Solid state superionic stamping design for large area patterning

Solid state superionic stamping (S4) is a non-photolithographic process for etching features into thin metal films which has shown the capability of reproducing features below 100 nm in recent years. The technique has significant potential because in addition to its high resolution capability it is both fast and inexpensive. Potential applications for this process include applied plasmonic and surface enhanced Raman scattering substrates, as well as a many other devices which this process would allow to be scaled-down economically. Previous generations of stamps for this process were developed primarily to test the fundamental limits of the technique. However, for S4 to become practically applicable in an industrial setting requires a body of knowledge surrounding stamp fabrication that allows the stamps to be simpler to produce than an alternate method for fabricating S4 processed substrates. Specifically, S4 stamp generation has been hindered by the ability to generate extremely high quality surfaces. With that in mind, several methods for working with traditional Ag2S stamps were examined. One goal was to produce larger diameter stamps without resorting to extensive waste of Ag2S. The ductile nature of the material was exploited to change the geometry of the material to increase the portion of the stamp actively participating in etching metal. These larger diameter films were also exploited in an attempt to produce sputtering targets in the hope of generating a new method for fabricating high quality stamps. In contrast to work with the previously demonstrated Ag2S stamps, alternative materials for S4 patterning were also examined based on applicability to the S4 process. A class of silver conducting superionic materials was identified as potentially beneficial for S4 based on their low melting points and glass transition temperatures. These compounds opened the possibility of a nano-imprint inspired stamp generation process that would scale to significantly larger areas while producing higher quality stamp surfaces. The silver iodide silver metaphosphate glass system was singled out as most promising for S4 stamps. This material was synthesized, characterized, and developed into a rudimentary S4 stamp, where it demonstrated a significant improvement over the previously reported superionic stamp materials. Silver features as small as 30 nm were reproduced from a silicon mold with nanoscale dots. Overall these scalable glass stamps possess similar resolution to previous stamps, while being facile to fabricate.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theoretical & Applied Mechans

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Jacobs, Kyle E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ferreira, Placid M.

• solid state superionic stamping
• nanopatterning
• plasmonics
• silver sulfide
• silver metaphosphate

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2011 Kyle Jacobs

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/26232

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/26232