Period control of silicone grating via toluene addition

Abstract By combining the imprinting technique with silicone shrinkage, a method for forming periodic structures smaller than the original mold structure without inducing significant structural damage was developed. A mixture of silicone oil, curing agent, and toluene, which has high permeability to silicone, was poured onto the surface of photopolymer molds fabricated via imprinting. After solidification, uniformly shrunken silicone gratings were obtained. Specifically, at a toluene concentration of 50 vol%, the grating period shrank from 3.02 to 2.44 μm, corresponding to a shrinkage rate of 19.2%.