KR20170030050A - Imprint apparatus, and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

A supply device configured to supply an imprint material to the imprint area on the substrate, a drive device configured to perform a drive for bringing the mold into contact with the imprint material supplied to the imprint area, and a sealing device configured to form a flow of gas to seal the imprint area Wherein the supply device comprises a member having a surface facing the substrate and an inlet port through which the gas flows into the member and an outlet port through which the gas flows out of the member are formed in the surface, A flow path for connecting the inlet to the outlet is formed in the member.

Description

[0001] IMPRINT APPARATUS AND ARTICLE MANUFACTURING METHOD [0002]

The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus and a method of manufacturing an article.

There is an imprint technique for forming an imprint material on a substrate to form a pattern on a substrate. One example of such an imprint technique is photocuring. An imprint apparatus using this method brings the mold into contact with the imprint material on the substrate to fill the imprint material into the mold. The imprint material is cured by irradiation of light, and then the mold is released from the cured imprint material to form a pattern on the substrate. Here, when a foreign substance is deposited on the substrate or the mold, defects may occur in the pattern or the mold may be broken.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-56854 discloses an imprint apparatus that reduces foreign matter in an imprint area by enclosing (imprinting) an imprint area with a gas curtain.

However, the imprint apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-56854 may be disadvantageous in accurately supplying the imprint material to the imprint area when an airflow generated by the gas curtain occurs under the imprint re-supply device.

The present invention provides an imprint apparatus which is advantageous for accurately supplying an imprint material to, for example, an imprint area.

The present invention provides an imprint apparatus comprising a supply device configured to supply an imprint material to an imprint area on a substrate, a drive device configured to perform a drive for bringing the mold into contact with the imprint material supplied to the imprint area, And a sealing device configured to form a flow of gas to seal the imprint area, wherein the supplying device comprises a member having a face facing the substrate, the inlet through which the gas enters into the member, And a flow path for connecting the inlet port to the outlet port is formed in the member.

Additional features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a view showing a configuration of an imprint apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG.
1B is a view showing a configuration of an imprint apparatus according to the first embodiment;
Fig. 2 is a view showing the flow of gas in the imprint apparatus according to the first embodiment from a positive direction in the Z-axis direction; Fig.
3 is a view showing the flow of gas when the groove structure according to the first embodiment is not provided.
4 is a view showing the details of the structure of the groove structure and the supply device;
5 is a view showing a configuration of a groove structure according to the second embodiment;
6A is a view for explaining ease of introduction of gas into the groove structure;
6B is a view for explaining ease of introduction of gas into the groove structure;
7A is a view showing a shape of a groove structure observed from a + Z direction;
7B is a view showing the shape of the groove structure observed from the + Z direction;

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)

Each of Figs. 1A and 1B is a diagram showing a configuration of an imprint apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The imprint apparatus 1 includes a light irradiation unit 20, a substrate stage 3, a mold holder 6, a supply device 7, and a sealing device 13. Figure 1A shows a state in which the substrate 2 is positioned below the supply device 7. Fig. 1B shows a state in which the substrate 2 is positioned under the mold 4. Fig. In this embodiment, an ultraviolet curable imprint apparatus is used as an imprint apparatus employing a photo-curing method. The imprint material curing method is not limited to the curing using ultraviolet rays, but may be cured by irradiation of light of another wavelength or may be cured by exposure to another energy source (for example, heat). In the following figures, there is provided a description in which the Z axis is aligned parallel to the optical axis of the illumination system for irradiating the resin on the substrate with ultraviolet rays, and the axes X and Y orthogonal to each other are arranged to be orthogonal to the plane perpendicular to the Z axis Will be.

The light irradiation unit 20 irradiates the substrate 2 (the mold 4) with the ultraviolet rays 21. The mold 4 is made of a material (quartz or the like) capable of transmitting ultraviolet rays 21 and has a pattern portion 5 having a concavo-convex pattern such as a circuit pattern formed in three dimensions on the surface facing the substrate 2.

The substrate stage 3 holds the substrate 2 and holds the position between the mold 4 and the resin 8 (substrate 2) when the mold 4 is brought into contact with the resin (imprint material) Perform sorting. Position alignment is performed by a stage driving mechanism (not shown) capable of moving the substrate stage 3 in each axial direction. The substrate 2 is a single crystal silicon substrate, an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrate, or the like.

The stage driving mechanism (not shown) may be constituted by a plurality of driving systems such as a coarse driving system and a fine driving system in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. The stage driving mechanism includes a driving system for adjusting the position of the substrate 2 in the Z axis direction, a position adjusting function for adjusting the position of the substrate 2 in the? Direction, a tilt adjusting function for adjusting the tilt of the substrate 2, Function and the like.

