Direct metal nano-patterning on irregular substrate surfaces by reversal imprint lithography

We demonstrate a new direct metal patterning method to form nanoscale patterns on irregularly shaped substrates through a reversal imprint process, called Reversal Imprint Metal Transfer (RIMT). Using commonly processed nano patterns in resist after metal deposition before lift-off procedure, instead of being removed through lift-off, the metal on top of the resist is transferred to another irregular substrate such as a tip, a sidewall, an optic fiber and a glass wedge face by a reversal imprint. This method is able to improve the efficiency of nanolithography by smplying the whole processes, while realize the possibility to create metal patterns on irregular substrates which might be extremely difficult to be achieved by conventional lithography methods.