Ni micro-nano structures fabrication through electroplating

Ni based nano/micro structures are wildly applied in fabrication of nano/micro imprint template, meta-surface, diffractive elements, etc. In this work, the fabrication of Ni structures by electroplating method on a AIST resist is studied. AIST is first deposited on glass substrate to form a layer of thin film. Then, the film is exposed to arbitrary pattern structure by laser direct writing system. And the exposed region changes from amorphous state to crystalline state due to photo-thermal physical reaction. Owing to the different development rates of the exposed region and the non-exposed region, the micro/nano structures can be obtained. Subsequently, continuous Ni structures were formed by electroplating method on the former AIST structure which confirmed by the images of optical microscope(OM) and scanning electron microscope(SEM). This work greatly broadens the application scope and prospect of direct laser writing in heat- mode lithography technology.