Solid-state superionic stamping with silver iodide-silver metaphosphate glass

Abstract

This paper demonstrates and analyzes the new use of the glassy solid electrolyte AgI-AgPO3 for direct nanopatterning of thin silver films with feature resolutions of 30nm. AgI-AgPO3 has a high room temperature ionic conductivity with Ag+ as the mobile ion, leading to silver etch/patterning rates of up to 20nms- 1 at an applied bias of 300mV. The glass can be melt-processed at temperatures below 200 °C, providing a facile and economical pathway for creating large area stamps, including the 25mm2 stamps shown in this study. Further, the glass is sufficiently transparent to permit integration with existing tools such as aligners and imprint tools, enabling high overlay registration accuracy and facilitating insertion into multi-step fabrication recipes. © IOP Publishing Ltd.