This article summarizes the current development status of nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology and its application prospects in multiple industries. Nanoimprint lithography technology has significant advantages, such as low cost, high resolution, and no development, and is not affected by standing wave effects, making it a potential technology in industries such as semiconductors, photovoltaics, and LEDs. However, nanoimprint lithography technology still faces challenges in terms of film characteristics and material selection during application. This article analyzes existing research and discusses its application advantages in the fields of patterned sapphire substrates (PSSs), Light-Emitting Diode (LED) chips, photovoltaic cells, etc., and proposes the role of technological progress in promoting industrialization. This article summarizes the opportunities and challenges of nanoimprint lithography technology in the future industrialization process and anticipates its development prospects for large-scale production.
This article proposes a novel transparent conductive film structure to solve the problem of electrostatic accumulation in traditional nanoimprint lithography processes. This structure is formed by spin-coating a layer of silver nanowire (AgNWs) transparent conductive films on a graphic substrate, followed by coating a layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the surface of the film. After the PDMS is cured, it is peeled off from the substrate to form a free-standing elastic three-dimensional structured surface. These transparent conductive films are not only designed to mitigate static electricity generated during the nanoimprint lithography process, but also have excellent UV transparency, with a 325 nm UV transmittance of up to 90%. At the same time, it exhibits good conductivity with a sheet resistance of 20 Ω/sq. In addition, the films have excellent elasticity and can maintain stable conductivity during repeated stretching, providing a novel solution for flexible optoelectronic devices and nanoimprint technology.
Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is highly dependent on imprinted film as a pattern-transfer medium. This paper systematically reviews the research progress of imprint film materials for NIL. Firstly, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and other single-polymer films are discussed, and their respective advantages (such as low surface energy, high optical transparency, water solubility) and inherent limitations (elastic deformation, demolding difficulties, humidity sensitivity)) are summarized. In order to overcome the above contradiction, researchers developed a composite imprint film structure, including an elastomer–rigid bilayer template and sandwich structure film, which achieved high resolution, conformal contact and facile demolding characteristics through mechanical function decoupling. At the same time, the emerging polymer/transparent electrode composite system (such as AgNWs/PVA, AgNWs/PDMS) gives the film active functions such as self-heating and antistatic ones, which effectively solves the key challenges in thermal management and electrostatic control. This paper comprehensively presents the evolution path from single-material to multi-functional composites, and provides guidance for the design of advanced imprint film for high precision, high reliability and large-scale NIL applications.