Fabrication process of 3D-photonic crystals via UV-nanoimprint lithography

摘要

In recent years the standard lithography reached its limits due to the diffraction effects encountered and the necessary complexity of compatible masks and projection optics. The restrictions on wavelength, in combination with high process and equipment costs make low cost, simple imprinting techniques competitive with next generation lithography methods. There are several Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) techniques which can be categorized depending on the process parameters and the imprinting method - either step & repeat or full wafer imprinting. A variety of potential applications has been demonstrated using NIL (e.g. SAW devices, vias and contact layers with dual damascene imprinting process, Bragg structures, patterned media) [1,2]. In this work UV-NIL has been selected for the fabrication process of 3D-photonic crystals. Results with up to three layers will be demonstrated.