Abstract
We investigated the fabrication of convex diamond-like carbon (DLC) based microgears in room-temperature curing nanoimprint lithography (RTC-NIL) using the ladder-type hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ), as an application for the medical micro electro mechanical system (MEMS). The HSQ which is an inorganic polymer of sol-gel system turns into a gel when exposed to air and has the siloxane bond. Therefore, the HSQ was used as RT-imprinting material, and also used as an oxide mask material in electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) oxygen (O2) ion shower etching. We fabricated the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold with concave microgear patterns which has 40, 50 and 60 μm-tip diameter and 300 nm-depth. We carried out the RTC-NIL process using the PDMS mold under the following optimum conditions of 0.10 MPa-imprinting pressure and 1.0 min-imprinting time. We found that the residual layer of imprinted HSQ microgear patterns was removed with ECR trifluoromethane (CHF3) ion shower under the following conditions of 300 eV-ion energy and 2.0 min-etching time, and then microgears of the HSQ on the DLC film were etched with ECR O2 ion shower under the following conditions of 400 eV-ion energy and 10 min-etching time. As a result, the convex DLC based microgears which have 40, 50 and 60 μm-tip diameter and 400 nm-height were fabricated with high accuracy in the new fabrication process of RTC-NIL.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. Robertson, Mater. Sci. Eng., R37, 129 (2002).
H.S. Zhang, J.L. Endrino, A. Anders, Appl. Surf. Sci., 255, 2551 (2008).
H. Tashiro, M. Nakaya, A. Hotta, Diamond Relat. Mater., 35, 7 (2013).
S.A Smallwood, K.C. Eapen, S.T. Patton, J.S. Zabinski, Wear, 260, 1179 (2006).
S. Kiyohara, T. Ikegaki, I. Ishikawa, H. Tanoue, H. Takikawa, Y. Taguchi, Y. Sugiyama, Y. Omata, Y. Kurashima, , edited by J.C. Amault, O.A. Williams, G.M. Swain, M. Nesladek and K.P. Loh, (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 1511, Boston, MA, 2013) mrsf12-1511-ee05-01.
K. Nakamatsu, K. Ishikawa, N. Taneichi, S. Matsui, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 46, 5388 (2007).
M. Kamiya, H. Tanoue, H. Takikawa, M. Taki, Y. Hasegawa, and M. Kumagai, Vucuum, 83, 510 (2009).
S. Kiyohara, S. Araki, Y. Kurashima, Y. Taguchi, Y. Sugiyama, Y. Omata, J. Mater. Sci. : Mater. Electron., 22, 183 (2011).
Z. Ma, J. Wu, W. Shen, L. Yan, X. Pan, J. Wang, Appl. Surf. Sci., 289, 533 (2014).
S. Kiyohara, I. Miyamoto, Nanotechnology, 7, 270 (1996).
T. Suganuma, J. Electron Microsc., 34, 328 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kiyohara, S., Shimizu, Y., Ishikawa, I. et al. Fabrication of Diamond-Like Carbon Microgears in Room-Temperature Curing Nanoimprint Lithography Using Ladder-Type Hydrogen Silsesquioxane. MRS Advances 1, 1119–1124 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2016.126
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2016.126