Imprint apparatus, imprint method, and manufacturing method of semiconductor device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11953825-B2
Application number	US-202318154995-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2023
Priority date	Aug 28, 2018
Publication date	Apr 9, 2024
Grant date	Apr 9, 2024

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an imprint apparatus that presses a fine pattern of an original plate against a photo-curable resin dropped onto a substrate, and transfers the fine pattern to the photo-curable resin by applying light, includes a dropping unit that drops the photo-curable resin onto a shot region obtained by dividing the substrate into a plurality of sections, an original plate supporting unit that stamps the original plate on the photo-curable resin on the substrate, the original plate being supported the fine pattern towards the substrate side, and a substrate supporting unit that supports the substrate and moves the substrate such that a position of a predetermined shot region of the substrate is a dropping position of the dropping unit or a stamping position of the original plate, in which the dropping unit is controlled such that the photo-curable resin is sequentially dropped onto the plurality of shot regions of the substrate, and the original plate supporting unit is controlled such that the fine pattern is transferred by sequentially stamping the original plate on the photo-curable resin dropped onto the plurality of shot regions, while operating the substrate supporting unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imprint apparatus that presses a pattern of an original plate against a photo-curable resin dropped onto a substrate, and transfers the pattern to the photo-curable resin by applying light, the apparatus comprising:
a dropping unit that drops the photo-curable resin onto a plurality of shot regions obtained by dividing the substrate into a plurality of sections;
an original plate supporting unit that contacts the pattern of the original plate to the photo-curable resin on the substrate;
a substrate supporting unit that supports the substrate and moves the substrate, a predetermined shot region of the substrate being moved to a dropping position of the dropping unit or a contacting position of the original plate; and
a processor including a counting unit that counts an order in which the photo-curable resin is dropwise for each of the plurality of shot regions,
wherein the dropping unit is controlled to drop the photo-curable resin onto the plurality of shot regions of the substrate sequentially before contacting the original plate to the photo-curable resin on any of the plurality of shot regions, and
the original plate supporting unit is controlled to contact the original plate to the photo-curable resin dropped onto the plurality of shot regions sequentially based on the order of a dropwise of the photo-curable resin to transfer the pattern to the resin, while operating the substrate supporting unit.

2. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the dropping unit is controlled such that the photo-curable resin is dropped in the order of a first shot region and a second shot region, and
the original plate supporting unit is controlled such that the pattern is transferred by contacting the original plate on the photo-curable resin, in an order of the second shot region and the first shot region so as that the order of imprinting the shot regions is a reverse order of the order of the dropwise of the photo-curable resin.

3. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an irradiation unit that irradiates light onto a liquid droplet of the photo-curable resin dropped onto a predetermined shot region determined based on the order of the dropwise of the photo-curable resin before the original plate is contacted,
wherein the irradiation unit is positioned between the original plate supporting unit and the dropping unit in a horizontal direction.

4. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a light intensity changing unit that changes an intensity of light to be applied to the liquid droplet of the photo-curable resin from the irradiation unit.

5. The imprint apparatus according to claim 4 ,
wherein the light intensity changing unit is a shutter or a diffuser plate.

6. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the irradiation unit is disposed to be adjacent to the dropping unit.

7. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a light source that is positioned above the original plate supporting unit overlapping the original plate supported with the original plate supporting unit in vertical direction, and irradiates light to the photo-curable resin to transfer the pattern of the original plate to the photo-curable resin in a state in which the original plate is contacted to the photo-curable resin,
wherein the irradiation unit is positioned between the light source and the dropping unit in the horizontal direction.

8. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an irradiation unit that irradiates light to a liquid droplet of the photo-curable resin dropped onto the substrate, before the original plate is contacted,
wherein an intensity of light applied to the liquid droplet is changed among the plurality of shot regions, the intensity being changed according to a length of a time from when the photo-curable resin is dropped to when the original plate is contacted to the photo-curable resin.

9. The imprint apparatus according to claim 8 ,
wherein the intensity of the light applied to the liquid droplet increases as the time from when the photo-curable resin is dropped to when the original plate is stamped on the photo-curable resin, increases, in the plurality of shot regions.

10. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least any one of a contacting speed of the original plate, a pressing force of the original plate with respect to the photo-curable resin, and a releasing speed of the original plate from the photo-curable resin is changed in the plurality of shot regions, according to a length of a time from when the photo-curable resin is dropped to when the original plate is contacted on the photo-curable resin.

11. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a storage unit in which a plurality of recipes having a plurality of different processing parameters are stored,
wherein the processor includes a selection unit that selects a recipe used for each of the plurality of shot regions among of the plurality of recipes based on the order of a dropwise of the photo-curable resin.

Assignees

• Kioxia Corp

Inventors

• Hatano Masayuki
• Kobayashi Kei
• Nakasugi Tetsuro

Classifications

• H10P76/2041

  Photolithographic processes · CPC title

• G03F7/0002 Primary

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

• H01L21/0274

  Electricity · mapped topic