Direct nano-printing on Al substrate using a SiC mold

Abstract

Nanostructures in Al were generated by printing with hard SiC molds. This nano-printing technology replaces the lithography and the etching or deposition processes to produce patterns directly in metal. Dots, short lines, and long lines were formed in the SiC molds by electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. High aspect ratio features as small as 40 nm with depth up to 840 nm were patterned in the SiC molds. By pressing the SiC mold onto the Al substrate at room temperature, nanostructures in the SiC mold were reproduced accurately and uniformly in Al. Large arrays of nanostructures down to 40 nm were printed in Al with similar results for dots, short lines, and long lines. Using atomic force microscopy to analyze the cross sections of the SiC molds and printed Al nanostructures, depth dependence on feature size was observed. This nano-printing technology simplifies the processes for generating nanostructures with high throughput and high uniformity.