| Popis: |
Direct nanopatterning of surfaces using lithographic methods, such as electron beam lithography (EBL) or photolithography, allows unique structures to be defined in a methodical, step-by-step manner that delivers fantastically high-quality results that cannot be obtained by any other means, but is generally unsuitable for mass production or requires substantial infrastructure and financial investment to make it suitable as is the case with optical lithography in the microelectronics industry. A more economical route to create large number of nanostructured devices lies in replication-based technology where a single master may give birth to many clones of itself, eliminating the need to repeat an entire fabrication process. These methods are gaining increasing interest where the resolution limit of optical lithography makes it harder to form the ever smaller structures that are desired and in other emerging application areas that also require nanoscale patterns, but do not have the volume required for the investment in advanced conventional systems. Examples of such applications include substrates for biochemical research such as cell growth, advanced lab-on-a-chip devices, integrated nanophotonic devices and hard disk storage devices. Developments in polymer-based replication technology have also been extensive for applications where conventional fabrication techniques are not well suited such as flexible display systems. |
