Preparation of an Integrated Polarization Navigation Sensor via a Nanoimprint Photolithography Process

Based on the navigation strategy of insects utilizing the polarized skylight, an integrated polarization sensor for autonomous navigation is presented. The polarization sensor is fabricated using the proposed nanoimprint photolithography (NIPL) process by integrating a nanograting polarizer and an image chip. The NIPL process uses a UV-transparent variant template with nanoscale patterns and a microscale metal light-blocking layer. During the NIPL process, part of the resist material is pressed to fill into the nanofeatures of the variant template and is cured under UV exposure. At the same time, the other parts of the resist material create micropatterns according to the light-blocking layer. Polymer-based variant templates can be used for conformal contacts on non-flat substrates with excellent pattern transfer fidelity. The NIPL process is suitable for cross-scale micro-nano fabrication in wide applications. The measurement error of the polarization angle of the integrated polarization sensor is +/- 0.2 degrees; thus, it will have a good application prospect in the polarization navigation application.