Project – Innovations consortium Octopus

Octopus - The European Nano Imprint Factory - nanoprocesses, production and business

Project start January 2008. Expected completion December 2010.

Octopus grasps international know-how, puts it into Danish context, and unites it with Danish research of international reputation, sending it out into technological interaction with commerce. With success in research / development competences, a unique Nano factory of European standards will be established, which stands out from other 'rented' accommodation due to the chosen key processes, materials and product typing. Research and technological competence will be built up with the goal of developing new processes, productions and service. Octopus itself addresses one of the greatest challenges in international Nano Technology, moving from a sequential process to a parallel process – Nano imprint lithography, comparative with that of Gutenberg’s 1400´s revolutionary printing techniques.

Project Objectives  

• Development of Nano processer for production of wireless sensors.
• Development of unique metallization machine.
• Development of Step & Flash Nano imprint lithography.

Participants

• DTU Nanotech www.nanotech.dtu.dk and DTU Danchip www.danchip.dtu.dk
• NanoSyd, MCI, Syddansk Universitet www.nanosyd.sdu
• University of Texas, MRC, USA www.mrc.utexas.edu
• Carinthian Tech Research, Østrig www.ctr.at 
• Nil Technology ApS, Polyteknik A/S, Sense A/S, Widex A/S

Octopus – The European Nano Imprint Factory, has parallels to both the 1400´s revolutionary printing technique (Gutenberg) and the invention of the graphic flat printing method (Lithography, Alois Senefeldr 1796 - 1798). The printing plate was, at that time made of sanded chalk-stone. In Octopus, the use of hammers and chisels is replaced by a 25-30kg, electron volt electron or ion ray and a printing plate of finely polished glass.  The said structure is pressed into fluid polymers, which is a photo resist; this is then laid on culture substrate. The resist is then hardened by ultra-violet light, etching the pattern; the technique is called Nano Imprint Lithography (NIL), the lettering has dimensions of 10 to 1000 nm (1 nm = 0,000000001m). Baking waffles in the home is, in fact, Imprint Lithography.

The structure of the waffle toaster is patterned; the metal is the printing plate and the dough, photo resist. Without fatty substance the form sticks to the photo resist. The same is true of printing with Nano structures; An atom and molecular thin-film is the fatty substance in NIL. Octopus combines state of the art thin-film techniques creating completely new products and new surface characteristics in existing products. The European Nano Imprint Factory is in fact a highly specialized waffle bakery, or in present day language, a Foundry. (lithography(gr.) stenography).