有机脱模剂中多环芳烃的高效液相色谱测定

建立了有机硅类和金属皂类脱模剂中多环芳烃的高效液相色谱测定方法。方法所用色谱柱为多聚C18(LC-PAH)柱,流动相为乙腈/水,采用梯度淋洗方式,开始时为体积分数40%乙腈,28min后变为82%乙腈,48min后变成100%乙腈,保持8min。方法的线性范围为0.10~200mg/L,线性相关系数为0.9993~1.0000,平均回收率分别为68.55%~101.2%(有机硅类)和75.29%~99.89%(金属皂类),精密度RSD分别为1.6%~8.1%(有机硅类)和1.8%~6.8%(金属皂类),检出限(S/N=3)分别为0.05~0.10mg/L(有机硅类)和0.05~0.20mg/L(金属皂类)。该方法可以满足有机硅类和金属皂类脱模剂中多环芳烃的检测要求。     

N,N-二羟乙基十二烷基胺的合成及性能

以二乙醇胺和溴代十二烷为原料,在无水乙醇介质中合成了脱模剂用新型原材料N,N-二羟乙基十二烷基胺.通过正交试验法对合成工艺进行了优化,研究了各种因素对合成产率的影响,确定了在无水乙醇介质中合成该化合物的最佳工艺条件;表征了合成产物的结构,并测定了其理化性能和表面化学性能.结果表明:在无水乙醇介质中合成N,N-二羟乙基十二烷基胺简单易行,产率为85.37%.合成产物在水溶液中的临界胶束浓度为2.92×10-3mol/L,所对应的液体表面张力为20.875 mN/m.以合成产物为原材料制备的固化薄膜的表面能为14.57 mN/m,小于聚氨酯塑料的表面能29 mN/m,是聚氨酯塑料和弹性体脱模剂的理想原材料.     

Vapor-phase self-assembled monolayer for improved mold release in nanoimprint lithography

Resist adhesion to the mold is one of the challenges for nanoimprint lithography. The main approach to overcoming it is to apply a self-assembled monolayer of an organosilane release agent to the mold surface, either in the solution phase or vapor phase. We compared the atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy, and contact angle results collected from substrates treated by two different application processes and found that the vapor-phase process was superior. The vapor-treated substrates had fewer aggregates of the silane molecules on the surface, because the lower density of the agent in the vapor phase was not conducive to aggregation formation, and received a superior coating of the releasing agent, because the vapor was more effective than the solution in penetrating into the nanoscale gaps of the mold. A pattern transfer of 20 parallel nanowires with a line width of 40 nm at 100 nm pitch-size was performed faithfully with the vapor-treated mold without any resist adhesion.     

An ultraviolet-curable mold for sub-100-nm lithography

We describe a novel UV-curable mold that is stiff enough for replicating dense sub-100-nm features even with a high aspect ratio. It also allows for flexibility when the mold is prepared on a flexible support such that large area replication can be accomplished. The composite material of the mold is inert to chemicals and solvents. The surface energy is made low with a small amount of releasing agent such that the mold can be removed easily and cleanly after patterning. In addition, the material allows self-replication of the mold. These unique features of the mold material should make the mold quite useful for various patterning purposes.     

Applying magnetic soft mold imprint technology with ultraviolet light‐emitting‐diode array on the fabrication of microlens arrays

This study proposed a novel technology, which uses exposed technology with ultraviolet light‐emitting‐diode (UV‐LED) arrays and the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) magnetic flexible soft mold imprint technology, to develop exposed equipments with UV‐LED arrays. This study used magnetic soft mold imprint technology to replicate the structure of microlens, providing a more effective alternative for imprint technology and application. The measurement results showed that PDMS with magnetic iron powder can precisely cast mold to replicate the structures of microlens. Electromagnetic plates were used to control even imprinting with magnetic force, in order to fill the mold of micro‐structure of the photo‐resist. Magnetic iron powder was added to PDMS to produce composite material, which can effectively avoid the transformation of pure PDMS during soft mold imprinting, and increase mechanical strength. Magnetic PDMS soft mold is easy to make, and the casting time is short, so that costs can be effectively reduced. Also with advantages of less free energy on its surface, and unlikely to adhere to the photo‐resist during imprinting, it can be combined with electromagnetic plates evenly to control the magnetic soft mold. This imprinting technology is a big advantage to the production process of micro‐structures during imprinting. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and research for applying innovative magnetic soft mold imprinting techniques in microstructure component manufacturing

