Hot embossing of cyclic olefin copolymers

The hot embossing properties of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) have been examined as a function of comonomer content. Six standard grades of COC with varying norbornene content (61?82 wt%) were used in these experiments in order to provide a range of glass transition temperatures, Tg. All grades of COC exhibited sharp increases in embossed depth over a critical range of temperature. The transition temperature in embossed depth increased linearly with norbornene content for both 35 and 70 ?m deep structures. At temperatures above this transition, the dimensions of the embossed patterns were essentially independent of the COC grade, the applied pressure and duration of loading. Channels formed above the transition in a regime of viscous liquid flow were extremely smooth in morphology for all grades. The average surface roughness, Ra, measured at the base of the channels decreased sharply at the transition temperature, with a levelling off at higher temperatures. Grades of COC with a higher norbornene content exhibited extensive micro-cracking during embossing at temperatures close to the transition temperature.