Evaluation of ultrathin films of polymeric resists for nanoimprint lithography

This paper describes the techniques used to identify fundamental surface properties of ultrathin (200-300 nm) resist films devoted to be applied in nanoimprint lithography (NIL). The procedure is used both for unmodified and modified resist films to identify their crucial properties for NIL applications like surface free energy (adhesive-stiction properties), nanomechanical and nanotribological-nanorheological behaviors. The set of the tests on such materials consists of the three groups of the tests: atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of the surface morphology (roughness), lateral (friction) and adhesion (pull-off force) of the film deposited on silicon substrate; wettability studies of the film and mechanical, tribological and adhesive tests versus temperature.