Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt Mold
Although many precision fabrication techniques have demonstrated the ability to produce microstructures and micro-devices with sub 100 nm accuracy, we are yet to see a scalable manufacturing process for large-area production. One promising solution to scalable micro- and nanofabrication is thermal...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2014-12-01
|
| Series: | Machines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/2/4/299 |
| _version_ | 1828831925989539840 |
|---|---|
| author | Raymond Frenkel Byung Kim Donggang Yao |
| author_facet | Raymond Frenkel Byung Kim Donggang Yao |
| author_sort | Raymond Frenkel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although many precision fabrication techniques have demonstrated the ability to produce microstructures and micro-devices with sub 100 nm accuracy, we are yet to see a scalable manufacturing process for large-area production. One promising solution to scalable micro- and nanofabrication is thermal roller imprinting. However, existing investigations on thermal roller imprinting revealed poor pattern transfer fidelity, especially for high aspect ratio features. The standard roller imprinting process suffers from the lack of an effective holding and cooling stage so that the adverse effects from the viscoelastic nature of polymers are not managed. To rectify this problem and further improve the production rate, a new extrusion roller imprinting process with a variotherm belt mold is designed, and its prototype was established at a laboratory scale. The process testing results demonstrate that a 30 μm sawtooth pattern can be faithfully transferred to extruded polyethylene film at take-up speeds higher than 10 m/min. The results are promising in that microfeatures or even nanofeatures may be successfully replicated by a robust and scalable industrial process suitable for large-area, continuous production. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T16:43:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71894ff6e9424c28b69ff3543caa2b7a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1702 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T16:43:26Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Machines |
| spelling | doaj.art-71894ff6e9424c28b69ff3543caa2b7a2022-12-22T00:18:31ZengMDPI AGMachines2075-17022014-12-012429931110.3390/machines2040299machines2040299Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt MoldRaymond Frenkel0Byung Kim1Donggang Yao2Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USASchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAAlthough many precision fabrication techniques have demonstrated the ability to produce microstructures and micro-devices with sub 100 nm accuracy, we are yet to see a scalable manufacturing process for large-area production. One promising solution to scalable micro- and nanofabrication is thermal roller imprinting. However, existing investigations on thermal roller imprinting revealed poor pattern transfer fidelity, especially for high aspect ratio features. The standard roller imprinting process suffers from the lack of an effective holding and cooling stage so that the adverse effects from the viscoelastic nature of polymers are not managed. To rectify this problem and further improve the production rate, a new extrusion roller imprinting process with a variotherm belt mold is designed, and its prototype was established at a laboratory scale. The process testing results demonstrate that a 30 μm sawtooth pattern can be faithfully transferred to extruded polyethylene film at take-up speeds higher than 10 m/min. The results are promising in that microfeatures or even nanofeatures may be successfully replicated by a robust and scalable industrial process suitable for large-area, continuous production.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/2/4/299hot embossingroller imprintingnanoimprintingmicrofabricationnanofabrication |
| spellingShingle | Raymond Frenkel Byung Kim Donggang Yao Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt Mold Machines hot embossing roller imprinting nanoimprinting microfabrication nanofabrication |
| title | Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt Mold |
| title_full | Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt Mold |
| title_fullStr | Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt Mold |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt Mold |
| title_short | Extrusion Roller Imprinting with a Variotherm Belt Mold |
| title_sort | extrusion roller imprinting with a variotherm belt mold |
| topic | hot embossing roller imprinting nanoimprinting microfabrication nanofabrication |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/2/4/299 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT raymondfrenkel extrusionrollerimprintingwithavariothermbeltmold AT byungkim extrusionrollerimprintingwithavariothermbeltmold AT donggangyao extrusionrollerimprintingwithavariothermbeltmold |