Effects of Imprinting Pressure on the Damage of Flexible Composite Mould and Pattern Quality during UV Nanoimprinting

Imprinting pressure is the significant factor for composite mould durability and pattern quality during UV nanoimprinting on complex surfaces. To solve these problems, the effects of imprinting pressure on the damage of flexible composite mould and pattern quality-encountering particles were investigated through experiment and simulation. It was found that increasing the pressure could improve the pattern quality, but it will damage the mould and reduce the durability. Moreover, too small pressure could lead to serious pattern defects. Therefore, the imprint pressure of 30 kPa was suitable for use in the imprinting process from the viewpoints of protecting the mould and reducing pattern defects. These findings will be useful for improving the pattern quality and mould durability.

Patterned Metal/Polymer Composite Film with Good Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Flexible Electronic Devices Using Nanoimprint Technology

Mechanical stability and repeatability are significant factors for the application of metal film flexible electronic devices. In this work, patterned metal/polymer composite films with good mechanical stability and repeatability were fabricated through nanoimprint technology. The mechanical properties characteristic of metal/polymer composite films were exhibited by resistance change (ΔR/R₀) after cyclic tension and bending loading. It was found that the ΔR/R₀ and error line of patterned metal/polymer composite film was far lower than the other control groups for repeated experiments, which indicates that patterned metal film has excellent mechanical properties and repeatability. The double cantilever beam method was employed to measure the interfacial adhesion properties of composite films. The average interfacial adhesion of patterned metal/polymer composite films is shown to be over 2.9 and 2.2 times higher than that of metal film deposited on bare polymer and metal nanowire-treated polymer substrates, respectively.