OtherMembers’ Profiles

Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd.
Press

1. Company Profile

Transparent moldFounded as a machine tool manufacturer in 1938,
Toshiba Machine has since developed and produced a wide
variety of product lines in response to the demands of thetimes. Now operating as the Toshiba Machine Group, thecompany is involved in the production and sale of diverse
equipment including injection molding machines, diecasting machines, plastic extrusion machines, industrial
robots, nanoimprint machines, high-precision machines,
machine tools, and hydraulic equipment.

Release moldUV light exposure for curing resin

UV curable resin
Substrate

UV nanoimprint lithography

2. Nanoimprint Machines
Toshiba Machine entered the field of nanoimprint
machines in 2004 to develop and manufacture press-typeand roll-to-roll nanoimprint machines. In 2009 the highprecision machine business was consolidated with a new
Nano Processing System Division launched to synergize
nanoimprint lithography with ultraprecision machining.
(1) Application of Nanoimprint Lithography to MEMS
While semiconductor integrated circuit and LIGA
fabrication technologies are generally used whenmanufacturing MEMS, equipment and running costs forthese processes rise sharply as the pattern size becomes
smaller. Nanoimprint lithography is a simple process fortransferring a mold pattern onto a substrate and is thought
to have great potential for reducing MEMS fabrication costs.
(2) Press-type Nanoimprint Machines
Toshiba Machine has developed a press-type nanoimprint
machine (model No. ST50) with a maximum force of 50 kN.
This machine supports UV imprinting, thermal imprinting,room-temperature imprinting, and micro-contact printing(soft lithography). Since it is necessary in nanoimprint
lithography to provide flexible support for a wide variety ofmolds, patterns, and pattern-forming methods, we customize
our machines for each customer to suit their desired imprint
methods and mold structures.
A large number of the ST50 nanoimprint machines arebeing used in diverse research and development
applications, including optical devices, storage media,
biomedical applications, semiconductors, MEMS, anddisplay devices. Recently we are developing nanoimprint
machines capable of supporting mass production for suchmarkets as high-brightness LEDs and discrete track media
type hard disk drives.

Press-type
nanoimprint machineST50

Pattern transferred by a nanoimprint machine(3) Roll-to-Roll Nanoimprint Machine
One obstacle in making nanoimprinting commercially
viable is the need to support large-area applications.
Toshiba Machine has developed and produced a roll-to-roll
UV nanoimprint machine designed primarily for optical film
applications. This machine applies the roll technology usedin extrusion and printing systems, employing a gravure rollto mold UV curable resin coated on film. The applications of
this machine are diverse and include optical sheets for flatpanel displays, biotechnological applications, solar cells,
electronic paper, and wire-grid polarizers.

Roll-to-roll UV nanoimprint machine and transferred film

3. Toward the Mass Production of Nanodevices
Recently our customers’ views toward nanoimprinting
have changed from simply being content with goodprecision to wanting to perform prototype testing for the
purpose of reducing costs in device mass production andenhancing the durability of the mold and mold-release layer.
It is evident that the day is not far off when our system andmachines will be used in production lines for a range ofdevices.
To realize device mass production with nanoimprint
machines, it will be necessary not only to improve
performance, but also to perfect the overall technology,
including the mold, resin material, process design, andinspection required for implementing the entire
manufacturing sequence. We are working tirelessly todevelop these technologies as a total solution for ourcustomers.

MICRONANO No. 70
MICRONANO is published quarterly by Micromachine Center (MMC), BEANS Technical Research Association(BEANS . TRA) to promote the international exchange of information related to micromachines, R&D and othertechnical topics, and is circulated free of change. Please send your comments about MICRONANO to the publisher :Keiichi Aoyagi, Executive Director, Micromachine Center (MMC)
MBR99 Bldg., 6F., 67 Kanda Sakumagashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0026, Japan
Tel : +81-3-5835-1870, Fax : +81-3-5835-1873
Internet Home Page h t t p : / / w w w . m m c . o r . j p /Date of Issue : February 22, 2010