The mold holder 6 holds the mold 4 by sucking or attracting the peripheral region of the surface of the mold 4 irradiated with the ultraviolet rays 21 by using a vacuum suction force or an electrostatic force. When the alignment between the mold 4 and the substrate 2 is completed, the driving device (not shown) provided in the mold holder 6 brings the mold 4 into contact with the imprint material 8 on the substrate 2, The mold 4 is moved so that the imprint material 8 is released from the mold 4 after the curing of the imprint material 8. As a result, a pattern corresponding to the pattern portion 5 is formed on the substrate 2. Like the stage driving mechanism, the mold holder 6 may also include a plurality of driving systems or the like. It should be noted that contact and release between the mold 4 and the imprint material 8 are performed by moving at least one of the mold 4 and the substrate 2. [

The supply device 7 includes a member 11 (facing portion) having a surface facing the substrate 2. [ The supply device 7 is disposed in the vicinity of the mold holder 6 and supplies the imprint material 8 to the imprint area on the substrate 2. [ The imprint material 8 is a photocurable resin which is cured by ultraviolet rays 21 and is selected by various conditions such as a semiconductor device manufacturing step. The amount of the imprint material 8 supplied by the supply device 7 is determined by the desired thickness of the imprint material 8 formed on the substrate 2, the density of the pattern to be formed, and the like.

2 is a view of the flow of the gas 10 observed from the positive direction in the Z-axis direction. As shown in Figs. 1A, 1B and 2, the sealing device 13 forms a flow (gas curtain) generated by the gas 10 through the first nozzle 9 to seal the imprint area . As a result, the impurities in the imprint area are reduced. The first nozzle 9 is installed in the mold holder 6 so as to surround the periphery of the mold 4.

The member 11 has a groove structure 12 including an opening 12a and an oil passage 12b having an opening width w1. The opening 12a is an inlet through which the gas 10 flows or an outlet through which the gas 10 flows. The opening width w1 and the distance h1 between the substrate 2 and the member 11 have a predetermined magnitude relationship. Details will be described later. The flow path 12b is formed in the member 11 so as to connect the inlet port to the outlet port.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the flow of the gas 10 when the member 11 does not have the groove structure 12. Fig. As shown in Fig. 3, the gas 10 forms an air flow flowing in the positive X-axis direction in the space sandwiched between the substrate 2 and the member 11. The air flow causes the imprint material 8 dropped by the supply device 7 to be supplied to the substrate 2 to flow in the positive direction of the X axis so that the imprint material 8 is applied to the target area on the substrate 2. [ Is difficult to accurately supply.

According to the groove structure 12 provided in the member 11 of the present embodiment, the airflow flowing into the space sandwiched between the substrate 2 and the member 11 along the positive direction of the X- And flows into the groove structure (12) preferentially. Thereby, the airflow formed right below the supply device 7 is suppressed.

As shown in Figs. 1A, 1B, and 2, the inlet and the outlet are connected via the flow path 12b, so that the gas 10 introduced from the inlet flows out of the outlet. Thus, the flow rate of the gas 10 required to reduce foreign matter in the imprint area can be maintained. The opening width w1 of the opening 12a of the groove structure 12 is twice as large as the distance h1 between the substrate 2 and the member 11, It should be noted that the value may have an effect.

4 is a view showing the structure of the groove structure 12 and the supply device 7 in detail. The opening 12a has a convex curved surface 14 toward the flow path 12b adjacent thereto (toward the inside of the opening 12a). The flow path 12b is configured to be bent by a curved surface 14 facing inward. The curved surface 14 can be square or rounded. This allows the introduced gas 10 to be more easily introduced into the groove structure 12 and the gas 10 to be discharged can be more easily discharged toward the outside of the supply device 7. [

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an imprint apparatus which is advantageous for accurately supplying the imprint material to the imprint area.

