Nanoimprint Lithography for Molecular-Motor-Based Devices

Abstract: Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) can be used for large scale fabrication of topologically structured surfaces. Structures with a resolution down to 10 nm can be manufactured. This report describes the NIL fabrication of a type of molecular-motor-based device. These devices have, up to now, been fabricated with electron beam lithography (EBL). By using NIL instead, future mass production of devices would be possible. The device has previously contained both 200 nm wide nanochannels as well as 80 micrometer wide, open areas, called loading zones. The large size difference is problematic in NIL. Patterns were therefore added to the open space of the loading zones. The designs created in this work were tested in Matlab simulations, performed by a collaborator. By patterning the loading zones it was also possible to control their loading speed. A NIL-compatible polymer resist, TU7, was tested as a material for the device structures. TU7 was shown to also compatible with the molecular motors in the device. A master stamp was used to fabricate an intermediate polymer stamp (IPS) in a NIL-process. The IPS was then used to imprint the structures in TU7, in a second NIL-process. The result of the imprint was successful.