MRI: Acquisition of Instruments to Establish a Capability in Nanoimprinting of New Materials

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports the acquisition of a Jenoptik Hot Embossing System Hex 03 for the fabrication of nanostructures using a newly developed technique for nanoimprinting of polymers. The instrument will be used by about a dozen researchers at University of California, Irvine (UCI) and elsewhere. Conventional photolithographic techniques for fabricating nanostructures are limited to feature sizes larger than 50 nm. Higher resolution techniques exist but have extremely low throughput and are therefore impractical for large-scale production. Nanoimprinting of polymers is a new technique for fabricating nanostructures that has been further developed and refined by the PI and his colleagues on the laboratory scale, producing nanostructures on a silicon wafer roughly 0.5" in diameter. The new instrument will be adapted to enable nanoimprinting of polymers using the techniques developed by the PI on 4" wafers in minutes. The enhanced nanofabrication capabilities will attract industrial users as well as university researchers, thus providing opportunities for UCI students to interact with a broader spectrum of researchers. UCI already has a track record in working with industries (~ 45 companies) through its clean room facility. These industrial users will have access to the nanoimprinter. For students, this equipment also extends the university's capabilities into a new arena. Approximately 25 graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in the use of this machine in the first year, and a larger number will be exposed to its usefulness through classroom projects and lectures. The acquisition of the nanoimprinter will significantly impact the teaching and development of courses on nanotechnologies, microfluidics, stamp lithography,.and micro- and nano-technology for biomedical applications.