TY - JOUR

T1 - Experimental Investigation of the Rapid Fabrication of Micronand Submicron Structures on Polymers Utilizing Ultrasonic Assisted Embossing

AU - Zhu, Yongyong

AU - Bengsch, Sebastian

AU - Zheng, Lei

AU - Long, Yangyang

AU - Roth, Bernhard Wilhelm

AU - Wurz, Marc Christopher

AU - Twiefel, Jens

AU - Wallaschek, Jörg

N1 - Funding Information: Funding: This project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy within the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD (EXC 2122, Project ID 390833453). Funding Information: Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) for the financial and organizational support of this project.

PY - 2021/8/1

Y1 - 2021/8/1

N2 - Small-scale optical components with micron or submicron features have grown in popularity in recent years. High-quality, high-efficient, and cost-effective processing approaches for polymer optics mass production are an urgent need. In this study, ultrasonic vibration will be introduced in embossing. The major advantage is that the required energy can be provided for process times ranging from a few hundred milliseconds to a few seconds, and that the process energy is provided at exactly the required location so that the structures in the surrounding area are not affected. Due to the strong correlation between electrical impedance and the temperature of the material, a novel impedance-based control strategy has been utilized for precisely controlling ultrasonic vibration during the embossing process. The investigation used two types of stamps with grating line widths of 4 µm and 500 nm, respectively. As a result, an embossing time of less than a few seconds was accomplished and a uniform embossed surface with an average fill rate of more than 75% could be achieved.

AB - Small-scale optical components with micron or submicron features have grown in popularity in recent years. High-quality, high-efficient, and cost-effective processing approaches for polymer optics mass production are an urgent need. In this study, ultrasonic vibration will be introduced in embossing. The major advantage is that the required energy can be provided for process times ranging from a few hundred milliseconds to a few seconds, and that the process energy is provided at exactly the required location so that the structures in the surrounding area are not affected. Due to the strong correlation between electrical impedance and the temperature of the material, a novel impedance-based control strategy has been utilized for precisely controlling ultrasonic vibration during the embossing process. The investigation used two types of stamps with grating line widths of 4 µm and 500 nm, respectively. As a result, an embossing time of less than a few seconds was accomplished and a uniform embossed surface with an average fill rate of more than 75% could be achieved.

KW - Embossing

KW - Impedance-based control

KW - Keywords: ultrasonic vibration

KW - Micron and submicron structure

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111655705&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/polym13152417

DO - 10.3390/polym13152417

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85111655705

VL - 13

JO - Polymers

JF - Polymers

SN - 2073-4360

IS - 15

M1 - 2417

ER -