Abstract
This paper investigates the effects of mold shape and sidewall roughness on the formation of atomic-scale structure in a metal direct imprinting process by utilizing molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Different types of tapered molds and different roughness are discussed in this study. The relationships between the imprinting force and the imprinting depth are acquired during the entire process. The simulation results show that with increasing taper angle θ, the imprinting force required is lower, and that different formation mechanisms can be identified. The geometries of the imprint patterns are affected by sidewall roughness. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.