Hot embossing in microfabrication. Part I: Experimental

The relationship among processing conditions, material properties, and part quality in hot embossing was investigated for three optical polymers: polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polyvinyl butyral (PVB). A series of systematic embossing experiments was conducted using mold inserts having either single or multiple feature depths. The feature dimensions varied from 90 to 3000 μm. The processing conditions studied include embossing pressure, thermal cycles, and heating methods. The displacement profile, replication accuracy and molded‐in stresses were measured experimentally. It was found that for isothermal embossing, both replication accuracy and birefringence pattern depend strongly on the processing conditions. For non‐isothermal embossing, the molded parts showed excellent replication as long as the feature transfer was completed. The flow pattern under isothermal embossing resembles a biaxial extensional flow. Under non‐isothermal embossing, the polymer deformation involves an upward flow along the wall of mold features, followed by downward compression and outward squeezing. Rheological characterization and hot embossing analysis are presented in Part II.     

Hot embossing precise structure onto plastic plates by ultrasonic vibration

Hot embossing achieves excellent performance in replicating precise features onto large plastic plates. It has become a popular approach because microstructures in master molds can now be easily made using Lithographie GaVanoformung Abformung (LIGA) and micro‐electro‐mechanical‐system (MEMS) technologies. However, there are still some unsolved problems that confound the overall success of this technology. Long cycle times caused by conventional electric or hot oil heating is one of them. This research attempted to use ultrasonic vibration as a heat generator for hot embossing. The first part of this study investigated the replication capacity of ultrasonic‐heating embossing of both amorphous and semicrystalline plastic plates; the second part of this study examined the effects of various ultrasonic vibration parameters on the contour of replicated structure; and the third part of this study identified the relative significance of all these parameters on molded part quality. In addition, the temperature profiles at different depths of the embossed plates by ultrasonic vibration were measured. The experimental results in this study suggest that ultrasonic vibrated hot embossing could provide an effective way of molding precise structure onto polymeric plates. This would provide significant advantages in terms of a shorter cycle time as well as improved product quality. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:915–925, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Hot embossing in microfabrication. Part II: Rheological characterization and process analysis

The dynamic shear viscosity and the transient extensional viscosity of polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polyvinyl butyral (PVB) were measured at temperatures near and far above their glass transition temperatures. The temperature sensitivity of rheological properties was used to explain the displacement curves during embossing. Numerical simulation of the embossing process was also carried out to compare with the observed polymer flow patterns. It was found that the simulated flow pattern during isothermal embossing agrees fairly well with the experimental observation. The deviation between the simulated and experimental results at the late stage of embossing may be due to air entrapment between the mold feature and the polymer substrate. For non‐isothermal embossing, the observed flow pattern can also be reasonably simulated, i.e. the polymer flows upward along the wall of the heated mold feature, and then compresses downward and squeezes outward. Temperature sensitivity of the dynamic shear viscosity and the transient extensional viscosity is similar for all three polymers. This correlates well with the initial displacement curves in isothermal embossing. Over a longer time, the strain hardening effect of the transient extensional viscosity seems to play a major role in the displacement curves.     

Hot embossing of moth eye-like nanostructure array on transparent glass with enhanced antireflection for solar cells

Antireflection (AR) silicon and glass surfaces are necessarily required for solar cells, because a reflective silicon solar cell with a glass covering will reflect a percentage of sunlight. In this work, we demonstrate a universal and scalable net-shape nanofabrication method for broadband nanostructured AR surface on transparent glass, intended for solar cell applications. Moth eye-like glass nanopillars with various diameters were successfully fabricated by a combination of precision hot embossing and ultrasonic vibration demolding process. The morphologies of nanopillars were detected to characterize different profiles formed by glass flow at elevated temperatures. Facile optical experiments were designed and conducted to measure the AR performance at varying wavelengths and angle of incidences and the proposed nanostructures exhibit excellent AR property. Additionally, a feasible optical modeling is developed and compared with the measurement to evaluate the theoretical optical behaviors of glass nanostructures based on their embossed shapes. The inexpensive and environmental hot embossing method with ultrasonic vibration demolding is expected to create AR glass nanostructured surfaces for widespread applications such as solar cells, displays and laser systems.     

