NIL making a big imprint for small devices

摘要

Etching microscopic patterns onto pieces of thermoplastics through a technique known as Nanolmprint Lithography(NIL),could potentially change the way miniature-sized products,like microchips,are created.Invented by Dr.Stephen Chou at Princeton University in 1994,NIL is a technique whereby a pattern is etched onto a piece of metal or a mold,then transferred onto a piece of thermoplastic,explained Richard Flynn,communications officer at the National Research Council's Industrial Materials Institute(NRC-IMI)in Boucherville,Que.