(Second Embodiment)

Next, description of the imprint apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be provided. The present embodiment is characterized in that a supply port 15 is formed in the flow path 12b. 5 is a view showing the groove structure 12 of the present embodiment. The groove structure 12 of this embodiment has a gas supply device 16 and a supply port 15. Since the shape of the groove structure 12 is more complicated than the member 11 around the groove structure, foreign matter can easily remain inside the groove structure 12 (flow path 12b). The remaining foreign matter is extruded by the gas 10 flowing into the flow path 12b, and thus can be adhered to the substrate 2. Residual foreign matter can be removed from the gas supply device 16 by flowing gas from the inlet or outlet through the inlet 15. [

Since the gas curtain is not formed in the state where the substrate 2 is not positioned below the groove structure 12, the foreign substance can enter the groove structure 12. [ In this case, foreign substances can be prevented from entering the inside of the groove structure 12 by discharging the gas from the gas supply device 16 via the inlet 15 or the inlet or outlet. The supply port 15 may also be disposed on the side of the member 11, although the description has been given by the example in which the supply port 15 is disposed on the upper surface of the member 11 in the present embodiment. In addition, it can be configured to prevent foreign matter from entering the inside of the groove structure 12 by using the airflow supplied from the sealing device 13. According to this embodiment, an imprint apparatus which is advantageous for accurately supplying the imprint material to the imprint area can also be provided.

The member 11 is arranged so as to face the substrate 2 within the movement range of the substrate stage 3. The first nozzle 9 is provided in the member 11 facing the substrate 2 within the movement range of the substrate stage 3 and thus the substrate stage 3 is provided on the periphery of the mold 4 1 nozzle 9, the imprint area can be sealed by the first nozzle 9 of the member 11. [0050]

The substrate 2 and the member 11 are set so that the opening width w1 of the opening 12a of the groove structure 12 is wider than the distance (gap) h1 between the substrate 2 and the member 11. [ The airflow flowing into the space sandwiched between the first and second openings is preferentially flowed into the groove structure 12 showing a small fluid resistance (large conductance).

In the above description, only the relationship between the opening width w1 and the gap h1 has been discussed with respect to ease of fluid flow into the groove structure 12. However, other dimensions in the channel cross section of the gas 10 can be considered below. Figs. 6A and 6B show the ease of introduction of the gas 10 into the groove structure 12 by adding the length in the Y direction of the flow path cross-section in Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 and the gas 10 flowing below the supply device 7 Fig. Here, the length in the Y direction of the flow channel section is defined as L1, and the gas 10 flowing below the supply device 7 is defined as the gas v1.

As shown in Fig. 6B, the cross-sectional area of the opening 12a parallel to the XY plane is w1 x L1. Further, the cross-sectional area of the airflow suppressing region shown in the figure including the region below the supply device 7 parallel to the YZ plane is h1 x L1. The gas 10 flowing in the X direction flows into the flow path having a large cross-sectional area in the flow path after the opening 12a and the flow path after the air flow suppressing region. When the groove structure 12 is provided, the flow rate of the gas v1 can be reduced by 50% or more as compared with the case where the groove structure 12 is not provided. The flow rate of the gas v1 can be reduced by 10% or more as compared with the case where the groove structure 12 is not provided, when the opening width w1 is extended twice as much as the gap h1. As a result, the amount of the area of the imprint material 8 supplied (dropped) from the supply device 7 deviates from the target area on the substrate 2 can also be reduced by 10% or more.

It is possible to reduce the flow resistance of the flow path in the groove structure 12 as the opening width w1 is wider with respect to the gap h1. However, when the opening width w1 is too wide with respect to the gap h1, The volume becomes too large. In this case, the effect of the gas curtain, which prevents the gas 10 originally required to form the gas curtain from flowing into the groove structure 12, and the flow balance of the gas curtain collapsing, do.

If the opening width w1 exceeds 10 times the clearance h1, the detrimental effect of the disturbance on the gas curtain formation can be more serious than the advantage of the improvement of the bypass effect of the air flow. Therefore, the opening width w1 is preferably 10 times or less of the gap h1. From the viewpoint of ensuring both the bypass effect of the airflow and the effect of the gas curtain, it is more preferable to set the opening width w1 to be not more than twice the gap h1.

The above description based on the relationship between the opening width w1 and the gap h1 or the relationship between the cross sectional areas can be replaced with a description based on the relationship between the fluid resistance (conductance). That is, the above description can be replaced with a description based on the relationship between the conductance of the flow path in the groove structure 12 and the conductance of the flow path across the supply device 7 (supply path). For example, the conductance of the flow path in the groove structure 12 is required to be larger than the conductance of the flow path under the supply device 7 (supply path). It should be noted that, from the viewpoint of ensuring both the air flow bypass effect and the gas curtain effect, the conductance of the electrons is preferably no more than 10 times, or more preferably no more than twice the conductance of the latter, of the latter conductance .

The groove structure 12 is formed around the supply device 7 as shown in Fig. 2 and is thus arranged in a direction along the position of the substrate stage 3 which is movable within the arrangement of the first nozzle 9, The flow below the supply device 7 of the varying gas 10 can be bypassed. The grooved structure 12 may be partially blocked, instead of completely enclosing the feed device 7. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the groove structure 12 may be formed in a "C" shape to partially surround the supply device 7 (supply path) Quot; L "shape so as to partially surround the supply path (supply path). That is, if it is sufficient to bypass only the airflow from a specific direction, a sufficient bypass effect can be obtained by forming the groove structure 12 in this shape so as to partially surround the supply device 7 (supply path).