Electrophoretic deposition for fabrication of ceramic microparts

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is mostly used for producing moulds and layers. The present work shows the fabrication of ceramic microparts by the use of structured electrodes. As electrode structures euro coins and spinning nozzles were used. Additionally a cost effective and simple method was developed, which allows preserving the original master mould by using microstructured silicone moulds as substrate. This was enabled by coating the silicone moulds with graphite to obtain an electrically conductive surface, required for electrophoretic deposition.     

Control of chemical embossing technology

To achieve highly decorative, textured finishes on blown PVC wall covering and flooring products, blowing agent inhibitors are printed on pre-blown sheeting. By inhibiting blow in the printed area, simulated leather and geometric patterns can be developed. Such products have wide consumer appeal. This study presents methodology for determining the efficiency of a series of proposed inhibitors. The most pronounced inhibitive effects on the blow of azodicarbonamide (AZDA) come from the use of phenolic compounds and polyamines. Careful selection of carrier solvents will control inadvertent diffusion transport of the inhibitor towards AZDA particles. An anomalous catalytic effect of maleic anhydride was observed in this study.     

Characterization of microinjection molding process for milligram polymer microparts

Injection molding small milligram components requires precise metering and high‐speed injection. Industrially, metering can be maintained either by using small injection screws (≤14 mm in diameter) or plungers as small as 3 mm diameter and/or by having very large sprues and runners. Although large sprues and runners increase metering volume, they hide the effect of process parameters on microcomponents. Consequently, knowledge of conventional injection molding is not transferable to microinjection molding, making quality control and optimization difficult. We investigated the filling and postfilling behavior of 25 mm³ microdumbbell specimens with 289 mm³ sprue and runner by in‐line process monitoring. Design of Experiments were carried out to characterize the effects of process parameters on cavity filling and postfilling behavior. Process characterization indicated that the machine transition from velocity control to pressure control (V‐P transition) was around 10 ms: this was comparable to cavity filling time and had a significant effect on cavity filling behavior. Traditional short shot trials cannot provide the correct shot size for small parts, but introduce the effect of holding pressure into cavity filling. Based on a shot size optimization method using only cavity pressure and screw velocity, we eliminated the effect of holding parameters on cavity filling. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1458–1470, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

An engineering study of the film embossing process

A mathematical model of the dynamics and heat transfer of the film embossing process has been developed. The thermal analysis around the preheat roll is determined from an unsteady, two-dimensional heat conduction equation along with appropriate boundary conditions by neglecting the curvature of the preheat roll and choosing a Lagrangian reference frame. The heat transfer occurring between the preheat roll and the embossing rolls is based on a one-dimensional analysis, including both convective and radiative effects. The deformation occurring in the nip region is analyzed for two different situations. For the case where the surface features are small in comparison with the film thickness, a modified one-dimennsional calendering analysis is given, accounting for the irregular geometry of the embossing roll surface. For the case where the polymer does not make complete contact with the surface of the engraved channel, the local deformation is determined by means of a simple one-dimensional cavity filling model. The required pressure distribution is determined by means of a simple one-dimensional cavity filling model, The required pressure distribution is determined by means of a conventional calendering analysis. The analysis for the case of a Newtonian and power-law model is presented in detail. The model yields qualitatively correct results and is computationally simple.     

Effects of solid loading on the fabrication of ceramic microparts by soft molding

The effects of solid loading on the fabrication of ceramic microparts by soft molding were studied. Alumina microchannel parts of different dimensions (60–160 µm) were fabricated from well-dispersed suspensions with different solid loadings (70, 75 and 80 wt%). The structural integrity of the green microchannel parts was examined to study the moldability of the suspensions. It was found that the minimum feature size and linear shrinkage of the microchannel parts decreased with increasing solid loading, while the green density and sintered density showed the opposite trend. The reasons for incomplete filling and demolding failures were also discussed.     

