Numerical Investigation of Laser-Assisted Nanoimprinting on a Copper Substrate from a Perspective of Heat Transfer Analysis

TL;DR

This paper explores laser-assisted nanoimprinting on copper substrates, using heat transfer analysis to demonstrate the feasibility of alternative materials in micro/nano-fabrication processes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach of using copper as a substrate in LAN, supported by analytical and numerical heat transfer modeling.

Findings

Copper can be effectively used as a substrate in LAN.

Optical multiple reflection theory aids in predicting thermal response.

Numerical models validate the feasibility of copper in nanoimprinting.

Abstract

The technique of laser-assisted nanoimprinting lithography (LAN) has been proposed to utilize an excimer laser to irradiate through a quartz mold and melts a thin polymer film on the substrate for micro- to nano-scaled fabrications. In the present study, the novel concept of that copper was adopted as the substrate instead of silicon, which is conventionally used, was proposed. The micro/nano structures on the copper substrate could be fabricated by chemical/electrochemical etching or electroforming ; following by the patterns have been transferred onto the substrate using LAN process. Alternatives of the substrate materials could lead versatile applications in micro/nano-fabrication. To demonstrate the feasibility of this concept numerically, this study introduced optical multiple reflection theory to perform both analytical and numerical modeling during the process and to predict the thermal response theoretically.