Functional Polymer Micro- and Nanostructures by Nanoimprint

Thermal nanoimprint is a physical molding technique for thermoplastic polymer patterning. In this paper, we explore the application of nanoimprint for nondestructive patterning of functional polymers. We found ubiquitous polymer chain alignment in polymer micro- and nanostructures patterned by nanoimprint. This discovery indicates nanoimprint can not only pattern functional polymers but also be used as a tool to finetune the properties of functional polymers. We also develop a novel scheme to remove residual layer in nanoimprint without dry etching. Isolated functional polymer structures are obtained by this technique. Finally, we demonstrate that this modified nanoimprint scheme can also be used to fabricate polymer nanowires. Coupled with nanoimprint's high-resolution, high-throughput and low-cost characteristics, the techniques developed in this work are expected to have significant impact on patterning functional polymer micro- and nanostructures for novel device applications in flexible electronics, optoelectronics, sensors and bioengineering.