(38a) Scalable Fabrication of High Performance Microbatteries, Biosensors and Optical Elements Via Nanoimprinting of 3-D Metal Oxide Structures

We have developed an approach for the direct imprint patterning of crystalline metal oxides using a soft polymer master and inks containing high concentrations of crystalline nanoparticles dispersed in solvent and/or in sol-gel precursors to a desired inorganic phase. High aspect ratio nanostructures and sub-100 nm features are easily realized. Residual layer free direct imprinting (no etching required) is achieved by choosing an ink with the appropriate surface energy to ensure dewetting at stamp-substrate interface. The technique is further extended to stack the nanostructures by deploying a layer-by-layer imprint strategy. The method is scalable and can produce large-area, device-quality nanostructures in a rapid fashion at low cost. Here we illustrate the utility of this direct patterning technique by the fabrication of fully-integrated, high-performance lithium-ion microbatteries, high-sensitivity biosensors, and advanced optical elements.