Anti-adhesion treatment for nanoimprint stamps using atmospheric pressure plasma CVD (APPCVD)

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) provides a practical method for producing high-precision nanostructures efficiently and at low cost. Interfacial interactions between the imprint stamp and the forming material are crucial for high-quality pattern transfer, with critical dimensions and large aspect ratios. This study conducted an in-depth investigation into anti-adhesion treatments for imprint stamps using atmospheric pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition (APPCVD). Quantitative analyses of adhesion force, surface roughness and contact angle were applied to verify the enhanced imprint capability and release performance of the stamps. Experimental results confirmed that APPCVD-prepared anti-adhesion coatings provided improvements in quality and produced few defects in imprinted replicas. The proposed technique can simultaneously provide surface modification and thin-film deposition, depending on the precursors used. Additionally, the use of oxygen-containing plasma resulted in greater durability of the anti-adhesion coatings. The major advantages of the technique include low-temperature treatments, large-format scalability with good uniformity, short process times, and a non-vacuum process environment.

► Anti-adhesion treatment for imprint stamps using APPCVD process was demonstrated. ► Contact angle, surface roughness and adhesion force were investigated and optimized. ► Three stamp materials: Si, Ni, and Ni-P were applied for comparison. ► Sub-50 nm linewidth imprint process with large-area uniformity was obtained.