Nanoimprinting with Amorphous Metals

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。纳米印迹技术可以低成本地制造微纳米器件，应用于数据处理和存储、光子学和生物医学等多个领域。纳米印迹技术的成功和普及，关键取决于制造坚固耐用的模板。以前的研究主要集中在硅模板的使用上。由于它们的脆性和有限的寿命，本研究的重点是非晶金属，它们具有比目前纳米印迹中使用的材料更优越的机械性能，并且没有固有的尺寸限制。在这个建议中，可以印入非晶金属的最小特征将通过利用一些非晶金属的热塑性成形性来评估。此外，用于热塑性加工的非晶金属的独特软化行为将被用于开发纳米压印的多功能工具箱。这包括使用无定形金属作为模具材料和作为压印材料。此外，通过热塑性成型将主模具复制成非晶金属子模具和孙女模具将进行评估。这项研究将为数据存储、生物技术、半导体集成电路、太阳能电池和催化剂等广泛应用开发一种可行的、基础的纳米制造工艺。此外，表征金属玻璃的基本变形行为将产生纳米图案学的新前沿知识。因此，拟议研究的成功将有助于美国美国在纳米技术方面的竞争力，使美国工业受益，并将潜在地产生重大的经济影响。该研究将使研究生和本科生接触和训练非晶金属及其在纳米制造新技术领域的应用。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Nanoimprinting promises low cost fabrication of micro- and nano-devices in various fields of application including data processing and storage, photonics, and biomedicine. The success and proliferation of nanoimprinting critically rely on the manufacturing of robust and durable templates. Previous research has been focused on the use of Silicon templates. Due to their brittle nature and limited longevity, this research focuses on amorphous metals with superior mechanical properties over currently used materials in nanoimprinting and the absence of an intrinsic size limitation. Within this proposal the smallest features that can be imprinted into amorphous metals will be evaluated by utilizing the thermoplastic formability of some amorphous metals. Furthermore the unique softening behaviour of amorphous metals, which is utilized for thermoplastic processing will be exploited to develop a versatile toolbox for nanoimprinting. This includes the use of amorphous metals as a mold material and as an imprint material. In addition, the replication of a master mold into amorphous metal daughter and granddaughter molds through thermoplastic forming will be evaluated. This research will develop an enabling and fundamental nanomanufacturing process for a wide range of applications including data storage, biotechnology, semiconductor ICs, solar cells, and catalysts. Furthermore, characterizing of the fundamental deformation behavior of metallic glasses will generate new cutting-edge knowledge in nanopatterning. Thus, the success of the proposed research will aid U.S.'s competitiveness in nanotechnology, benefit U.S industry, and will potentially have significant economic impact. The research will expose and train graduate and undergraduate students to amorphous metals and their usage in the new technology area of nanomanufacturing.