Labs and universities purchase nanofabrication tool

June 21, 2005, Austin, TX--Molecular Imprints has developed a nanoscale lithography tool based on its step-and-flash imprint lithography (S-FIL) technology and has sold its system to a number of prominent nanotechnology centers. These centers include the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley, CA), the University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX), and the Pennsylvania State Nanofabrication Facility (State College, PA).

Molecular Imprints has commercialized S-FIL, which is a room-temperature, low-pressure step-and-repeat nano-imprint process that has demonstrated sub-20 nm resolution. In the technique, a mold whose features are derived from electron-beam lithography is pressed into a polymer that is then cured with UV light passing through the polymer. The resulting structures can be incorporated in nanodevices, microstructures, advanced packaging, bio-devices, optical components, and semiconducting devices.

The Molecular Foundry is a user facility for the design, synthesis and characterization of nanoscale materials. This facility provides instruments and techniques dedicated to state-of-the-art lithographic and thin-film processing relevant to the integration of advanced semiconductor nanofabrication technologies with chemical and biological nanosystems.

The Pennsylvania State Nanofabrication Facility is a class-10 clean-room facility providing a full range of processing capabilities for substrates as large as six inches in diameter. The Penn State Nanofab offers expertise in "top-down" and "bottom up" nanofabrication.

Grant Willson's research group at the University of Texas at Austin purchased the Molecular Imprints tool to support nanofabrication projects and conduct materials research. The tool will be used for teaching and research into integrated-circuit devices, optoelectronics, nanophotonics, and biosensors.