Comparable to optical lithography, Japanese scholars UV-hardened nano-imprint to achieve a resolution of less than 10 nm

Tokyo University of Science (TUS) scholars recently made a breakthrough in the research of nano-imprinting technology, achieving a breakthrough in UV-hardened nano-imprint (UV-NIL) to create a resolution of less than 10 nm.

Because UV-NIL technology does not need high temperature and high pressure conditions, it is an eye-catching direction of nano-imprinting technology, and it has the potential to prepare quality graphics comparable to optical lithography at low cost. However, due to the understanding of the atomic scale characteristics of photoresist materials, it is difficult to achieve a resolution of less than 10 nm, while the team led by TUS scholar Tadashi Ando is based on molecular dynamics simulation. The interaction mechanism between the molecular composition of photoresist and the imprinting process was clarified, and the photoresist materials suitable for UV-NIL process were found and verified.

Ando said that the team's research results can provide guidance for the future selection and design of optimized photoresist materials, and eventually achieve a practical UV-NIL process with a resolution of less than 10 nm.