Origination of nano- and microstructures on large areas by interference lithography

Many markets require large area surface relief micro- and nanostructures. Important examples are light management structures for display applications or the radiation power management in solar systems. Structuring techniques with both up-scaling and mass production potential are an essential precondition for their realization. Interference lithography is a promising technique to originate fine-tailored structures on areas of up to 1.2 x 1.2 m(2). Subsequent replication techniques have the potential for enabling an industrial fabrication. After a description of the basic technologies, we present application examples of large area structures used as template for polarization optical films. Furthermore, light trapping structures for crystalline silicon solar cells are shown. For this application, etching masks were fabricated by nanoirnprint lithography. A subsequent etching step was applied to transfer the structures into the silicon. Finally, 3-dimensional photonic structures with distinguished optical properties are presented. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.