Dislocation dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the effect of template shape on the nano-imprinting of metal layers. To this end, metal thin films were imprinted by a rigid template made of an array of equispaced indenters of various shapes, i.e., rectangular, wedge, and circular. The geometry of the indenters was chosen such that the contact area was approximately the same at the final imprinting depth. Results showed that, for all template shapes, the final patterns strongly depended upon the dislocation activity, and that each imprint differs from the neighbouring ones. Large material pile ups appeared between the imprints, such that polishing of the metal layer was suggested for application of the patterns in electronics. Rectangular indenters required the lowest imprinting force and achieve the deepest retained imprints.

Effect of Template Shape on Metal Nanoimprinting: a Dislocation Dynamics Study. Y.Zhang, L.Nicola: Journal of Zhejiang University - Science A, 2010, 11[10], 722-6