Photo-curable resists for inkjet dispensing applied in large area and high throughput roll-to-roll nanoimprint processes

We report two newly developed photo-curable resists specifically engineered for inkjet dispensing facilitating nanoimprint lithography (NIL) in a high-throughput environment. The viscosity of the novel NIL resists was adjusted especially to enable inkjet dispensing at room temperature. The novel resists can be applied either in NIL batch processes or in high throughput processes like roll-to-roll NIL (R2R-NIL). Batch-wise imprints were performed on various substrates as Si or plastics demonstrating the distinctive application versatility of the novel materials. The very fast curing speed of these materials is discussed in detail with the aid of FT-IR and photo-DSC measurements. The experiments demonstrate a high degree of double bond conversion of about 80% after curing and a fast curing in a few seconds even at a low radiation intensity of 0.2 mW cm(-2). The novel materials show excellent adhesion on different substrates and high optical transparency. The high throughput capability of the novel materials is demonstrated by R2R-NIL processes performed at a web speed of up to 30 m min(-1). (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.