(Device manufacturing method)

A manufacturing method of a device (a semiconductor integrated circuit device, a liquid crystal display device, etc.) as an article may include a step of forming a pattern on a substrate (a wafer, a glass plate, a film substrate, etc.) using the above-described imprint apparatus . Further, the manufacturing method may include etching the substrate on which the pattern is formed. If other articles such as a patterned medium (recording medium), an optical element, and the like are produced, the manufacturing method may include another step of processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed instead of the etching step. The device manufacturing method of the present embodiment has an advantage over at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of an article as compared with a conventional method.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structural examples and functional examples.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-176277, filed September 8, 2015, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-121509, filed June 20, 2016, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Claim priority.

Claims (15)

An imprint apparatus,
A supply device configured to supply an imprint material to an imprint area on the substrate,
A drive device configured to perform a drive for bringing the mold into contact with the imprint material supplied to the imprint area;
And a sealing device configured to form a flow of gas to seal the imprint area,
Wherein the supply device comprises a member having a surface facing the substrate and wherein an inlet for the gas to flow therethrough into the member and an outlet for the gas to flow out of the member are formed in the surface, And a flow passage connected to the outlet is formed in the member. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the inlet or outlet or their respective opening widths are no more than twice the distance between the feeding device and the substrate. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the member has a curved surface convex toward the flow path adjacent to the inlet, and the flow path is configured to bend with the curved surface on the inner side. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the member has a curved surface that is convex toward the flow path, adjacent to the outlet, and the flow path is configured to bend with the curved surface on the inner side. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the member is provided with a supply port connected to the flow path, and the member is configured to discharge gas from the supply port to the outside of the inflow port. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Wherein the member is provided with a supply port connected to the flow path, and the member is configured to discharge the gas from the supply port to the outside of the outflow port. The method according to claim 1,
Sectional area of the inlet or the outlet or each of them is wider than the cross-sectional area of the flow path between the feeding device and the substrate. 8. The method of claim 7,
Sectional area of said inlet or said outlet or each of these being no more than 10 times the cross-sectional area of the flow path between said feeding device and said substrate. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the cross-sectional area of the inlet or the outlet or each of them is not more than twice the cross-sectional area of the flow path between the supply device and the substrate. An imprint apparatus,
A stage configured to hold and move the substrate,
A supply device configured to supply an imprint material to an imprint area on the substrate,
A holder configured to hold the mold so as to contact the imprint material supplied to the imprint area;
And a member disposed adjacent to the holder and the supply device, the member having a surface facing the stage,
Wherein the imprinting device has a function of forming a flow of gas between the surface and the stage in a direction from the holder toward the supply device and the supply device supplies the imprint material to the imprinting area accordingly And the gas flow path is formed so that the gas is bypassed from the supply path. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the conductance of the flow path is larger than the conductance of the flow path of the gas across the supply path. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the conductance of the flow path is not more than 10 times the conductance of the flow path of the gas across the supply path. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the conductance of the flow path is not more than twice the conductance of the flow path of the gas across the supply path. A method of manufacturing an article,
Forming a pattern on the substrate using an imprint apparatus, and
And processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed to produce the article,
The imprint apparatus includes:
A supply device configured to supply an imprint material to an imprint area on the substrate,
A drive device configured to perform a drive for bringing the mold into contact with the imprint material supplied to the imprint area;
And a sealing device configured to form a flow of gas to seal the imprint area,
Wherein the supply device comprises a member having a surface facing the substrate and wherein an inlet for the gas to flow therethrough into the member and an outlet for the gas to flow out of the member are formed in the surface, And a flow passage for connecting the outlet to the outlet is formed in the member. A method of manufacturing an article,
Forming a pattern on the substrate using an imprint apparatus, and
And processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed to produce the article,
The imprint apparatus includes:
A stage configured to hold and move the substrate,
A supply device configured to supply an imprint material to an imprint area on the substrate,
A holder configured to hold the mold so as to contact the imprint material supplied to the imprint area;
And a member disposed adjacent to the holder and the supply device, the member having a surface facing the stage,
Wherein the imprinting device has a function of forming a flow of gas between the surface and the stage in a direction from the holder toward the supply device and the supply device supplies the imprint material to the imprinting area accordingly Wherein a flow path of the gas is formed so as to bypass the gas from the supply path.

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