Micro hot embossing of thermoplastic polymers: a review

Micro hot embossing of thermoplastic polymers is a promising process to fabricate high precision and high quality features in micro/nano scale. This technology has experienced more than 40 years development and has been partially applied in industrial production. Three modes of micro hot embossing including plate-to-plate, roll-to-plate and roll-to-roll have been successively developed to meet the increasing demand for large-area patterned polymeric films. This review surveys recent progress of micro hot embossing in terms of polymeric material behavior, embossing process and corresponding apparatus. Besides, challenges and innovations in mold fabrication techniques are comprehensively summarized and industrial applications are systematically cataloged as well. Finally, technical challenges and future trends are presented for micro hot embossing of thermoplastic polymers. (topical review)