Fabrication of inverse micro/nano pyramid structures using soft UV-NIL and wet chemical methods for residual layer removal and Si-etching

•We present a novel and simple fabrication method for residual layer removal.•No dry etching step was applied for residual layer removal.•The method uses only wet chemical etching.•Micro- & nano inverted pyramids were fabricated on Si-substrate as application.

In this study we present a novel and simple fabrication method for micro- and nano-scale inverse pyramidal structures by a combination of soft UV-NIL and wet chemical etchings. The unique feature of our method is the absence of a RIE process, which is usually applied for removal of residual layer. This is achieved by modifying the imprint resist with an O2-plasma in asher and subsequent wet etching of residual layer by diluted HF. Combined with conventional anisotropic wet etching step with KOH/IPA, our method allows cost effective fabrication of inverse pyramidal structures on Si-substrate in batch process. Such structures in nano- and micro scale are particularly suitable for light management in photovoltaic, solid state lighting and silicon based photonic.

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