Fabrication of large-area V-groove microstructures using gasbag-pressuring edge-irradiating UV imprinting

UV imprinting has been one of the most productive replication techniques due to its low imprinting pressure and temperature. The conventional UV resin is cured by direct irradiation from the bottom. Space management and energy consumption become problems as the areas are getting larger and larger. Another problem is the uniformity of imprinting pressure, which is higher near the center with conventional platen-pressuring imprinting. In this study, we develop an innovative side-emitting UV-curing gasbag-pressuring imprinting mechanism for large area microstructure replication. An imprinting system based on such integration has been designed and implemented. V-groove microstructures has been imprinted onto a PMMA plate with dimensions of 380 mm × 230 mm × 3 mm for light enhancement. The optical performance and the profile of microstructures have been verified.