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We propose two approaches—hot-embossing and dielectric-heating nanoimprinting methods—for low-cost and rapid fabrication of periodic nanostructures. Each nanofabrication process for the imprinted plastic nanostructures is completed within several seconds without the use of release agents and epoxy. Low-cost, large-area, and highly sensitive aluminum nanostructures on A4 size plastic films are fabricated by evaporating aluminum film on hot-embossing nanostructures. The narrowest bandwidth of the Fano resonance is only 2.7 nm in the visible light region. The periodic aluminum nanostructure achieves a figure of merit of 150, and an intensity sensitivity of 29,345%/RIU (refractive index unit). The rapid fabrication is also achieved by using radio-frequency (RF) sensitive plastic films and a commercial RF welding machine. The dielectric-heating, using RF power, takes advantage of the rapid heating/cooling process and lower electric power consumption. The fabricated capped aluminum nanoslit array has a 5 nm Fano linewidth and 490.46 nm/RIU wavelength sensitivity. The biosensing capabilities of the metallic nanostructures are further verified by measuring antigen–antibody interactions using bovine serum albumin (BSA) and anti-BSA. These rapid and high-throughput fabrication methods can benefit low-cost, highly sensitive biosensors and other sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present radio-frequency (RF) heating-assisted nanoimprint lithography (NIL) for the rapid fabrication of nanostructured biochips. The chips were spin-coated using a RF-sensitive polymer film, namely polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified (PETG). The RF heating process takes advantage of rapid temperature increases and cooling for NIL. Using a patterned nickel film as the mold, various nanostructures, such as nanowire, nanorod, and nanogrid arrays, were successfully fabricated within several seconds. For surface plasmon biosensing chips, the silver-coated nanowire arrays achieved a linewidth of 6.01 nm and wavelength sensitivity of 550 nm per refractive index unit. The functionality of the sensor was verified by observing the label-free antigen-antibody interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]