The present study employs an innovative technique, which uses PDMS soft mold, blended with magnetic powder as the transmission and imprinting methods, and integrates features from soft micromolding PMMA, an electro‐magnetically controlled, well‐proportioned, pressing technique in order to study how to create microlens arrays through a magnetic soft mold imprinting resist technique. Thus, it renders nanometer imprinting applications, and its technology, more developed and mature. The research findings revealed that, PDMS, blended with magnetic powder, can accurately recast and duplicate nanometer microstructures. Under well‐proportioned magnetic pressing, controlled by an electro‐magnetic disk, it can effectively fill and shape resist microstructures. The composite material of PDMS, with added magnetic iron powder, can effectively improve mechanical strength properties of pure PDMS soft mold, which is easily transformed for imprinting. Meanwhile, owing to the unique features of PDMS soft mold, conformal contact with the base material is possible; therefore, the effective imprinting area and the duplicated representation are significantly improved. In addition, as magnetic PDMS soft mold is easily produced and fast in recasting, the costs can be effectively reduced. In addition, due to features such as low surface free energy and a tendency not to stick to resist in imprinting, the soft mold is evenly controlled by the electro‐magnetic disk for imprinting duplication, highlighting the advantages of microstructure imprinting procedures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel electromagnetism‐assisted imprinting technology to replicate microstructures onto a large‐area curved surface using a flexible magnetic mold

Replication of microstructures from a mold onto a curved surface is difficult. The conformal contact between the mold and the substrate has to be ensured. The present study proposes an innovative mechanism, which employs an electromagnetic disk to provide magnetic force and a PDMS flexible mold with a layer compounded magnetic powder. This mechanism provides not only the gradual contact from center to edge to avoid air entrapment but also conformal contact between the mold and the substrate during the imprinting operation. A system based on this electromagnetic soft imprinting technology has been implemented, and imprinting to replicate microstructures from the mold onto a curved surface has been carried out. The results reveal that the PDMS magnetic mold and the electromagnetic disk‐controlled magnetic force can successfully perform the imprinting and accurately replicate the microstructures onto the large‐area, curved surface glass. The PDMS flexible magnetic mold incorporated with the magnetic disk can be employed to achieve the conformal contact between the mold and the substrate. In addition, due to the low surface free energy of the PDMS, the de‐molding without sticking can be easily accomplished. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of thickening agents on the penicillin fermentation

The effects of thickening agents (polyethylene glycol [PEG] 20000 and carboxymethylcellulose [CMC]) on the penicillin fermentation byPenicillium chrysogenum were investigated. By adding the thickening agents to the fermentation medium, the growth form of the mold can be manipulated. Depending on the amount of thicking agent added, the change in morphology is from compact smooth pellets to various intermediate forms, and finally to filamentous mycelia. It was found that better penicillin production was obtained when the mold was in small, fluffy, loose pellets. The penicillin fermentation is not only affected by the thickening agents, but also the status of inoculum and agitation. Under the condition that the mold will otherwise grow in large pellets (e.g., under a low level of spore inoculum), the enhancement in the penicillin production through addition of the thickening agents may be more significant. In tank fermentation, the thickening agent was introduced in the stage of preculture, rather than main culture. The increase in the broth viscosity caused by addition of the thickening agent resulted in a decrease in dissolved oxygen level, which could be compensated in the case of PEG 20000.     

