Antiadhesion considerations for UV nanoimprint lithography

Low surface energy fluorosilane layers are widely used as release coatings for quartz templates in UV nanoimprint lithography, yet they are generally found to degrade with use. It is found that these layers are chemically attacked when used with UV cured methacrylate and vinyl ether resists, as found previously for acrylate resists, leading to the conclusion that low reactivity and not low surface energy is of importance for effective release layers. It is shown that an ion-beam deposited diamondlike carbon release coating is a useful alternative, having both stability in a reactive environment and lower adhesion despite its higher surface energy. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.