Constant‐temperature embossing of supercooled polymer films

In conventional hot embossing, a thermoplastic polymer undergoes phase transitions in liquid, semi‐solid, and solid states through cyclic heating and cooling. This paper, in contrast, describes the development of a constant‐temperature embossing process and compares its characteristics against standard hot embossing. The new process utilizes the crystallizing nature of supercooled polymer films to obtain the necessary phase transitions. By softening and crystallizing the supercooled polymer at the same temperature, the embossing and solidification stages can be carried out isothermally without a cooling step. PET, due to its relatively slow crystallizing kinetics, was chosen as a model material for this study. The embossed films with microgroove patterns of different sizes and aspect ratios were characterized for their replication fidelity and accuracy. For supercooled PET films, constant‐temperature embossing with high replication quality and acceptable demolding characteristics was achieved in a large processing temperature window between T_g and T_m of PET. A parametric process study involving changes of the embossing temperature and embossing time was conducted, and the results indicated that the optimal process parameters for constant‐temperature embossing can be derived from the crystallization kinetics of the polymer. The removal of thermal cycling is a major advantage of constant‐temperature embossing over conventional hot embossing and represents an important process characteristic desired in industrial production. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1100–1112, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Kneading and molding of ceramic microparts by precision powder injection molding (PIM)

This paper investigates the kneading and formability of microparts made using alumina in micro‐powder injection molding. In this study, quality feedstock with uniform powder dispersion was achieved when optimum kneading process was performed. In addition, the thin microplates were successfully manufactured using a custom‐made injection machine. Shrinkage was significantly reduced in microspecimens when the mold temperature was increased to 70°C. The results of flow visualization were conformed to that of experiments in this study. A very important result for flow visualization and experiment was molten polymer filled the cavity by shortest period producing a least shrinkage in microparts. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 892–899, 2006     

Study on squeezing flow during nonisothermal embossing of polymer microstructures

A numerical simulation of the hot embossing process with nonisothermal embossing conditions was carried out to observe the flow pattern of poly (methyl methacrylate) into microcavities. The microcavity was isomorphically downsized. The ratio of the cavity width over the cavity thickness was maintained constant at 8:1 throughout the analysis, while the cavity thickness varied from 200 μm to 0.5 μm. It was found that as the microcavity was downsized, the filling mechanism varied. For larger cavity thicknesses (e.g., 100 μm), the polymer flow climbed along the wall of the heated die and was then compressed downward and squeezed outward. In contrast, for a smaller cavity thickness (e.g., 5 μm), the flow was uniform and the wall‐climbing flow was absent. This size effect was correlated with the uniformity (UNF) of the temperature distribution of the polymer substrate during the embossing process. For larger cavity thicknesses, the high temperature zone was localized in the vicinity of the die wall, and consequently localized wall‐climbing flow occurred. The size effect in nonisothermal embossing was also studied experimentally, and localized flow was observed for larger cavities but not for smaller cavities. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:652–660, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Analysis of polymer flow in embossing stage during thermal nanoimprint lithography

Viscous polymer flow in embossing stage during thermal nanoimprint lithography was investigated. Flow behavior of the thermoplastic polymer was analyzed numerically and experimentally. Fixed grid scheme along with the finite element method was used for numerical analysis. Effects of process parameters such as the temperature, the stamp speed, and the stamp geometry on the filling pattern for single cavity were studied. Also the patterns with several cavities were analyzed to understand the flow behavior between adjacent cavities. Experiments were performed using PMMA sheets to confirm the effects of parameters obtained from numerical analyses. Two different types of geometries were considered and the filled patterns were observed using a scanning electron microscopy. Numerical results exhibited a similar tendency as the experimental observation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces on a glass substrate via hot embossing

This study developed a new hot pressing process to prepare superhydrophobic surfaces with controllable shape and size on a glass substrate. Microstructures were fabricated on tungsten carbide mold via picosecond laser processing. Microgroove structures were reproduced on glass during the hot embossing process and SiO₂ nanoparticles laid on the mold were also embedded into the glass surface under the action of heat and pressure to provide nanostructures. The contact angle of the superhydrophobic glass surface reached up to 161.8°, and the sliding angle was only 3°. The structures and chemical composition of superhydrophobic glass surface were identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The 3D laser scanning microscopy result showed the height (20 μm) of the microgroove structures, while white light interferometry revealed the surface roughness (Ra 2.725 μm). The superhydrophobic glass surface demonstrated satisfactory temperature resistance and chemical stability through temperature and acid and alkali solution immersion tests. The surface exhibited certain mechanical stability by friction and wear test. This work provides a new hot embossing method for solving the problem of structural consistency and mass production of superhydrophobic glass, and will have great application prospects in the engineering field.     

