Bilayer hybrid nanoimprinting method for fabricating embedded silver nanostructure arrays with enhanced photoluminescence

A bilayer hybrid nanoimprinting (NI) method was developed for fabricating embedded metal nanopatterns with greater processability and improved reliability for enhanced photoluminescence (PL) in optoelectronic devices. Bilayer hybrid NI consists of the following: (a) spin-coating ultraviolet (UV) and thermally curable NI resists in sequence, (b) high-pressure thermal NI and UV exposure while maintaining the stamp in a pressed position, and (c) silver (Ag) deposition and lift-off using a thermal NI resist on the upper surface to create embedded Ag nanoarrays. Reference samples with no Ag nanopatterns and with protruding Ag dot-shaped nanopatterns were also fabricated for comparison. The transmittance and PL of all samples were measured. All samples containing Ag nanopatterns exhibited improved PL compared with reference samples with no Ag. For all pattern sizes, the samples with the embedded Ag nanoarrays exhibited the highest PL; the relative PL enhancements compared with samples with Ag dot-shaped nanoarrays were 32.2%, 36.1%, and 62.7% for pattern sizes of 150, 200, and 265 nm, respectively. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. [DOI: 10.1117/1.JNP.8.083089]