Improved properties of epoxy nanocomposites for specific applications in the field of MEMS/NEMS

Increasing interest in specific applications in the field of micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS) has raised the request for new functional polymeric materials. Hybrid materials consisting of inorganic nanoparticles in polymer matrices represent a novel class of materials for lithographic patterning with unique properties, which arise from the synergism between the properties of both components [N. Damean, B.A. Parviz, J.N Lee, T. Odom, G.M Whitesides, J. Micromech. Microeng. 15 (29) (2005)]. We demonstrate the miscibility of epoxy resin surface-modified SiO2 nanoparticles into epoxy photomaterial to create a patternable material with new properties, such as reduced refractive index for waveguiding applications. The lithographic, optical and mechanical properties of the silica-doped epoxy materials were investigated depending on the silica content in the photomaterial. Up to 60 μm thick layers were processed using UV lithography.