Ultra-Compliant Nanoimprint Lithography Template

1 . A nanoimprint lithography template comprising:

a backing layer; and

a nanopatterned layer adhered to the backing layer, wherein the nanopatterned layer comprises nanoscale features formed by solidifying a polymerizable material comprising a fluoroelastomer and a photoinitiator in contact with a mold,

wherein the backing layer has a higher elastic modulus than the nanopatterned layer.

2 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein the fluoroelastomer comprises a fluorinated ether-based acrylate, a fluorinated ether-based methacrylate, or a combination thereof.

3 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 2 , wherein the fluoroelastomer comprises a fluorinated ether-based urethane dimethacrylate, a fluorinated ether-based diacrylate, a fluorinated ether-based mono-acrylate, or a combination thereof.

4 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein an elastic modulus of the fluoroelastomer is between about 3 MPa and about 50 MPa.

5 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 4 , wherein the elastic modulus of the fluoroelastomer is between about 5 MPa and about 25 MPa.

6 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , further comprising an adhesion layer between the backing layer and the nanopatterned layer.

7 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein a viscosity of the polymerizable material at room temperature is or less than about 200 cP.

8 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 7 , wherein a viscosity of the polymerizable material is less than about 150 cP.

9 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein the polymerizable material is ink-jettable.

10 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein the nanoimprint lithography template, when used to replicate the nanopatterned layer in an imprint resist on a substrate, the substrate comprising 30 μm tall, 1 mm wide ridges and surface roughness up to 600 nm over a length of 100 μm, yields an imprint that conforms to the substrate over at least 75% of the surface area of the template.

11 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein solidifying the polymerizable material consists of irradiating the polymerizable material with ultraviolet radiation.

12 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein a porosity of the nanopatterned layer is greater than a porosity of fused silica.

13 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 1 , wherein the template is operable to form a patterned layer in an imprint resist on a substrate with a micron-scale defect, such that an unpatterned area proximate the defect is less than a projected area of the defect on the substrate.

14 . A nanoimprint lithography template comprising:

a backing layer; and

a nanopatterned layer adhered to the backing layer, wherein the nanopatterned layer comprises nanoscale features formed by solidifying a polymerizable material in contact with a nanopatterned mold,

wherein a viscosity of the polymerizable material at room temperature is less than about 200 cP, and the nanoimprint lithography template is operable to form a patterned layer from an imprint resist on a substrate, the substrate having a micron-scale defect, such that an unpatterned area proximate the defect is less than a projected area of the defect on the substrate.

15 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 14 , wherein the polymerizable material comprises a fluoroelastomer and a photoinitiator.

16 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 14 , wherein a porosity of the nanopatterned layer is greater than a porosity of the backing layer.

17 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 14 , wherein the nanoimprint lithography template is operable to form at least 100 imprints with no reduction in feature fidelity.

18 . The nanoimprint lithography template of claim 14 , wherein the nanoimprint lithography template, when used to replicate the nanopatterned layer in an imprint resist on a substrate, the substrate comprising 30 μm tall, 1 mm wide ridges and surface roughness up to 600 nm over a length of 100 μm, yields an imprint that conforms to the substrate over at least 75% of the surface area of the template.

19 . A nanoimprint lithography mold assembly comprising:

a substrate;

a polymerizable material disposed on the substrate; and

a nanoimprint lithography template in contact with the polymerizable material, the nanoimprint lithography template comprising:

a backing layer; and

a nanopatterned layer adhered to the backing layer, wherein the nanopatterned layer comprises nanoscale features formed by solidifying a polymerizable material comprising a fluoroelastomer and a photoinitiator in contact with a mold, the polymerizable material having a viscosity at room temperature of less than 200 cP.

20 . A method of fabricating a nanoimprint lithography template, the method comprising:

selecting a backing layer;

disposing a polymerizable material on the backing layer, the polymerizable material comprising a fluoroelastomer and a photoinitiator and having a viscosity at room temperature of less than about 200 cP;

contacting the polymerizable material with a nanopatterned mold;

exposing the polymerizable material to ultraviolet radiation to solidify the polymerizable material, thereby forming a solidified nanopatterned layer in contact with the nanopatterned mold and adhered to the backing layer, wherein an elastic modulus of the solidified nanopatterned layer is greater than an elastic modulus of the backing layer; and

separating the nanopatterned mold from the solidified nanopatterned layer adhered to the substrate.