Sub-100 nm patterning with an amorphous fluoropolymer mold

A fluoropolymer mold is introduced and used to pattern sub-100 nm features with the characteristics that cause problems in patterning with a mold. The low surface energy and inertness, stiffness, and permeable nature of the mold material make it possible to pattern without surface treatment densely populated very fine features, mixed patterns of small and large features, and features with a high aspect ratio, when the mold is used with a polymer solution for the patterning. The ultraviolet transparency of the mold material also allows for patterning with photocurable pre-polymers.     

Foamed crosslinked LDPE/PP blends made by hot mold injection molding

Foamed and crosslinked blends of LDPE and i-PP were investigated. The specimens were made by hot mold injection molding process at the temperature of the mold of 210°C. Azodicarbonamide as foaming agent and 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(tert.-butylperoxy)hexane as crosslinked agent were used. The chemical changes as a result of the crosslinking were determined by gel content. Thermal behavior of the blends was studied by DSC. The difference of influence of crosslinking agent on chemical changes of both polymers was established. An improvement of the mechanical properties due to crosslinking between PE and PP on their interface was observed. The interaction on the PE/PP interface was confirmed by phase transition parameters determined on the basis of DSC-curves.     

Surface crystallization of polypropylene

Crystallization of compression-molded isotactic polypropylene and polyethylene is invariably spherulitic; generally, nucleation occurs randomly throughout the sample. In a special case where nucleation predominates at the surface, spherulitic growth centers become crowded and are forced to propagate unidirectionally into the bulk (transcrystallinity). Conditions for the formation of transcrystallinity have been investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The occurrence of transcrystallinity is attributed to heterogeneous nucleation induced at the mold surface. To be effective, the mold surface must have a nucleating efficiency equal to or greater than that of adventitious nuclei present in the polymer. As the crystallization temperature approaches the melting point, the activity of mold surfaces is found to increase leading invariably to transcrystalline formation. The degree of activity of various mold surfaces correlates with the known activity of specific dispersed nucleating agents having similar chemical structures. Contrary to claims in the literature, the surface energy of the mold surface and temperature gradients across the melt surface do not play a primary role in transcrystalline formation of polypropylene.     

Molding block copolymer micelles: a framework for molding of discrete objects on surfaces

Soft lithography based on photocurable perfluoropolyether (PFPE) was used to mold and replicate poly(styrene-b-isoprene) block-copolymer micelles within a broad range of shapes and sizes including spheres, cylinders, and torroids. These physically assembled nanoparticles were first formed in a selective solvent for one block then deposited onto substrates having various surface energies in an effort to minimize the deformation of the micelles due to attractive surface forces. The successful molding of these delicate nanoparticles underscores two advantages of PFPE as a molding material. First, it allows one to minimize particle deformation due to adsorption by using low energy substrates. Second, PFPE is not miscible with the organic micelles and thus prevents their dissociation. For spherical PS-b-PI micelles, a threshold value of the substrate surface energy for the mold to lift-off cleanly, that is, the particles remain adhered to the substrate after mold removal was determined to be around gamma congruent with 54 mJ/m2. For substrates with higher surface energies (>54 mJ/m2), the micelles undergo flattening which increase the contact area and thus facilitate molding, although at the expense of particle deformation. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions of a molding range for substrate surface energies, which depends on the size, shape, and mechanical properties of the particles. In a similar fashion, cylindrical PS-b-PI micelles remain on the substrate at surface energies gamma>or=54 mJ/m2 after a mold removal. However, cylindrical micelles behaved differently at lower surface energies. These micelles ruptured due to their inability to slide on the surfaces during mold lift-off. Thus, the successful molding of extended objects is attainable only when the particle is adsorbed on higher energy substrates where deformation can still be kept at a minimum by using stronger materials such as carbon nanotubes for the master.     

