Method and Apparatus for Modeling Deformation of a Deformable Body Embossed with a Stamp

Abstract

Hot embossing may be more advantageous than other polymer microfabrication processes. An example embodiment of the present invention relates to a method and corresponding apparatus for developing a computationally inexpensive viscoelastic model for the hot embossing of complex patterns. These developed models may help engineers refine their selection of processing parameters based upon successive simulations of the embossing process. The example embodiment models deformation of a deformable body embossed with a stamp as a function of convolving a point-load-time response and a contact pressure distribution. In order to generate the point-load-time response, a time-dependent response of a surface of the thermoplastic to system inputs applied to an elemental region of the surface of the thermoplastic may be employed. The example embodiment generates an estimate of the contact pressure distribution as a function of the point-load-time response and an average pressure applied to the stamp.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.