Cleaning of submicrometer structures on Si-masters with pulsed excimer laser and reactive ion etching

The replication of submicrometer-sized structures is accomplished utilizing replica molding of a UV-cured acrylate blend. Atomic force microscopy (AFM ), optical, and scanning electron microscope images reveal acrylate residue s on the Si-master after replication. The differences between excimer laser and reactive ion cleaning of the Si-masters in terms of their effectivenes s and reliability is discussed. Forty to sixty KrF laser pulses at 400 mJ/c m(2) are suitable for removing acrylate residues from the Si-masters, while the oxygen plasma etching removes acrylate residues only to a limited degr ee because of a silicon diacrylate constituent in the acrylate blend.