Imprint apparatus, method of manufacturing article, planarized layer forming apparatus, information processing apparatus, and determination method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11577433-B2
Application number	US-201916411648-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 14, 2019
Priority date	May 17, 2018
Publication date	Feb 14, 2023
Grant date	Feb 14, 2023

Abstract

An imprint apparatus that brings a mold and an imprint material on a substrate into contact with each other to form a pattern of the imprint material on the substrate is provided. The apparatus comprises a supplying unit configured to supply the imprint material to the substrate, and a control unit configured to control the supplying unit in accordance with arrangement data of the imprint material that indicates a position where the imprint material is to be supplied on the substrate, wherein the control unit determines the arrangement data based on a feature related to a spread of a droplet of the imprint material on the substrate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imprint apparatus that brings a mold and an imprint material on a substrate into contact with each other to form a pattern of the imprint material on the substrate, comprising:
a supplying unit configured to supply the imprint material to the substrate;
a control unit configured to control the supplying unit in accordance with arrangement data of the imprint material that indicates a position where the imprint material is to be supplied on the substrate;
an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of a first plurality of droplets of the imprint material while the imprint material and the mold are in contact with each other in an imprint condition; and
a storage unit,
wherein the control unit obtains a geometric feature amount of a droplet of the imprint material on the substrate, related to a spread of the droplet of the imprint material on the substrate, based on the image of the first plurality of droplets of the imprint material captured by the image capturing unit while the imprint material and the mold are in contact with each other in the imprint condition, and stores a correspondence relationship between imprint conditions and geometric feature amounts related to a spread of a droplet of the imprint material on the substrate in the storage unit, and
wherein the control unit further:
sets an imprint condition,
obtains the geometric feature amount corresponding to the set imprint condition using the stored correspondence relationship,
estimates spread shapes of a second plurality of droplets of the imprint material based on the geometric feature amount corresponding to the set imprint condition, and
determines the arrangement data by adjusting positions of the second plurality of droplets based on the estimated spread shapes of the second plurality of droplets of the imprint material.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when one droplet, of the first plurality of droplets, is approximated by a circle based on an image of the one droplet captured by the image capturing unit, the geometric feature amount of the one droplet includes a diameter of the circle.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the geometric feature amount includes a major axis length, a minor axis length, a radius of curvature, and a tilt of an ellipse when one droplet, of the first plurality of droplets, is approximated by an ellipse based on an image of the one droplet captured by the image capturing unit.

4. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the imprint condition includes at least one of a type of the mold, a filling time set for filling a pattern of the mold with the imprint material by bringing the imprint material and the mold in contact with each other, a relative speed of movement between the imprint material and the mold at the contact, a substrate position of a region to be captured by the image capturing unit, a material of the imprint material, a material of a substrate coating material, and a flow rate of an atmospheric gas in a position where the contact is to be performed.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the region to be captured by the image capturing unit in accordance with a pattern formed on the mold.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the storage unit stores the data of the correspondence relationship for each of a plurality of imprint conditions.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising:
an input unit configured to receive an input of an imprint condition via a user interface,
wherein the control unit obtains, based on the data of the correspondence relationship, a geometric feature amount corresponding to the imprint condition input from the input unit and determines the arrangement data based on an estimated spread shape of the droplet estimated based on the obtained geometric feature amount.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein in case that an imprint condition matching the imprint condition input from the input unit is absent in the data of the correspondence relationship, the control unit generates a geometric feature amount corresponding to the imprint condition input from the input unit based on a geometric feature amount corresponding to another imprint condition in the data of the correspondence relationship.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the arrangement data by adjusting positions of the second plurality of droplets so that an area of a polygon, obtained by connecting centers of gravity of the estimated spread shapes of the second plurality of droplets which are adjacent to each other, is minimized.

10. The apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising:
a display unit configured to display the user interface,
wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display, as the user interface,
a first user interface screen that can accept a value of an imprint condition, and
a second user interface screen that can display an image of droplets arranged in accordance with the determined arrangement data and an image of the estimated spread shapes of the droplets.

11. A planarized layer forming apparatus that brings a planarizing plate and a resist material on a substrate into contact with each other to form a planarized layer by the resist material on the substrate, comprising:
a supplying unit configured to supply the resist material to the substrate;
a control unit configured to control the supplying unit in accordance with arrangement data of the resist material that indicates a position where the resist material is to be supplied on the substrate;
an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of a first plurality of droplets of the resist material while the resist material and the planarizing plate are in contact with each other in an imprint condition; and
a storage unit,
wherein the control unit obtains a geometric feature amount of a droplet of the resist material on the substrate, related to a spread of the droplet of the resist material on the substrate, based on the image of the first plurality of droplets of the resist material captured by the image capturing unit while the resist material and the planarizing plate are in contact with each other in the imprint condition, and stores a correspondence relationship between imprint conditions and geometric feature amounts related to a spread of a droplet of the resist material on the substrate in the storage unit, and
wherein the control unit further:
sets an imprint condition,
obtains the geometric feature amount corresponding to the set imprint condition using the stored correspondence relationship,
estimates spread shapes of a second plurality of droplets of the resist material based on the geometric feature amount corresponding to the set imprint condition, and
determines the arrangement data by adjusting positions of the second plurality of droplets based on the estimated spread shapes of the second plurality of droplets of the resist material.

12. A method of manufacturing an article comprising:
forming a pattern on a substrate by using an imprint apparatus defined in claim 1 ; and
processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed in the forming,
wherein an article is manufactured from the substrate processed in the processing.

13. A method of manufacturing an article comprising:
curing a resist on a substrate by using a planarized layer forming apparatus defined in claim 11 ; and
processing the substrate having the cured resist,
wherein an article is manufactured from the substrate processed in the processing.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Aihara Sentaro

Classifications

• H10P76/00

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

• G03F7/706837

  Data analysis, e.g. filtering, weighting, flyer removal, fingerprints or root cause analysis · CPC title

• G03F7/70775

  Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position · CPC title

• G03F7/70808

  Construction details, e.g. housing, load-lock, seals or windows for passing light in or out of apparatus · CPC title

• G03F7/0002 Primary

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