Photocurable composition including a non-reactive polymer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12428508-B2
Application number	US-202217650676-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 11, 2022
Priority date	Feb 11, 2022
Publication date	Sep 30, 2025
Grant date	Sep 30, 2025

Abstract

A photocurable composition can comprise a polymerizable material, at least one non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, wherein the non-reactive polymer can have a carbon content of at least 80% based on the total weight of the non-reactive polymer; a molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer can be at least 750 g/mol and not greater than 20,000 g/mol; an amount of the non-reactive polymer may be at least 10 wt % and not greater than 30 wt %; and a viscosity of the photocurable composition may be not greater than 110 mPa·s. The photocurable composition may have a low linear shrinkage after curing, a high carbon content and high etch resistance and being suitable for AIP or NIL processing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A photocurable composition comprising a polymerizable material, at least one non-reactive polymer, and a photoinitiator, wherein
the non-reactive polymer has a carbon content of at least 80% based on the total weight of the non-reactive polymer;
a molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer is at least 750 g/mol and not greater than 20,000 g/mol;
an amount of the non-reactive polymer is at least 10 wt % and not greater than 30 wt %; and
a viscosity of the photocurable composition is not greater than 110 mPa·s.

2. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the photocurable composition is adapted that a linear shrinkage of the photocurable composition after photo-curing is not greater than 6 percent.

3. The photocurable composition of claim 2 , wherein the linear shrinkage is not greater than 5 percent.

4. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the viscosity of the photocurable composition is not greater than 50 mPa·s.

5. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the carbon content of the non-reactive polymer is at least 85 percent.

6. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the non-reactive polymer is soluble in the polymerizable material.

7. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the molecular weight of the non-reactive polymer is at least 750 g/mol and not greater than 10,000 g/mol.

8. The photocurable composition of claim 7 , wherein the molecular weight of the non-reactive polymer is at least 2,000 g/mol and not greater than 8,000 g/mol.

9. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the non-reactive polymer is not greater than 25 wt % based on the total weight of the photocurable composition.

10. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the non-reactive polymer is selected from polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide, or dicyclopentadiene phenol resin.

11. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the polymerizable material is at least 50 wt % based on the total weight of the photocurable composition.

12. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the polymerizable material comprises at least one polymerizable monomer, the at least one polymerizable monomer having a boiling point of at least 250° C.

13. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the polymerizable material includes at least one multi-functional acrylate monomer, at least one multi-functional vinyl monomer, or a combination thereof.

14. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the polymerizable material includes at least one mono-functional acrylate monomer and at least one multi-functional acrylate monomer.

15. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein the photocurable composition is adapted for nanoimprint lithography (NIL) or inkjet adaptive planarization (IAP).

16. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein a total carbon content of a photo-cured layer formed from the photocurable composition has a carbon content of at least 70%.

17. The photocurable composition of claim 1 , wherein a thermal decomposition temperature of the photocurable composition after photo-curing is at least 300° C.

18. A method of forming a photo-cured layer on a substrate, comprising:
applying a layer of a photocurable composition on the substrate, wherein the photocurable composition comprises a polymerizable material, a non-reactive polymer and a photoinitiator, wherein the non-reactive polymer has a carbon content of at least 80 wt % based on the total weight of the polymer; a molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer is at least 750 g/mol and not greater than 20,000 g/mol; an amount of the non-reactive polymer is at least 10wt % and not greater than 30 wt %; and a viscosity of the photocurable composition is not greater than 110 mPa·s;
bringing the photocurable composition into contact with a template or a superstrate;
irradiating the photocurable composition with light to form a photo-cured layer; and
removing the template or the superstrate from the photo-cured layer.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein a linear thermal shrinkage of the layer of the photocurable composition after forming the photo-cured layer is not greater than 6 percent.

20. A method of manufacturing an article, comprising:
applying a layer of a photocurable composition on a substrate, wherein the photocurable composition comprises a polymerizable material, a non-reactive polymer and a photoinitiator, wherein the non-reactive polymer has a carbon content of at least 80 wt % based on the total weight of the polymer; a molecular weight of the at least one non-reactive polymer is at least 700 g/mol and not greater than 20,000 g/mol; an amount of the non-reactive polymer is at least 10wt % and not greater than 30 wt %; and a viscosity of the photocurable composition is not greater than 110 mPa·s;
bringing the photocurable composition into contact with a template or a superstrate;
irradiating the photocurable composition with light to form a photo-cured layer;
removing the template or the superstrate from the photo-cured layer;
forming a pattern on the substrate;
processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in the forming; and

manufacturing an article from the substrate processed in the processing.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Stachowiak Timothy Brian
• Wan Fen
• Liu Weijun

Classifications

• G03F7/028

  with photosensitivity-increasing substances, e.g. photoinitiators · CPC title

• C09D11/101

  Inks specially adapted for printing processes involving curing by wave energy or particle radiation, e.g. with UV-curing following the printing · CPC title

• C09D11/38

  characterised by non-macromolecular additives other than solvents, pigments or dyes · CPC title

• C09D11/102

  containing macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions other than those only involving unsaturated carbon-to-carbon bonds · CPC title

• C09D11/106

  containing macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds · CPC title