage of the foil over a press region, maintaining tension and preventing pattern contact with surfaces, enabling efficient and clean demolding directly at the imprint position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional demolding devices are used to detach template from substrate, then demolding can be achieved, but the process is time-consuming and may cause contamination or deformation of imprinted patterns
Solution Approach 1:
The foil is pre-tensioned before demolding using tensioning rollers, which prepares the foil in advance to prevent contact with surfaces during the demolding process. This preliminary tensioning action ensures that the foil remains suspended and does not deform or contaminate the imprinted pattern during the critical demolding phase.
Solution Approach 2:
A demolding roller with a groove acts as an intermediary element between the foil and the demolding mechanism. The groove in the demolding roller creates a gap that allows the foil to pass through without contacting the roller surface, thereby preventing contamination while still enabling effective demolding action.
2Reliability
If the imprinted foil is handled extensively to transfer pattern to final substrate, then pattern transfer can be achieved, but the imprinted surface may become contaminated or deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The grooved demolding roller serves as an intermediary that allows the foil to pass through without contact. The groove creates a protective channel that prevents the imprinted surface from touching any surfaces during demolding, thereby eliminating contamination risks while still enabling the transfer process.
Solution Approach 2:
The foil itself acts as a flexible thin film that can be tensioned and guided through the demolding process without rigid contact. By maintaining the foil in a tensioned state and guiding it through the groove, the imprinted surface remains protected from contamination throughout the handling process.
3Productivity
If demolding is performed separately from imprinting station, then equipment complexity is reduced, but production time increases and yield decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The demolding function is merged with the imprinting station by integrating the demolding roller and tensioning mechanisms directly into the existing imprinting equipment. This combination allows both imprinting and demolding to occur at the same location, eliminating the need for separate handling and transfer steps, thereby reducing production time and increasing yield.
Solution Approach 2:
The imprinting station is designed to perform multiple functions: imprinting, demolding, and foil tensioning. By making the station universal and capable of handling multiple operations in sequence, the system eliminates the need for separate dedicated demolding equipment, thus improving productivity without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces demolding time, ensures pattern integrity, and maintains the imprinted surface clean and intact throughout the process, enhancing yield and reducing production costs by allowing direct demolding and transfer within the same station.
Implementation Method 1
a pressing roller mounted in the carrier, wherein the carrier is configured to slide over the press region against the feed direction while rolling the foil under the pressing roller
Implementation Method 2
as air is sucked into the gap and the adhesion force of vacuum effect exerting between the mold and the substrate is eliminated
Implementation Method 3
the demolding roller has axially outer portions of a first diameter, configured to engage with the foil, and a central groove of a second diameter which is smaller than the first diameter, so as to avoid contact between a face of the groove and the imprinted pattern on the foil
Data Source
AI summary
A demolding device for use in an imprint machine, in which a foil is intermittently passed in a feed direction over a press region where a stamp is pressed against the foil for imprinting a surface pattern. The demolding device includes a carrier, a pressing roller mounted in the carrier, and a demolding roller mounted parallel to the pressing roller in the carrier, wherein the carrier is configured to slide over the press region against the feed direction while rolling the foil under the pressing roller and over the demolding roller for detaching the foil from the stamp after imprinting of the pattern.