Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has proven to achieve arbitrary, nanoscale features, over large areas, without the use of costly step-and-repeat UV lithography tools. The fidelity of the imprinted pattern depends on the elimination of the adhesion between the imprinted polymer and the imprinter upon withdrawal of the imprinter. The plasma deposition of a layer of fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC) has proven to be a successful anti-adhesion layer but in the past has required an entire diamond-like carbon (DLC) substrate. The requirement that the imprinter be made of DLC limits the imprinter processing and can limit the capabilities of NIL. DLC films are considered to be an amorphous state of carbon. They have properties similar to diamond proving them to be very strong with chemical inertness and low friction coefficients due to their sp3 and sp2 bonds. Dopants such as fluorine can alter the chemical properties of the DLC or the surface of the DLC. The incorporation of fluorine in DLC films greatly reduces the surface free energy while retaining many of the DLC properties. In this work, ultra-thin F-DLC is used as a NIL imprinter coating with a surface energy approaching 17.6 mJ/m2 to provide a durable anti-wear, anti-stick layer. DLC is a tough coating with a low surface energy and the fluorinated self-assembled monolayer on top of the DLC lowers the surface energy further while retaining the strength properties of the DLC. The application of an ultra-thin F-DLC anti-adhesion layer to standard NIL imprinter processing (SiO2 imprinters) as well as various other imprinter material systems (inorganics, metals, polymers) has not been previously tested. It may lead to a universal and ultra-thin (<5 >nm) coating for eliminating adhesion between the imprinter and the NIL sample resist.
","abstract_html":"<p>Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has proven to achieve arbitrary, nanoscale features, over large areas, without the use of costly step-and-repeat UV lithography tools. The fidelity of the imprinted pattern depends on the elimination of the adhesion between the imprinted polymer and the imprinter upon withdrawal of the imprinter. The plasma deposition of a layer of fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC) has proven to be a successful anti-adhesion layer but in the past has required an entire diamond-like carbon (DLC) substrate. The requirement that the imprinter be made of DLC limits the imprinter processing and can limit the capabilities of NIL. DLC films are considered to be an amorphous state of carbon. They have properties similar to diamond proving them to be very strong with chemical inertness and low friction coefficients due to their sp<sup>3</sup> and sp<sup>2</sup> bonds. Dopants such as fluorine can alter the chemical properties of the DLC or the surface of the DLC. The incorporation of fluorine in DLC films greatly reduces the surface free energy while retaining many of the DLC properties. In this work, ultra-thin F-DLC is used as a NIL imprinter coating with a surface energy approaching 17.6 mJ/m<sup>2</sup> to provide a durable anti-wear, anti-stick layer. DLC is a tough coating with a low surface energy and the fluorinated self-assembled monolayer on top of the DLC lowers the surface energy further while retaining the strength properties of the DLC. The application of an ultra-thin F-DLC anti-adhesion layer to standard NIL imprinter processing (SiO<sub>2</sub> imprinters) as well as various other imprinter material systems (inorganics, metals, polymers) has not been previously tested. It may lead to a universal and ultra-thin (<5 >nm) coating for eliminating adhesion between the imprinter and the NIL sample resist.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fillman, Ryan Winfield"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.S. in Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Electrical & Computer Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Krchnavek, Robert"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009-08-03T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2009-08-03T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:21Z","subjects":["Lithography--Printing; Nanoscience; Nanoimprint lithography","Electrical and Computer Engineering","Nanotechnology Fabrication"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/612","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Krchnavek, Robert"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fillman, Ryan Winfield"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Electrical & Computer Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S. in Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Lithography--Printing; Nanoscience; Nanoimprint lithography","Electrical and Computer Engineering","Nanotechnology Fabrication"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/612"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has proven to achieve arbitrary, nanoscale features, over large areas, without the use of costly step-and-repeat UV lithography tools. The fidelity of the imprinted pattern depends on the elimination of the adhesion between the imprinted polymer and the imprinter upon withdrawal of the imprinter. The plasma deposition of a layer of fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC) has proven to be a successful anti-adhesion layer but in the past has required an entire diamond-like carbon (DLC) substrate. The requirement that the imprinter be made of DLC limits the imprinter processing and can limit the capabilities of NIL. DLC films are considered to be an amorphous state of carbon. They have properties similar to diamond proving them to be very strong with chemical inertness and low friction coefficients due to their sp3 and sp2 bonds. Dopants such as fluorine can alter the chemical properties of the DLC or the surface of the DLC. The incorporation of fluorine in DLC films greatly reduces the surface free energy while retaining many of the DLC properties. In this work, ultra-thin F-DLC is used as a NIL imprinter coating with a surface energy approaching 17.6 mJ/m2 to provide a durable anti-wear, anti-stick layer. DLC is a tough coating with a low surface energy and the fluorinated self-assembled monolayer on top of the DLC lowers the surface energy further while retaining the strength properties of the DLC. The application of an ultra-thin F-DLC anti-adhesion layer to standard NIL imprinter processing (SiO2 imprinters) as well as various other imprinter material systems (inorganics, metals, polymers) has not been previously tested. It may lead to a universal and ultra-thin (<5 >nm) coating for eliminating adhesion between the imprinter and the NIL sample resist.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Towards a universal ultra-thin fluorinated diamond-like carbon coating for nanoimprint lithography imprinters"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Krchnavek, Robert"],"dc:creator":["Fillman, Ryan Winfield"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has proven to achieve arbitrary, nanoscale features, over large areas, without the use of costly step-and-repeat UV lithography tools. The fidelity of the imprinted pattern depends on the elimination of the adhesion between the imprinted polymer and the imprinter upon withdrawal of the imprinter. The plasma deposition of a layer of fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC) has proven to be a successful anti-adhesion layer but in the past has required an entire diamond-like carbon (DLC) substrate. The requirement that the imprinter be made of DLC limits the imprinter processing and can limit the capabilities of NIL. DLC films are considered to be an amorphous state of carbon. They have properties similar to diamond proving them to be very strong with chemical inertness and low friction coefficients due to their sp3 and sp2 bonds. Dopants such as fluorine can alter the chemical properties of the DLC or the surface of the DLC. The incorporation of fluorine in DLC films greatly reduces the surface free energy while retaining many of the DLC properties. In this work, ultra-thin F-DLC is used as a NIL imprinter coating with a surface energy approaching 17.6 mJ/m2 to provide a durable anti-wear, anti-stick layer. DLC is a tough coating with a low surface energy and the fluorinated self-assembled monolayer on top of the DLC lowers the surface energy further while retaining the strength properties of the DLC. The application of an ultra-thin F-DLC anti-adhesion layer to standard NIL imprinter processing (SiO2 imprinters) as well as various other imprinter material systems (inorganics, metals, polymers) has not been previously tested. It may lead to a universal and ultra-thin (<5 >nm) coating for eliminating adhesion between the imprinter and the NIL sample resist.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/612"],"dc:subject":["Lithography--Printing; Nanoscience; Nanoimprint lithography","Electrical and Computer Engineering","Nanotechnology Fabrication"],"dc:title":["Towards a universal ultra-thin fluorinated diamond-like carbon coating for nanoimprint lithography imprinters"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Electrical & Computer Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S. in Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:21Z"}