Analysis of the Evaporation Behavior of Resin Droplets in UV-Nanoimprint Process

Ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL), which is performed at a low pressure and at room temperature, is known as a low cost method for the fabrication of nano-scale patterns. In the patterning process, maintaining the uniformity of the residual layer is critical as the pattern transfer of features to the substrate must include the timed etch of the residual layer prior to the etching of the transfer layer. In pursuit of a thin and uniform residual layer thickness, the initial volume and the position of each droplet both need to be optimized. However, the monomer mixtures of resin had a tendency to evaporate. The evaporation rate depends on not only time, but also the initial volume of the monomer droplet. In order to decide the initial volume of each droplet, the accurate prediction of evaporation behavior is required. In this study, the theoretical model of the evaporation behavior of resin droplets was developed and compared with the available experimental data in the literature. It is confirmed that the evaporation rate of a droplet is not proportional to the area of its free surface, but to the length of its contact line. Finally, the parameter of the developed theoretical model was calculated by curve fitting to decide the initial volume of resin droplets.

UV 나노임프린트 공정에서의 수지 액적 증발 거동 분석