CN111694214A

CN111694214A - Nano pattern splicing method and equipment

Info

Publication number: CN111694214A
Application number: CN202010606129.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张笑; 周雪原; 谷新; 袁广才
Original assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-29
Filing date: 2020-06-29
Publication date: 2020-09-22

Abstract

The invention discloses a splicing method and splicing equipment of nano patterns, wherein the splicing method comprises the following steps: the method comprises a window manufacturing step, a pattern transfer step, an etching step, a removing step and a splicing step, wherein in the window manufacturing step, a window film layer is formed on a splicing substrate to obtain a composition substrate, the window film layer is composed to form a plurality of stamping windows arranged at intervals, the splicing substrate comprises a substrate and a template layer formed on the substrate, the window film layer is formed on the template layer, and the region of the template layer exposed out of the stamping windows is a region to be stamped. According to the nano pattern splicing method, because the plurality of stamping windows are formed in the window manufacturing step, the execution times of the window manufacturing step can be reduced, so that the total times of repeatedly executing the window manufacturing step, the pattern transfer printing step, the etching step and the removing step can be reduced, the production efficiency can be effectively improved, and the production process is simplified.

Description

Nano pattern splicing method and equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of nano-imprinting, in particular to a nano-pattern splicing method and splicing equipment.

Background

The imprinting technology is an important thin film patterning technology besides the photolithography technology, and mainly comprises hot imprinting, ultraviolet imprinting and micro-contact imprinting. The patterning principle can be described as follows: pressing the imprinting master template with the patterns on the imprinting glue under the irradiation of heat or ultraviolet, and then manufacturing the patterns complementary with the imprinting master template through processes of demoulding, etching excess glue, etching, removing glue and the like.

However, since the nano-structure is too small, the imprinting master template for nano-imprinting can only be manufactured by EBL (electron beam lithography, abbreviation of electron beam exposure system) and other techniques, and since the manufacturing cost is too high, generally, the EBL can only correspond to the manufacturing of the imprinting master template for nano-imprinting template smaller than 12 inches, and the nano-imprinting template larger than 12 inches needs to be realized by a splicing manner. In the splicing technology, the problem of splicing seams is the most important, and if the splicing seams are too wide, such as tens of micrometers, the performance of the spliced template is seriously influenced. Therefore, the splicing technology is the most difficult way to solve is how to reduce the splicing seam.

In view of the above problems, the related art indicates that a high-precision splicing device, i.e., a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit are integrated in an imprinting device, can be used to realize high-precision splicing of large-size nano-imprinting templates. However, such a device is difficult to manufacture due to the integration of a plurality of high-precision units, and the device is very high in cost, difficult to realize mass production, and low in production efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving at least one of the problems of the prior art. Therefore, the invention provides a method for splicing nano patterns, which can form high-precision spliced nano patterns without a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit by arranging a window manufacturing step, and can reduce the total times of repeatedly executing a window manufacturing step, a pattern transfer printing step, an etching step and a removing step due to the fact that a plurality of stamping windows are formed in the window manufacturing step, and is high in manufacturing efficiency.

The invention also provides a splicing device of the nanometer pattern.

The method for splicing the nano patterns comprises the following steps: a window manufacturing step: forming a window film layer on a splicing substrate to obtain a composition substrate, composing the window film layer to form a plurality of stamping windows arranged at intervals, wherein the splicing substrate comprises a substrate and a template layer formed on the substrate, the window film layer is formed on the template layer, and the region of the template layer exposed by the stamping windows is a region to be stamped; pattern transfer printing: forming an imprinting adhesive layer on the composition substrate, wherein a region of the imprinting adhesive layer, which is opposite to the imprinting window, is a window region, and performing nano imprinting on a plurality of window regions on the imprinting adhesive layer and a peripheral region adjacent to each window region by adopting an imprinting mother template to form a plurality of imprinting patterns; etching: etching the plurality of regions to be imprinted on the template layer by taking the imprinted pattern as a mask to form a plurality of nano patterns; removing: removing the window film layer; splicing: and repeatedly executing the window manufacturing step, the pattern transfer printing step, the etching step and the removing step to form a spliced nano pattern.

