Imprint Lithography Stamp with Basic Organic Amine
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Imprint lithography processes face challenges with premature solidification of imprinting compositions and contamination of stamps by photo-acid or photo-base generators, leading to increased costs and reduced stamp lifetime.
Innovation Solution
A stamp with a basic organic group integrated into its elastomer body, which stimulates the solidification of imprinting compositions without the need for expensive photo-sensitive activators, thereby reducing costs and extending the stamp's durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If photo-acid generators or photo-base generators are used to activate solidification of imprinting compositions, then solidification can be controlled, but the cost increases and stamp lifetime decreases due to contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the photo-sensitive activators (PAGs or PBGs) from the imprinting composition system. Instead of using these expensive and harmful additives, the patent employs a stamp made from elastomer materials that inherently catalyze or assist the solidification reaction through their chemical composition, thereby eliminating the need for PAGs/PBGs and their associated costs and contamination issues
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive photo-sensitive activators with a more economical approach using elastomer stamp materials that provide the necessary catalytic function. This substitution reduces material costs while maintaining or improving stamp durability by avoiding the contamination that would otherwise limit stamp lifetime to 50-100 cycles
2Reliability
If photo-acid generators or photo-base generators are used to activate solidification, then solidification can be initiated, but contamination of the stamp occurs reducing its lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the potentially harmful contamination effect into a beneficial function by designing the elastomer stamp material itself to provide the catalytic activity. The stamp material's chemical groups (such as carboxylic acid groups in polyacrylic acid or polyacrylamide) directly assist solidification without generating harmful byproducts that would contaminate and degrade the stamp
Solution Approach 2:
The elastomer stamp material acts as an intermediary between the imprinting composition and the solidification process. Rather than using photo-sensitive generators that decompose and contaminate, the stamp material's functional groups mediate the solidification reaction through their catalytic activity, enabling controlled solidification without harmful side effects
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
The solution allows for cost-effective and durable imprint processes by avoiding the use of photo-sensitive activators, preventing contamination, and maintaining high-quality feature pattern replication over multiple cycles.
Implementation Method 1
a stamp with a basic organic group integrated into its elastomer body, which stimulates the solidification of imprinting compositions
Implementation Method 2
imprint lithography is a technique in which a patterned layer such as a masking layer is formed on a substrate by the deposition of a solidifiable imprintable composition. The imprintable medium is subsequently patterned by imprinting the medium with a stamp having a relief pattern
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a stamp (14) for an imprint lithography process, the stamp comprising an elastomer stamp body including a polysiloxane bulk portion (110) and a patterned surface comprising a feature pattern (16) for imprinting an imprinting composition (12) wherein the elastomer stamp body comprises a basic organic amine in an amount of at least 0.1% by weight based on the total weight of the elastomer stamp body. Also disclosed are methods of manufacturing such a stamp, and a method of forming a patterned layer on a substrate using such a stamp.