Direct imprinting on a polycarbonate substrate with a compressed air press for polarizer applications

In this study, simple two-step processes were used to fabricate the wire-grid polarizer (WGP) on a polycarbonate (PC) sheet. The PC gratings were fabricated by direct imprinting of the PC sheet onto a silicon mold with a compressed air press (CAP). No additional imprinted polymer was required in the imprinting step. The applied pressure of 5 bar was much lower than the pressure reported in the literature, which was due to the use of the CAP. The WGP was further fabricated with an oblique aluminum (Al) sputtering on the PC grating. The rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) was performed to explain and verify the experimental results. The fabricated WGP should have potential application in the infrared region.