부산대학교 도서관

Abstract: Hot embossing, a polymer molding process conceived by Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, is one of the established replication processes for microstructures The process is especially well suited for manufacturing small and medium series of microcomponents (SPIE Conference 1997; Polymer News 25:224–229, 2000; J Micromech Microeng 14:R1–14, 2004; Sensors Actuators 3:130–135, 2000). However, a wider application of the process currently is seriously hampered by the lack of adequate simulation tools for process optimization and part design. This situation is becoming more critical, as the dimension of the microstructures shrink from micron and submicron levels to the nanoscale and as productivity requirements dictate the enlargement of formats to process larger numbers of devices in parallel. Based on the current scientific work (Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, FZKA-Bericht 7058 2003; DTIP Conference Montreux 2004; Microsystem Tech 10:432–437 2004), a German–Canadian cooperation has been started. The objective of this cooperation is to fill the gap mentioned above by developing reliable computer models and simulation tools for the hot embossing process and to incorporate these models in a user-friendly computer code. The present paper will give an overview of the activities in the project. The activities related to material characterization, especially the development of a viscoelastic material model, the characterization of friction between polymer and mold during demolding, the development of an 8-in. microstructured mold, and the fabrication of nanostructured molds will be discussed.