Imprint apparatus and method of manufacturing article

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10248018-B2
Application number	US-201514673141-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2015
Priority date	Mar 30, 2015
Publication date	Apr 2, 2019
Grant date	Apr 2, 2019

Abstract

The present invention provides an imprint apparatus which molds an imprint material on a shot region formed on a substrate by using a mold including a pattern surface on which a pattern is formed, comprising a holding unit configured to change a position and orientation of the mold, and a control unit configured to cause the holding unit to incline the mold, and bring the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other while the mold is inclined, wherein after the control unit obtains a shift amount by which a mark on the mold shifts by inclining the mold, and changes relative positions of the mold and the substrate according to the shift amount, the control unit brings the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imprint apparatus which forms a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate by using a mold including a pattern surface on which a pattern is formed, comprising:
a driver configured to relatively drive the mold and the substrate to change a relative position and a relative orientation of the mold and the substrate; and
a controller configured to control the driver to:
arrange the mold and the substrate based on a target relative position set in advance, in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction for bringing the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other,
incline the mold so that a surface of the substrate and the pattern surface have a target relative inclination, and then
bring the mold and the imprint material on the substrate into contact with each other in a state where the mold is inclined relative to the substrate,
wherein before bringing the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other, the controller is configured to estimate a shift amount by which a mark on the mold shifts relative to the substrate in the second direction due to the inclining of the mold, based on an inclination angle of the mold, and to cause the driver to relatively drive the mold and the substrate in the second direction so as to correct for the estimated shift amount.

2. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller performs an alignment between the mold and the substrate while keeping an inclination of the mold, in a state where the mold and the imprint material are in contact with each other.

3. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a deformation device configured to deform the pattern surface into a convex shape to bend toward the substrate,
wherein the controller estimates, as the shift amount, an amount by which the mark on the mold shifts relative to the substrate in the second direction by inclining the mold while the deformation device deforms the pattern surface.

4. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the driver is configured to incline the mold about a rotation axis, and
the controller estimates the shift amount using an angle at which the mold is inclined and a distance in the first direction between the mark on the mold and the rotation axis while the pattern surface is deformed before the mold is inclined.

5. The imprint apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the deformation device deforms the pattern surface by changing a pressure of a space between the mold and a holder holding the mold, and
the controller obtains the distance using information indicating a relationship between a pressure value of the space and a displacement amount in the first direction of the mark on the mold.

6. The imprint apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising a measurement device configured to measure a position of the pattern surface in the first direction,
wherein the controller causes the measurement device to measure the position of the pattern surface before and after the deformation device deforms the pattern surface, and obtains the distance using measurement results.

7. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a detector configured to detect a mark on the substrate through the mark on the mold,
wherein after the contacting step, the controller controls alignment between the mold and the substrate based on detection results of the detector, while keeping an inclination of the mold.

8. The imprint apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein before the contacting step, the controller causes the driver to relatively drive the mold and the substrate without using detection results of the detector.

9. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the driver to incline the mold in accordance with an inclination of the surface of the substrate, so that the surface of the substrate and the pattern surface are parallel to each other as the target relative inclination, before bringing the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other.

10. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the inclination angle of the mold, based on a result of measuring an inclination of the surface of the substrate.

11. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to bring the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other, while keeping a state where the pattern surface of the mold is inclined against the first direction.

12. An imprint apparatus which forms a pattern of an imprint material on a shot region of a substrate by using a mold including a pattern surface on which a pattern is formed, comprising:
a driver configured to relatively drive the mold and the substrate to change a relative position and a relative orientation of the mold and the substrate;
a deformation device configured to deform the pattern surface into a convex shape to bend toward the substrate; and
a controller configured to arrange the mold and the substrate based on a target relative position set in advance, and bring the mold and the imprint material on the shot region into contact with each other while controlling a deformation of the pattern surface by the deformation device deforms,
wherein the controller is configured to:
cause the driver to incline the mold so that the mold and the imprint material start contacting each other from a target position on the shot region,
estimate a shift amount by which a position on the pattern surface having a pattern to be transferred to the target position shifts from the target position due to the inclining of the mold, based on an inclination angle of the mold, in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction for bringing the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other, and
cause the driver to bring the mold and the imprint material into contact with each other, after causing the driver to relatively drive the mold and the substrate in the second direction so as to correct for the estimated shift amount.

13. The imprint apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the shot region includes a deficient shot region which is arranged in a peripheral portion of the substrate and to which only part of the pattern of the mold is transferred.

14. The imprint apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the target position includes a barycenter of the deficient shot region.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Schumaker Philip D
• Lu Xiaoming
• Zhang Wei
• Kimura Atsushi
• Ota Jun

Classifications

• G03F7/0002 Primary

  Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping · CPC title