Complex pattern formation by adhesion-controlled anisotropic wrinkling

We report complex pattern formation and shape control in the confinement-induced wrinkling that occurs when a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) mold is placed on a bilayer of metal and polymer and then heated. Various complex structures that are different from the mold pattern form through the self-organization of wrinkles. These complex structures could be inverted in shape by manipulating the work of adhesion at the interface between the mold and the metal surface. Convex wrinkles result when the work of adhesion is relatively large. However, inverted concave wrinkles emerge when it is relatively small. The ratio of the mold period to the intrinsic wrinkling wavelength is another factor that determines the shape. The ability to tailor the shape of a surface is expected to have a broad range of applications in electro-optics and microfluidics.     

Micro fabrication of microlens arrays by micro dispensing

In this study, master of the microlens arrays is fabricated using micro dispensing technology, and then electroforming technology is employed to replicate the Ni mold insert of the microlens arrays. Finally, micro hot embossing is performed to replicate the molded microlens arrays from the Ni mold insert. The resin material is used as the dispensing material, which is dropped on a glass substrate. The resin is exposed to a 380 W halogen light. It becomes convex under surface tension on the glass substrate. A master for the microlens arrays is then obtained. A 150‐nm‐thick copper layer is sputtered on the master as an electrically conducting layer. The electroforming method replicates the Ni mold insert from the master of the microlens arrays. Finally, micro hot embossing is adopted to replicate the molded microlens arrays. The micro hot embossing experiment employs optical films of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC). The processing parameters of micro hot embossing are processing temperature, embossing pressure, embossing time, and de‐molding temperature. Taguchi's method is applied to optimize the processing parameters of micro hot embossing for molded microlens arrays. An optical microscope and a surface profiler are utilized to measure the surface profile of the master, the Ni mold insert and the molded microlens arrays. AFM is employed to measure the surface roughness of the master, the Ni mold insert and the molded microlens arrays. The sag height and focal length are determined to elucidate the optical characteristics of the molded microlens arrays. Copyright © 2009 John & Sons, Ltd.     

聚合物三维微图案加工的转移微模塑新方法

光刻蚀技术是微电子加工技术中最成功的一种,但由于受到光学衍射等的限制,100nm是光刻蚀的极限,为此人们探索了许多先进的刻蚀技术,如超紫外线刻蚀(EUV)、软X射线刻蚀、电子束刻蚀和聚焦离子束刻蚀(FIB)等,可制作尺寸小于100nm的图形,但普遍存在加工速度慢及成本高等缺点.     

Design of experiment for optimization of plasma-polymerized octafluorocyclobutane coating on very high aspect ratio silicon molds

As-fabricated deep reactive ion etched (DRIE) silicon mold with very high aspect ratio (>10) feature patterns is unsuitable for poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) replication because of the strong interaction between the Si surface and the replica and the corrugated mold sidewalls. The silicon mold can be conveniently passivated via plasma polymerization of octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8), which is also employed in the DRIE process itself, to enable the mold to be used repeatedly. To optimize the passivation conditions, we have undertaken a Box-Behnken experimental design on the basis of three passivation process parameters (plasma power, C4F8 flow rate, and deposition time). The measured responses were fluorinated film thickness, demolding status/success, demolding force, and fluorine/carbon ratio on the fifth replica surface. The optimal passivation process conditions were predicted to be an input power of 195 W, a C4F8 flow rate of 57 sccm, and a deposition time of 364 s; these were verified experimentally to have high accuracy. Demolding success requires medium-deposited film thickness (66-91 nm), and the thickness of the deposited films correlated strongly with deposition time. At moderate to high ranges, increased plasma power or gas flow rate promoted polymerization over reactive etching of the film. It was also found that small quantities of the fluorinated surface were transferred from the Si mold to the PDMS at each replication, entailing progressive wear of the fluorinated layer.     

