A method for imprinting micropatterns on a substrate of a chalcogenide glass

A method for nanoimprinting a pattern on a chalcogenide-glass substrate, comprising:

• providing said chalcogenide-glass substrate;
• creating on a top surface of the chalcogenide-glass substrate a layer of softened chalcogenide-glass, said softened layer having a glass transition temperature Tsg which is lower than a respective glass transition temperature Tg of the rest of the substrate;
• placing a soft operational mold which includes a patter on the top surface of the chalcogenide-glass substrate to form a structure, and simultaneously (i) heating the structure to a temperature Tsg<T<Tg, where Tg is the glass transition temperature of chalcogenide-glass, and (ii) applying a controlled pressure on the mold to effect penetration to the top surface of the chalcogenide-glass substrate, thereby to replicate the pattern of the mold within said softened layer;
• and
• separating the operational mold from the patterned substrate.

A method for nanoimprinting a pattern on a chalcogenide-glass substrate, comprising:

• preparing a soft operational mold, the operational mold comprising a pattern to be replicated to the substrate;
• soaking the operational mold in a solvent to produce diffusion of solvent to the mold;
• removing the operational mold from the solvent, and placing it on a top surface of the chalcogenide-glass substrate to form a structure, and simultaneously (i) heating the structure to a temperature Tsg<T<Tg, where Tg is the glass transition temperature of chalcogenide-glass, and Tsg is a glass transition temperature of the top surface of the substrate, which results to be lower than Tg due to diffusion with the solvent in the mold, and (ii) applying a controlled pressure on the mold to effect penetration to the top surface of the chalcogenide-glass substrate, thereby to replicate the pattern of the mold to the top surface of the substrate;
• and
• separating the operational mold from the patterned substrate.