Development on nano-imprint lithography stamps using DRIE PVD tungsten films

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nonconventional lithographic technique for high-throughput patterning of polymer nanostructures at great precision and at low costs. Unlike conventional photo and electron based lithography a transmission mask is not used. Instead a stamp is formed that embosses a resist layer to form the structure in the resist. NIL has the promise of producing competitively sized structures, (sub-50 nm), but at substantially reduced cost of ownership. One of the draw backs of NIL, however, is the lifetime of the stamp (known as a template).
The project will look at the formation of a tungsten based template which has the promise of increase useful life with comparable high-resolution structures.
The authors have gained significant expertise in the formation of structures in tungsten films deposited on silicon substrates. The project will allow the authors to explore the suitability of tungsten as an NIL template. The ultimate structure size will be explored, with a target of less than 50 nm minimum feature size. A laboratory demonstrator will be produced and exercised on an NIL tool to form test patterns.