Low temperature direct imprint of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) resist

In this paper we present results on the synthesis of a hybrid organic/inorganic resist based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane cages and used it in a thermal nanoimprint lithography process. Our resist has been developed in order to be uniformly spin coated on silicon substrates, imprinted at a reduced temperature (40°C), then cross-linked first at elevated temperatures (>120°C) during the imprinting process and then by exposure to UV radiation outside the imprinting tool. With this process, a low shrinkage rate of the resist is achieved after cross-linking, combined with high mechanical and thermal properties.