Recent developments and design challenges in continuous roller micro- and nanoimprinting

As an emerging technology for the manufacture of micro-and nano-scale patterns, continuous imprinting; otherwise known as roll-to-roll or roller imprinting, is attracting interest from researchers around the world because of its inherent advantages of low cost, high throughput, large area patterning. This technology is an evolutionary advance on the more traditional nanoimprint lithography developed in the 1990s, which is considered a batch mode, or dis-continuous patterning approach. In recent years, a number of commercial applications have been discovered which require low cost, large area patterning, particularly displays, optical coatings and films, and biological applications such as anti-fouling surfaces and micro-fluidic devices. This review covers a variety of continuous imprinting approaches, highlights challenges, and surveys progress towards high speed production of micro-and nanoscale features for these applications and others using this platform technology. (C) 2012 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3661355]