MODIFICATION OF EPOXY RESIN WITH POLYSILOXANE BEARING PENDANT QUATERNARY AMMONIUM GROUPS

Polysiloxane bearing pendant quaternary ammonium groups (PSI) was used to modify the surface properties ofepoxy resins. In the cured resin, PSI formed the dispersed phase. Remarkable enrichment and gradient distribution ofpolysiloxane on the surface region of the epoxy resins were demonstrated by XPS analysis. The composition and propertiesof the surface of PSI-modified epoxy resin, which is in contact with the mold, are dependent on the material of the mold.Through the incorporation of PSI, epoxy resins with low surface energy and low friction coefficient were obtained.Polysiloxane with lower ionic group content shows a higher degree of enrichment on the resin surface and leads to a highercontact angle against water, while the polysiloxane having optimum compatibility with the epoxy resin shows a greater effectin reducing the static friction coefficient of the resin against glass.     

镍表面三维微图形的复制加工

运用约束刻蚀剂层技术(CELT)在金属镍(Ni)表面实现三维微图形加工,以规整的三维齿状微结构作模板,获得可有效CELT加工的化学刻蚀和捕捉体系,在Ni表面得到了与齿状结构互补的三维微结构并应用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和原子力显微镜(AFM)表征刻蚀图案,证实CELT可用于金属表面Ni的三维微图形刻蚀加工．     

Highly oriented tunable wrinkling in polymer bilayer films confined with a soft mold induced by water vapor

The authors report the formation of highly oriented wrinkling on the surface of the bilayer [polystyrene (PS)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)] confined by a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold in a water vapor environment. When PVP is subjected to water vapor, the polymer loses its mechanical rigidity and changes to a viscous state, which leads to a dramatic change in Young's modulus. This change generates the amount of strain in the bilayer to induce the wrinkling. With a shape-controlled mold, they can get the ordered wrinkles perfectly perpendicular or leaned 45 degrees to the channel orientation of the mold because the orientation of the resultant force changes with the process of water diffusion which drives the surface to form the wrinkling. Additionally, they can get much smaller wrinkles than the stripe spacing of PDMS mold about one order. The wrinkle period changes with the power index of about 0.5 for various values of the multiplication product of the film thicknesses of the two layers, namely, lambda approximately (h(PS)h(PVP))(1/2).     

Surface‐directed morphology evolution in ternary blends of polyethylene,polypropylene, and ethylene–propylene copolymer: A study by laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy

With laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate a novel type of morphology evolution in moderately thick films (70–100 μm) of ternary blends of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and ethylene–propylene rubber (EPR), in which EPR is labeled with a benzothioxanthene dye (HY‐EPR). The blends are prepared by solution blending, and the phase morphology evolves during the annealing of the blend films in a stainless steel mold. Our results indicate that wetting of the mold surface is a driving force in morphology evolution for the two blend compositions investigated. For 81/14/5 PP/PE/HY‐EPR, phase evolution within the mold results in a laminar structure and hydrodynamic channels, features which have previously been found in thin films of polymer blends as a result of surface‐directed spinodal decomposition. In a blend with a lower weight fraction of the dispersed phase (92/7/1 PP/PE/HY‐EPR), we find that the PE/HY‐EPR domains are larger and more polydisperse closer to the surface because of wetting of the mold wall. We also show that the phase morphology in these films can be controlled by the nature of one or both of the surfaces being varied. When one of the mold surfaces is replaced with a thin film of PP homopolymer, we observe draining of PE/HY‐EPR from the PP to the mold surface, which results in a bilayer structure. A trilayer morphology is likewise obtained by the replacement of both mold surfaces with PP. We also carry out three‐dimensional image reconstruction on a single PE/HY‐EPR particle within the 81/14/5 PP/PE/HY‐EPR blend to obtain detailed information on the interphase structure. We find that HY‐EPR of this composition (30/70 ethylene/propylene) fully coats the PE dispersed phase and partially penetrates the PE droplets. This result falls between the interphase structures found for previously investigated EPR compositions (40/60 and 80/20 ethylene/propylene). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 637–654, 2003