Precise nanoinjection molding through local film heating system

The temperature control of the mold surface is a key determinant for precision nanoreplication in polymer processing. Here, we introduce a new local film heating system (LFHS) that can precisely control the local mold wall temperature in the nanoinjection molding process. A metal stamp with nanostructures was prepared using micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) techniques. We fabricated polymeric nanostructures using LFHS integrated injection molding and carried out modeling on the relevant physical phenomena such as molding and the optical and structural behaviors of the injection molded parts. The findings showed that the application of the LFHS to injection molding led to uniform volumetric shrinkage and high nanopattern quality over the entire part. In addition, the ejection behavior of nanopatterns in the injection molding was modeled to understand the physics of the burr generation.