Nanoimprint lithography is a technique for fabricating nanoscale devices at a low cost. Features such as precise and repeatable replication of nanoscale patterns make this technology more versatile as compared to techniques like helium ion and E-beam. Due to its robust capabilities and strength, it is applied in variety of disciplines including optics, plasmonics, life science and biotechnology.
Here’s how this technology is paving way for other technologies:
- Nanoimprint for 3D Screening: One of the biggest advantages of Nanoimprint lithography is patterning 3D structures in an easier way as compared to conventional methods. It is considered best due to its unique features such as low-cost, high resolution, and top-level throughput. The technique is used for fabricating the large-area nanoscale patterns and complex 3D structures with high aspect ratio features.
- Nanoimprint for Biochips: In medical arena, the Nanoimprint lithography is revived by photonics, biochips, and front-end memory application. Nanofluidic biochips based on nanochannel structures facilitate biomolecule transport, bio-detection, and bioseparation. These chips are mainly used for DNA stretching, genetic detection, medical bioengineering, and clinical diagnostics. Nanopatterning on chips is performed with a pitch of 50-100 nm without a photomask process.
- Nanoimprint for Telecommunication: Recently, researchers have designed a set of optical components based on Nanoimprint lithography fabrication. This new generation optical component offers both cost and performance benefits over the existing bulk optical. The technique has facilitated an efficient creation of integrated optical components by building new levels of overall functionality. Such an optical component can be constructed with nanostructures of one, two or three dimensions. They can function as wave plates, photodetectors, phase modulators, microlenses, polarizers, polarization beam splitters and combiners, filters, and more.
- Nanoimprint for LED devices: The unique properties such as compactness, low power consumption, and durability have made LED devices a great success. However, LED manufacturers were finding it difficult to fetch the desired returns on their investment. Therefore, various Nanoimprinting techniques have been developed and introduced to improve the overall efficiency of LED devices.
The advantages of nanoimprint lithography include fast production at a lower cost, which ultimately satisfies the industry production requirements. As a result, this approach simplifies the complex process of optical lithography by limiting the diffracting rays.
Nanoimprint lithography is a versatile technique with numerous applications across all industries. Though the demands of each industry are different, the potential of Nanoimprint technology has elevated the level of efficiency.
