Nano/micro structure fabrication of metal surfaces using the combination of nano plastic forming, coating and roller imprinting processes

The fabrication technique using the combination of nano plastic forming, coating and roller imprinting processes to transfer nano/micro patterns onto the surface of metallic materials is developed. In this process, nano plastic forming (NPF) of pure aluminum (Al 99%) using a diamond tool is combined with a coating technique to produce a nickel die. The nickel die is then used for the double plate roller imprinting process to transfer the pattern onto the surface of metallic material. Experimental works with 0.1 N to 1.0 N indentation load variations and 2.5 µm to 7.5 µm pitch variations using a knife edge diamond tool are conducted to study the feasibility of this technique. Comparisons between the master mold, nickel die and rolling result in terms of geometries show good agreement, thus validating the proposed approach for high throughput, low cost, low emission and flexible fabrication technique. The capability of the proposed method is demonstrated in the fabrication of cross, net and brick patterns.