Imprint apparatus, imprint method, and article manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11187979-B2
Application number	US-201916391679-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 23, 2019
Priority date	Nov 11, 2016
Publication date	Nov 30, 2021
Grant date	Nov 30, 2021

Abstract

An imprint apparatus comprises a mold holder configured to move while holding the mold, and a substrate holder including a plurality of suction regions for chucking the substrate and configured to move while holding the substrate. When performing the mold separation, among the plurality of suction regions, a suction force of a suction region at a position where the mold is to be separated from the imprint material is made weaker than a suction force of a suction region on a peripheral side of the substrate than the position where the mold is to be separated, and the mold holder is tilted after at least one of the mold holder and the substrate holder is moved by a predetermined amount so as to widen a gap between the mold and the substrate.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus that cures an uncured material in a state where the uncured material on a substrate and a mold have been brought into contact, and performs mold separation of separating the mold from the cured material, comprising:
a mold holder configured to move while holding the mold;
a substrate holder including a plurality of suction regions for chucking a lower surface of the substrate and configured to move while holding the substrate; and
a controller configured to control the mold holder and the substrate holder during the mold separation,
wherein in a state where, among the plurality of suction regions, a suction force of a second suction region, which is on a peripheral side of the substrate with respect to a first suction region for sucking a region of the lower surface of the substrate corresponding to a portion of the cured material on the substrate, is larger than a suction force of the first suction region,
the controller is configured to:
cause at least one of the mold holder and the substrate holder to be moved to widen a gap between the mold and the substrate,
cause the mold holder and the substrate holder to be relatively tilted after the movement, and
cause the at least one of the mold holder and the substrate to be moved to perform the mold separation in a state where the mold holder and the substrate holder are relatively tilted.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the mold holder to be tilted so that the mold held by the mold holder is lowered from the center of the substrate toward the center of a region of the substrate corresponding to the portion on which the cured material is placed.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a plurality of shot regions that are sequentially imprinted using the mold and the uncured material, and
the controller is configured to control the tilt of the mold holder based on information on a direction and an amount of tilting the mold holder for each shot region.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the mold holder to return the mold holder to a relatively non-tilted state after the mold is separated from the cured material in the state where the mold holder has been relatively tilted.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the mold holder so that the mold is deformed into a convex shape toward the substrate when the mold separation is performed.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an auxiliary plate arranged along a peripheral portion of the substrate,
wherein the auxiliary plate includes a downward slope toward the peripheral side.

7. An article manufacturing method for manufacturing an article, comprising:
forming a pattern on a substrate by the apparatus defined in claim 1 ; and
processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed,
wherein the article is manufactured from the processed article.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second suction region sucks a region of the lower surface of the substrate corresponding to a portion of the cured material on the substrate.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second suction region sucks a region of the lower surface of the substrate, which is on a peripheral side of the substrate with respect to a region of the lower surface of the substrate corresponding to a portion of the cured material on the substrate.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the material is an imprint material.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the material is a composition having property of being cured by being irradiated with light.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , the uncured material on a shot region including an outer periphery of the substrate is cured in a state where the uncured material and the mold are in contact with each other.

13. A method, comprising:
bringing a mold held by a mold holder and an uncured material on a substrate held by a substrate holder into contact with each other;
curing the uncured material after the contacting; and
separating the mold from the cured material after the curing,
wherein in the separating comprises
causing, among a plurality of suction regions configured to chuck a lower surface of the substrate arranged on the substrate holder, a suction force of a second suction region, which is on a peripheral side of the substrate with respect to a first suction region for sucking a region of the lower surface of the substrate corresponding to a portion of the cured material on the substrate, larger than a suction force of the first suction region, and
moving at least one of the mold holder and the substrate holder so as to widen a gap between the mold and the substrate,
causing the mold holder and the substrate holder to be relatively tilted after the moving, and
causing the at least one of the mold holder and the substrate to be moved to perform the separating in a state where the mold holder and the substrate holder are relatively tilted.

14. An article manufacturing method for manufacturing an article, comprising:
forming a pattern on a substrate by the method defined in claim 13 ; and
processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed,
wherein the article is manufactured from the processed substrate.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Yoshida Setsuo
• Hasegawa Noriyasu

Classifications

• H10P76/00

  Manufacture or treatment of masks on semiconductor bodies, e.g. by lithography or photolithography · CPC title

• G03F7/0002 Primary

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

• G03F7/168

  Finishing the coated layer, e.g. drying, baking, soaking · CPC title

• G03F9/703

  Gap setting, e.g. in proximity printer · CPC title

• B29C59/02

  by mechanical means, e.g. pressing {(B29C59/007 takes precedence; embossing expanded porous articles B29C44/5627)} · CPC title