Article: A two-station embossing process for rapid fabrication of surface microstructures on thermoplastic polymers.

INTRODUCTION

The hot embossing process involves several sequential stages. First, a preheated thermoplastic film is placed between two heated mold platens heated above the polymer softening temperature (glass transition temperature for amorphous polymers and melting temperature for semicrystalline polymers) of the polymer. The elevated mold temperature is considered necessary for pattern transferring because a cold mold will result in premature solidification of the polymer. Next, the polymer film is pressurized and shaped by the closure of the mold and the microfeatures on one of the platens transfer to the polymer film/substrate. Finally, the entire embossing, ...

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