Novel approach to produce nanopatterned titanium implants by combining nanoimprint lithography and reactive ion etching

Nanofeatures may enhance biofunctionality in implants, leading to a new generation of biomaterials with bone regeneration activity. To proof this hypothesis, we developed a nanofabrication method to achieve highly ordered nanoscale surface patterns on medical grade titanium. Thermal nanoimprint lithography and chlorine-based inductively-coupled plasma reactive ion etching were combined to produce nanogratings with smallest ridge- and groove feature sizes in the order of 150 nm. Silicon NIL stamps were fabricated using laser interference lithography and cryogenic inductively-coupled reactive ion etching in silicon with an aspect ratio (height to groove width) of 2.5 for the smallest grating pitch of 300 nm.