On the mechanism of low-pressure imprint lithography: Capillarity vs viscous flow

Dominant mechanisms in low-pressure imprint lithography processes have been identified for the regimes that are definable in terms of applied pressure, temperature, and mold material characteristics. Capillarity is found to be the dominant mechanism at high temperature and low pressure when stiff, hard molds are used. In the case of flexible thin-film (∼20 μm) molds, both the capillarity and the viscous flow are involved. Both mechanisms are operative in the initial stage of the imprinting, but the capillarity takes over as time progresses.