Abstract: A rotary plate for holding a substrate for a coating device, which rotary plate comprises a plurality of suction points, is intended to be characterized by an annular elevation, wherein a diameter of the annular elevation substantially corresponds to a diameter of the substrate.

Abstract: A demolding device for use in an imprint machine, in which a foil is intermittently passed in a feed direction over a press region where a stamp is pressed against the foil for imprinting a surface pattern. The demolding device includes a carrier, a pressing roller mounted in the carrier, and a demolding roller mounted parallel to the pressing roller in the carrier, wherein the carrier is configured to slide over the press region against the feed direction while rolling the foil under the pressing roller and over the demolding roller for detaching the foil from the stamp after imprinting of the pattern.

Abstract: The invention to provide curable materials, comprising photo-reactive compounds, in particular, photoinitiators and polymerizable mono- or multifunctional monomers such as acrylates or epoxides. The material may also contain fluoro-surfactants completely or partly terminated by functional groups with the ability to bind covalently to said chemical composition under curing. The curable compositions are either purely acrylate based or a hybrid of different types of monomers such as acrylates, epoxides or vinyl ethers. The polymerizable monomers may cure with the use of different types of photoinitiator, such as free radical photoinitiators or cationic photoinitiators, ultimately forming a hybrid resist comprising interpenetrating networks of different types of monomers e.g. acrylates and epoxides. The acrylate/epoxide hybrid system has showed improved replication properties in terms of high nano-imprint lithography process fidelity, due to increased conversion of acrylates and low shrinkage.

Abstract: The invention provides a modification of a polymer film surface interaction properties. In this process a polymer carrier object is covered by a chemical composition, comprising photo-polymerizable compounds, photo-initiators or catalysts with the ability to initiate polymerization and semi-fluorinated molecules. The so-produced polymer mold contains semi-fluorinated moieties, which are predominantly located on the surface and on the surface near region of the patterned surface. The polymer mold is suitable as a template with modified properties in a nano-imprint lithography process.

Abstract: A method and process for obtaining a metal stamp from an intermediate polymer stamp comprising the steps of providing a first print layer on top of a first polymer layer, imprinting structures to obtain an intermediate stamp. A conductive layer is provided on top of the structures to obtain a seed layer if the imprinted polymer is a non-conductive, plating metal on top of the intermediate polymer stamp to obtain a metal stamp then separating the intermediate stamp from the metal stamp. This invention demonstrates stamp replication in high throughput and at low cost.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a nano imprint method and to a nano imprint apparatus comprising: a first imprint module, a second imprint module, a storage and a feeder module, wherein; the first imprint module is adapted to imprint a pattern into an intermediate polymer stamp from a template; a second imprint module is adapted to imprint a pattern into a substrate from the intermediate polymer stamp; robot feeder modules are adapted to move the template, intermediate polymer stamp and the substrate from and to storages.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for transferring a pattern from a template (10) having a structured surface to a substrate (12) carrying a surface layer of a radiation polymerisable fluid (14). The apparatus comprises a first main part (101) and a second main part (102) having opposing surfaces (104; 105), means for adjusting a spacing (115) between said main parts, support means (106) for supporting said template and substrate in mutual parallel engagement in said spacing with said structured surface facing said surface layer, a radiation source (110) devised to emit radiation into said spacing. A cavity (115) has a first wall comprising a flexible membrane (113) devised to engage said template or substrate, and means (114; 116) are provided for applying an adjustable overpressure to a medium present in said cavity, whereby an even distribution of force is obtained over the whole of the contact surface between the substrate and the template.

Abstract: The invention relates to a novel metal mold having anti-adhesive properties comprising a base metal mold and an anti-adhesive layer comprising a fluorinated alkyl phosphoric acid derivative or a fluorinated alkyl poly-phosphoric acid derivative, including a phosphorous atom and an alkyl chain. The anti-adhesive layer is bonded directly onto a surface of the base metal mold. The base metal mold may be e.g. Nickel, and said fluorinated alkyl phosphoric acid derivative or said fluorinated alkyl poly-phosphoric acid derivative may be selected front the group consisting of phosphonic acids, phosphinic acids, phosphonates and phosphonate salts, phosphinates and phosphinate salts, or their respective oligomers, such that the phosphorous atom is coupled directly to the alkyl chain, such that the phosphorous atom is coupled directly to the alkyl chain.

Abstract: A template (10) having a first surface (13, 14), usable for transferring a pattern of the first surface to an object (20) having a second surface (23) covered by a light-sensitive coating (22), by contacting the patterned first surface with the coating, wherein the template comprises a carrier base (11) of e.g. nickel, and a waveguide (14) is disposed on the carrier base at the first surface. The waveguide is devised to lead light therein, introduced at a radiation input, and to leak evanescent waves to portions (24) of the coating corresponding to said pattern. The template may also be devised with an opaque shield (15), disposed at the first surface over selected portions of the waveguide, which serves to define where the evanescent waves can leak to the coating. The invention also relates to a method and an apparatus for using the template, and a method for manufacturing it.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for transferring a pattern from a template (10) having a structured surface to a substrate (12) carrying a surface layer of a radiation polymerisable fluid (14). The apparatus comprises a first main part (101) and a second main part (102) having opposing surfaces (104;105), means for adjusting a spacing (115) between said main parts, support means (106) for supporting said template and substrate in mutual parallel engagement in said spacing with said structured surface facing said surface layer, a radiation source (110) devised to emit radiation into said spacing. A cavity (115) has a first wall comprising a flexible membrane (113) devised to engage said template or substrate, and means (114;116) are provided for applying an adjustable overpressure to a medium present in said cavity, whereby an even distribution of force is obtained over the whole of the contact surface between the substrate and the template.

Abstract: Method for transferring a pattern from a template (10) having a structured surface (11) to a substrate (12) carrying a surface layer (14) of a material devised to 5 solidify upon exposure to radiation, comprising: arranging said template and substrate mutually parallel in an imprint apparatus, with said structured surface facing said surface layer; heating the template and the substrate to a temperature Tp by means of a heater device (20); and while maintaining said temperature Tp, performing the steps of: pressing the template towards the substrate for imprinting said pattern into said layer; exposing said layer to radiation (19) for solidifying the layer, and—postbaking the layer.

Abstract: A method is provided for transferring a pattern from a template (1) to an object (12) in an imprint process, using a two-step process. The first step includes contacting a pattern of the template surface with a polymer material comprising one or more Cyclic Olefin Copolymers (COCs), to produce a flexible polymer replica having a structured surface with an inverse of the pattern of the template surface. In a second step, after releasing the flexible polymer replica from the template, the inverse pattern of the flexible polymer replica is pressed into a resist layer on a substrate, to imprint a replica of the pattern of the template surface in therein.

Abstract: Etching of copper on a card is achieved by applying an electrical voltage between a cathode (102) and the card (42), the card (42) thereby forming an anode. The cathode (102) and the card (42) are immersed in an electrolyte comprising a first component, which may be reduced from a first state in the form of an ion having a metal atom with a first positive oxidation number to a second state in the form of an ion having said metal atom with a second positive oxidation number, which is less than said first positive oxidation number. A first redox potential in the electrolyte for reduction from the first to the second state is larger than a second redox potential in the electrolyte for reduction of divalent copper ions to metallic copper. During the etching metallic copper on the card is oxidized and transferred into positively charged copper ions while the first component is reduced from its first state to its second state.

Abstract: A device (4) for transferring a pattern to an object (2). The invention relates especially to production of micro and nanostructures. The device comprises an alignment means (10) arranged in connection with a first contacting means (7) for controlling the motion of the first stamp (8) in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction (A), and a second contacting means (11) having a second stamp (12) adapted to imprint a second pattern in the second surface (6) of the object (2), and a pressing means (9) further adapted to press the second stamp (12) into contact with the second surface (6) of the object (2) in the pressing direction (A). Hereby is obtained a device of a simple design, which has a high accuracy of the alignment of the stamps in relation to the object.

Abstract: The invention to provide curable materials, comprising photo-reactive compounds, in particular, photoinitiators and polymerizable mono- or multifunctional monomers such as acrylates or epoxides. The material may also contain fluoro-surfactants completely or partly terminated by functional groups with the ability to bind covalently to said chemical composition under curing. The curable compositions are either purely acrylate based or a hybrid of different types of monomers such as acrylates, epoxides or vinyl ethers. The polymerizable monomers may cure with the use of different types of photoinitiator, such as free radical photoinitiators or cationic photoinitiators, ultimately forming a hybrid resist comprising interpenetrating networks of different types of monomers e.g. acrylates and epoxides. The acrylate/epoxide hybrid system has showed improved replication properties in terms of high nano-imprint lithography process fidelity, due to increased conversion of acrylates and low shrinkage.

Abstract: The invention provides a modification of a polymer film surface interaction properties. In this process a polymer carrier object is covered by a chemical composition, comprising photo-polymerizable compounds, photo-initiators or catalysts with the ability to initiate polymerization and semi-fluorinated molecules. The so-produced polymer mold contains semi-fluorinated moieties, which are predominantly located on the surface and on the surface near region of the patterned surface. The polymer mold is suitable as a template with modified properties in a nano-imprint lithography process.

Abstract: The invention relates to a novel metal mold having anti-adhesive properties comprising a base metal mold and an anti-adhesive layer comprising a fluorinated alkyl phosphoric acid derivative or a fluorinated alkyl poly-phosphoric acid derivative, including a phosphorous atom and an alkyl chain. The anti-adhesive layer is bonded directly onto a surface of the base metal mold. The base metal mold may be e.g. Nickel, and said fluorinated alkyl phosphoric acid derivative or said fluorinated alkyl poly-phosphoric acid derivative may be selected from the group consisting of phosphonic acids, phosphonic acids, phosphonates and phosphonate salts, phosphonates and phosphonate salts, or their respective oligomers, such that the phosphorous atom is coupled directly to the alkyl chain, such that the phosphorous atom is coupled directly to the alkyl chain.

Abstract: The invention relates to a two-step process for transferring a pattern from a template (1) to a target surface of a substrate, by creating an intermediate flexible polymer stamp (5) from the template in a primary step, and then using the polymer stamp to make an imprint in a radiation-sensitive moldable layer on the target surface in a secondary step. In the secondary step, the process steps of pressing the polymer stamp and the substrate against each other, UV exposure of the moldable layer through the polymer stamp, and postbaking of the radiated moldable layer, are all performed at a control constant temperature, in order to eliminate damages to the pattern created in the moldable layer caused by thermal expansion effects.

Abstract: Method for manufacturing a mold tool (1), devised for forming a structured nanoscale pattern on an object (24) and having a layer (16) which is anti-adhesive with regard to the object (24). A stamp blank (2) is provided with a structured pattern (4) on a surface (8). The patterned surface (8) is coated with a layer (6) of a metal, which has a stable oxidation number and can form a mechanically stable oxide film. The metal layer (6) is oxidized for forming of an oxide film (10). The oxide film (10) is exposed to a reagent comprising molecule chains (18), each of which has a linkage group (20) which bonds to the oxide film (10) by chemical bonding, wherein the molecule chains (18) either at the outset comprise at least a group (22) comprising fluorine, or in a subsequent step is provided with at least one such group (22).

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for separating two objects attached to each other in a sandwich structure, such as a stamp and a substrate pressed together in an imprint process. The apparatus includes a support structure, carrying first fastening means having a base surface and first gripping means for supporting and holding a first object, second fastening means, positioned opposite to the first fastening means, having second gripping means for holding a second object, and a pulling force mechanism to provide a pulling force at an angle to the normal direction of the base surface for displacing the two fastening means away from each other. Preferably, the second object is gripped at a periphery portion, and the pulling force is angled inwardly from said periphery portion.