Imprint apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9285675-B2
Application number	US-201213603523-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 5, 2012
Priority date	Sep 7, 2011
Publication date	Mar 15, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15, 2016

Abstract

An imprint apparatus includes a deforming unit configured to deform the mold held by the mold holding unit into a convex shape toward the substrate; a driving unit configured to change an attitude of the mold or the substrate during a pressing in which the mold deformed is pressed against the uncured resin to thereby make a position of a contact region at which the mold is brought into contact with the uncured resin movable; a control unit configured to calculate a plane coordinates of a centroid of the contact region based on an image information of the contact region acquired by a measuring unit and to control an operation of the driving unit such that the plane coordinates position of the centroid is directed toward the plane coordinates position of the centroid of a pattern-forming region on the substrate, which has been calculated or has been acquired in advance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imprint apparatus that molds an uncured resin on a substrate using a mold and cures the resin to thereby form a pattern of the cured resin on the substrate, the imprint apparatus comprising:
a mold holding unit configured to hold the mold;
a substrate holding unit configured to hold the substrate;
a deforming unit configured to deform the mold held by the mold holding unit into a convex shape toward the substrate;
a driving unit configured to change an attitude of the mold or the substrate during a pressing operation in which the mold deformed into the convex shape is pressed against the uncured resin to thereby make a position of a contact region at which the mold is brought into contact with the uncured resin movable;
a measuring unit configured to acquire an image information indicating a state of the contact region; and
a control unit configured to calculate a plane coordinates of a centroid of the contact region based on the image information and to control an operation of the driving unit such that the plane coordinates position of the centroid is directed toward the plane coordinates position of the centroid of a pattern-forming region on the substrate, which has been calculated based on the image information or has been acquired in advance.

2. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the deforming unit deforms the mold into the convex shape toward the substrate by adjusting pressure in a space in contact with the mold.

3. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when a pressing position in which the mold is pressed against the uncured resin is caught at an end of the substrate, the control unit executes calculation of the plane coordinates of the centroid of the pattern-forming region in parallel with calculation of the plane coordinates of the centroid of the contact region.

4. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the driving unit is a drive system that is installed in the mold holding unit and changes an angle of a holding surface of the mold in the mold holding unit with respect to a plane of the substrate.

5. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the driving unit is a drive system that is installed in the substrate holding unit and changes an angle of a holding surface of a substrate in the substrate holding unit with respect to the surface of the mold.

6. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the driving unit is the mold holding unit that comprises a plurality of suction grooves that holds the mold by suction and a switching mechanism that is capable of switching the suction of each of the plurality of suction grooves independently of one another.

7. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the driving unit is a moving mechanism that moves the mold deformed into the convex shape toward the substrate while being held by the mold holding unit parallel to a plane of the substrate.

8. The imprint apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit restores a state of the mold and the substrate moved in parallel back to its original state by the moving mechanism after completion of the pressing operation.

9. The imprint apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the control unit executes position matching based on a measurement result of a relative position between the mold and the substrate prior to the pressing operation.

10. The imprint apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the control unit executes position matching based on a measurement result of a relative position between the mold and the substrate after completion of the pressing operation.

11. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving unit is a drive system that is installed in the mold holding unit and changes an angle of a holding surface of the mold in the mold holding unit with respect to a plane of the substrate.

12. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving unit is a drive system that is installed in the substrate holding unit and changes an angle of a holding surface of the substrate in the substrate holding unit with respect to a surface of the mold.

13. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving unit is the mold holding unit that comprises a plurality of suction grooves that holds the mold by suction and a switching mechanism that is capable of switching the suction of each of the plurality of suction grooves independently of one another.

14. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving unit is a moving mechanism that moves the mold deformed into the convex shape toward the substrate while being held by the mold holding unit parallel to a plane of the substrate.

15. An article manufacturing method comprising:
forming, in a pattern-forming step, a resin pattern on a substrate using the imprint apparatus according to claim 1 ; and
processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in the pattern-forming step.

16. An imprint apparatus that molds an uncured resin on a substrate using a mold and cures the resin to thereby form a pattern of the cured resin on the substrate, the imprint apparatus comprising:
a mold holding unit configured to hold the mold;
a substrate holding unit configured to hold the substrate;
a deforming unit configured to deform the mold held by the mold holding unit into a convex shape toward the substrate;
a driving unit configured to change an attitude of the mold or the substrate to thereby move a position of a contact region at which the mold is brought into contact with the uncured resin;
a measuring unit configured to acquire an image information indicating a state of the contact region; and
a control unit configured to cause the measuring unit to acquire the image information with the mold deformed into the convex shape in contact with the uncured resin and control the driving unit based on an acquired result such that a position of a centroid of the contact region is directed toward a position of a centroid of a pattern surface.

Assignees

• Hamaya Zenichi
• Hasegawa Noriyasu
• Yoshida Setsuo
• Shiode Yoshihiro
• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Hamaya Zenichi
• Hasegawa Noriyasu
• Yoshida Setsuo
• Shiode Yoshihiro

Classifications

• G03F7/0002 Primary

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

• B29C2059/023

  Microembossing · CPC title

• B29C59/022

  characterised by the disposition or the configuration, e.g. dimensions, of the embossments or the shaping tools therefor · CPC title

• B82Y10/00

  Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic · CPC title

• B82Y40/00

  Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures · CPC title