Replication of plastic thin film by microfeature mould in large area hot embossing

Abstract

This study determines the replication property and surface roughness of microfeatures of a Ni mould that combines electroforming and large area hot embossing. The metal mould first uses a 4 in. silicon wafer to fabricate a master using the UV-LIGA method, and then applies the sputtering method to sputter the copper element as the seed layer on the surface of the master. The electroforming method is used to manufacture the Ni mould insert from the master with the seed layer. Finally, this study uses thin film of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) material to replicate the microfeatures of Ni mould insert by large area hot embossing. This study shows the replication properties and surface roughness of different microfeature shapes and sizes for the Ni mould insert and moulded PMMA on large area hot embossing. Experimental results show the average error in height of the microfeature is 0·61 μm for the Ni mould insert and moulded PMMA. The average error in surface roughness of the microfeature is 1·63 nm for the Ni mould insert and moulded PMMA. Experimental results show the good replication and surface roughness of moulded PMMA are replicated from the Ni mould insert by large area hot embossing.     

Spatial gas effect on the deformation behavior of embossed glass microstructures in hot embossing

Glass hot embossing is a well-established and cost-effective manufacturing method for glass microstructures. However, the spatial volume affects deformation behaviors in closed mold cavities, which determines the final shape of the embossed glass. To investigate the spatial gas effect on the glass deformation mechanism during hot embossing, we used the focused ion beam (FIB) to fabricate blind micro-hole array structures with different depths as embossing templates. The experimental results demonstrated that the spatial volume of the mold cavity has a great influence on the energy of gas expansion, thus affecting the deformation height of glass microstructures during hot embossing. The deeper the cavity depth, the bigger the surface tension, resulting in larger surface concave deformation. Due to the surface tension of gas expansion, the deformation height of the edge zone is higher than that of the center zone at a higher embossing temperature until the heated glass is completely compressed into the mold cavity. Additionally, at lower embossing temperatures (520 °C), the heated glass has a large deformation resistance and elastic recovery. The more deformation volume escape from the shallower mold cavity because of the spatial effect, thus the deformation height decreases as the cavity depth reduces. The work provides a better understanding of manufacturing glass microstructures in hot embossing.     

Zero flash ultrasonic micro embossing on foamed polymer substrates: A proof of concept

This article reviews a novel method to produce microembossed features with an aspect ratio of three and negligible flash on polymer surfaces. An embossing technique that utilizes localized heating (ultrasonic energy) was used with polystyrene and polypropylene substrates. It was demonstrated that when foamed substrates were used, the amount of flash produced was negligible compared to nonfoamed substrates, which has been a significant unresolved problem with embossing using localized heating. The depth of microembossed features as a function of heating times and amplitudes of ultrasonic embossing is detailed in this article, along with a characterization of complex embossed geometries. It was seen that embossing depth was generally proportional to heating time and amplitude until the maximum feature depth was achieved. Although this article deals with embossing of microfeatures for lab‐on‐a‐CD applications, it is envisioned that it is also suitable for lab‐on‐a‐chip applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Through‐thickness embossing process for fabrication of three‐dimensional thermoplastic parts

The standard embossing process is limited to the fabrication of surface structures on relatively large polymer substrates. To overcome this limitation, a hybrid punching and embossing process was investigated for through‐thickness embossing of three‐dimensional parts. The embossing tool included a punching head and to‐be‐ replicated features in the socket behind the punching head. The built‐in punching head facilitated a through‐thickness action and provided a closed‐die environment for embossing pressure buildup. The method was used to emboss multichannel millimeter waveguides which requires uniform edges and accurate dimensions. With a tool temperature of 140°C, an embossing time of 3 min and a total cycle time of 7 min, discrete 4‐channel waveguides were successfully embossed from a room‐temperature ABS substrate. A computer model was established to study the flow behavior during through‐thickness embossing. It was found that nonisothermal embossing conditions help confine the polymer in the cavity and reduce the outflow into the surrounding region, thus achieving complete fill of the cavity. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:2075–2084, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers