Compact Nanoimprint Tool
- CNI v3.0 -
A desktop nanoimprint tool for easy replication of micro- and nanoscale structures
The starting point of nano-replication
A compact nanoimprint tool that can be used for both imprinting and hot embossing. Plug and play in just 20 minutes
Available in 120 & 210 mm versions
Supports masters and substrates up to 120 and 210 mm. Both versions support thermal imprint up to 250°C and UV imprint at 365 nm and/or 405 nm
Replication in a box
The CNI tool allows for replication of micro- and nanostructures from masters to substrates, both thermal replication and UV replication
Ease of use
Robust and simple to operate. It facilitates non-standard processes and new experiments as well as mature and advanced development

How to use the CNI v3.0
Supports many technologies
- Thermal nanoimprint
- UV nanoimprint
- Hot embossing
- µ-contact printing
- Polymer bonding
Examples of use
- Imprint of nanostructures
- Imprint of microstructures
- Imprint of gratings with nm pitch on silicon
- Imprint on fragile substrates (e.g. III-V materials, InP)
- Production of working stamps
- Hot embossing of high aspect ratio structures
- Hot embossing of polymer sheets
- Thermal polymer bonding
Get more information
Would you like more information about benefits, requirements and specifications?
Download our PDF about the CNI:


The SEM image shows a replication we did in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University. This is chromium dots on silicon after lift-off. The pattern was thermal imprinted in the CNI tool using mr-I8000 series resist from MicroResist. The smallest dots are 100 nm diameter.
“We have a very special sample set up which differs from standard applications. In order to process these samples we were looking for a tool that allowed us to perform nanoimprint at elevated temperatures and high enough forces under vacuum conditions. We were really happy when we found the CNI tool as it combines all our requirements with an open construction and flexible nature that even enabled us to easily manipulate our sample setup inside the tool”
Enno Krauss, University of Würzburg
Would you like to know more?
View our on-demand CNI webinar
NILT Compact Nanoimprint Tool – Options and Applications
The CNI is a flexible nanoimprint tool that can be used in a variety of ways. In this free on-demand webinar, Kristian Smistrup, NILT’s Senior Tool Development Engineer, gives you the recipe to:
- How you quickly can get started with the CNI
- Take full advantage of it
- What the difference is between the many configurations that the CNI can have
- Finally, you will see a few examples of CNI processing
View our on-demand webinar at your convenience
Receive a link to our webinar and watch it when you have the time. You can read a lot more about the webinar and what you can get out of it by clicking the link underneath.

Kristian Smistrup
Senior Tool Development Engineer
Find the right CNI version for your needs
The CNI tool is available in 20 different configurations depending on your needs. You have to decide whether you need the big chamber and what kind of UV exposure and temperature range you need.
See the different configurations and get a quote for your CNI by clicking on the button underneath.
See the CNI in use
In this short video, we show the most basic operations in the CNI tool. We use hot embossing to create a working stamp from a master and we use UV nanoimprint to transfer the pattern from the working stamp and onto a silicon wafer with mr-NIL210 UV imprint resist. The CNI used is the CNI v2.1.
We do also have a short user story about multiscale hydrophobic structures using reverse NIL in a CNI.