A new method of nanofabrication-laser pulse assisted nanoimprint lithography-was investigated. The method is based on direct heating of a polymer film by laser pulse excitation, simultaneously with the imprint phase. Imprint was successfully performed into a S1805 photoresist film using fused silica stamp with additional pulses from a Nd:YAG laser excitation (power density 5, 3 GW/cm(2), wavelengths 1064 and 355 nm). The imprint quality may be improved by the selection of an appropriate film material. which has high threshold of ablation and low softening point. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.