Molds for NIL, Thermal Embossing, & Photolithography
We offer a variety of nanopatterned and micropatterned molds for roll-to-roll (R2R) and plate-to-plate (P2P) UV nanoimprint lithography (UV NIL), thermal embossing, extrusion, and photolithography. The molds are fabricated with SMS’s patented nanocoining process, which is unique in its ability to seamlessly pattern cylindrical molds for R2R processes hundreds of times faster than electron-beam lithography. Contact us if you would like more information or to discuss custom development.
Mold Specs
Materials: High-phosphorous nickel, copper, and aluminum. Seamless cylindrical photomasks are metal-coated glass or quartz.
Dimensions: Up to 6.5 inches in diameter and 6.5 inches long. Larger dimensions possible with equipment upgrade.
Form Factors: Flexible shims, seamless cylindrical drums, seamless cylindrical sleeves, and seamless cylindrical photomasks.
Flexible Shims For Batch Tests
Metal shims enable batch-scale testing using plate-to-plate nanoimprinters. Contact us for a list of in-stock metal shims.
Seamless Cylindrical Drums
Self-supporting molds can pattern films using roll-to-roll (R2R) processes like thermal embossing, UV nanoimprint lithography (UV NIL), and extrusion.
Seamless cylindrical sleeves
Thin sleeves that slide over mandrels in existing R2R setups offer thermal conduction that can be desirable for thermal embossing.
Seamless CYlindrical Photomasks
Seamless cylindrical photomasks enable R2R photolithography. The photomasks have UV-blocking regions with metal and UV-transparent regions without metal.
Feature Specs
Pitch: 200 nm to 8 microns demonstrated. Larger and smaller pitches possible with development.
Aspect Ratio: Up to about 0.7 (height:pitch).
Lattices: Square, hexagonal, and stochastic.
Shapes: Bumps, pillars, microlenses, pyramids, hierarchical features (nanofeatures on top of microfeatures), and more. SEM images of diamond dies and polymer replicas of our molds are shown below (molds will have inverted gender from SEM images).
