Bilayer, nanoimprint lithography

Nanoimprint lithography has been shown to be a viable means of patterning polymer films in the sub-100 nm range. In this work, we demonstrate the use of a bilayer resist to facilitate the metal liftoff step in imprinter fabrication. The bilayer resist technology exhibits more uniform patterns and fewer missing features than similar metal nanoparticle arrays fabricated with single layer resist. The bilayer resist relies upon the differential solubility between poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(methyl methacrylate methacrylic acid copolymer). Evidence is presented that shows the technique has a resolution of better than 10 nm. (C) 2000 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-211X(00)03103-8].