October 3, 2008: In providing a product solution to implement patented molecular transfer lithography (MxL) processes, a class of nanopatterning procedures that use water-dissolvable nanostructured polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) templates, TDI announces for sale the exaGlide 10 series.
The exaGlide 10 series is a lamination system that implements adhesion mechanisms that bond large area PVA templates coated with functional materials to substrates, from 25mm to 300mm in width. To achieve the MxL processes, after the exaGlide 10 completes the bonding process through thermal, UV, or moisture initiated adhesion mechanisms, the templates are then dissolved away in water leaving the nanopatterned functional material adhered to the surface of the substrate, ready for further processing or final use.
For large area nanopatterning of substrates from 25mm to 300mm in width, the exaGlide implements adhesion mechanisms to enable molecular transfer lithography processes with water dissolvable PVA templates for producing feature sizes to 10nm and below.
In addition to the exaGlide 10, TDI also manufactures and sells the water-dissolvable conformal PVA templates, which are replicated to specification from master surface topography.
“While the innovation of MxL lies within the chemistry of the water soluble PVA templates and associated transfer processes, tooling is required to realize the potential of this nanopatterning technology,” notes Charles Schaper, President and CEO of TDI. “The exaGlide 10, will allow the engineer and scientist to conveniently utilize the PVA water dissolvable templates to implement the MxL patterning processes, producing high resolution features on substrates, including silicon wafers, hard disks, and flexible films, in a reliable manner.”
High resolution, conformal nanopatterning templates, which dissolve in water but not in most functional materials such as resist and other organic polymers, enable the MxL class of processes, replicated conveniently from large area master topography.