Reduction of Defect for Imprinted UV Curable Resin including Volatile Solvents using Gas Permeable Mold Derived from Cellulose

Nanoimprint lithography has recently attracted much attention in microfabrication technology due to its two benefits of high resolving power and decreased production cost. It is promising for the next generation microfabrication technology. However, voids generated between the master mold and transferred replica mold are one of the problems for nanoimprint lithography. We have been developing gas permeable molds derived from cellulose to reduce defects caused from these voids. This study demonstrates the applicability of gas permeable mold. Defects in line and space patterns of the UV-cross-linkable materials including 10 wt% of acetone, 10 wt% of 1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate (PGMEA) and 10 wt% of cyclopentane as volatile solvents were greatly eliminated by using a gas permeable mold. This approach is expected to expand the utility of non-liquid materials which need solvents that are currently not suitable for nanoimprint lithography.