Investigation of Template Releasing Energy in Nanoimprint Lithography

To investigate template releasing process in nanoimprint lithography, template releasing energy (i.e. surface energy between the template and the resist polymer) in various releasing conditions is evaluated using multi-axial controlled releasing system. The releasing energy is in proportion to the surface free energy of the template, but does not depend on the velocity of releasing. Also, a peeling mode where the template is released from a single side and a lift-off mode where the template is removed in the perpendicular direction to the resist are examined. The result shows that the releasing energy by peeling mode is lower than that by lift-off modes.