According to the method for splicing the nano patterns, the window manufacturing step is arranged, so that the high-precision spliced nano patterns can be formed without a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit, and the total times of repeatedly executing the window manufacturing step, the pattern transfer printing step, the etching step and the removing step can be reduced due to the fact that the plurality of stamping windows are formed in the window manufacturing step, and the manufacturing efficiency is high.

In some embodiments, each of the window regions to be imprinted and the peripheral region adjacent thereto are defined as a glue layer imprinting region, and in at least one of the pattern transfer steps, the imprinting master template is used to successively perform nano-imprinting on a plurality of the glue layer imprinting regions.

In some embodiments, each of the window regions to be imprinted and the peripheral region adjacent thereto are defined as a glue layer imprinting region, and in at least one of the pattern transfer steps, the imprinting master template is used to perform nano-imprinting on a plurality of glue layer imprinting regions simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the number of embossed windows fabricated at each window fabrication step is the same.

In some embodiments, at least one of the window making steps produces a plurality of embossed windows of the same specification.

In some embodiments, all of the embossed windows produced in all of the window producing steps have the same specifications.

In some embodiments, the window making step is performed four times, four rows of windows arranged along the first direction are formed in the rectangular area, each row of windows includes four embossed windows arranged in sequence along the second direction, and the row-direction size of each embossed window in the second direction is the first size.

In some embodiments, at least one of the window making steps does not produce all of the embossed windows of the same size.

In some embodiments, the window making step is performed three times, four rows of windows arranged along the first direction are formed in the rectangular area, the first row of windows and the third row of windows are identical and are both one of odd row windows or even row windows, the second row of windows and the fourth row of windows are identical and are both the other one of the odd row windows or the even row windows, wherein the even-numbered row of windows includes four of the embossed windows sequentially arranged in a second direction, the odd line windows comprise five stamping windows which are sequentially arranged along the second direction, the line-direction dimension of each stamping window in the even line windows in the second direction is the second dimension, the row-wise dimensions of the middle three of the embossed windows in the odd-numbered rows in the second direction are also all the second dimension, the sum of the line-wise sizes of the two embossed windows on the side of the odd-numbered line windows in the second direction is also the second size.

According to the nano-pattern splicing device disclosed by the embodiment of the second aspect of the invention, the splicing device is at least used for executing the step of carrying out nano-imprinting on the plurality of glue layer imprinting areas by adopting the imprinting master template.

According to the splicing equipment for the nano patterns, a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit are not needed, the structure is simple, and the feasibility of mass production is high.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a method for stitching nano-patterns according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the master template and the stitched substrate shown in FIG. 1;

3-12 are flow diagrams of steps of a method of stitching nanopatterns according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of steps of a method for stitching nanopatterns according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the patterned substrate and imprint master template shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the steps of a method for stitching nanopatterns according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the patterned substrate and imprint master template shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a schematic design diagram of a patterned substrate according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a schematic design diagram of a patterned substrate according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a splicing apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention.

Reference numerals:

patterning the substrate 10; splicing the substrates 1; a substrate base plate 11; a template layer 12; a window film layer 13; an embossed window 14;

a first embossed window a; a second embossed window b; a third embossed window c; a fourth embossed window d;

a region to be imprinted 15; a nano-pattern 16; splicing the nanometer patterns 17;

imprinting the glue layer 20; window region 21; a peripheral region 22; a glue line imprint area 23;

an imprint pattern 24; imprinting the master template 30;

a splicing device 40; a mobile unit 41; the imprint unit 42; a curing unit 43; a mold release unit 44;

a gluing unit 45; a registration unit 46;

an even row window 50; odd row windows 60; a first direction F1; a second direction F2.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are illustrative and intended to be illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the invention. To simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and arrangements of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. In addition, the present invention provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize the applicability of other processes and/or the use of other materials.

The imprinting technology is an important thin film patterning technology besides the photolithography technology, and mainly comprises hot imprinting, ultraviolet imprinting and micro-contact imprinting. The patterning principle can be described as follows: pressing the imprinting master template with the patterns on the imprinting glue under the irradiation of heat or ultraviolet, and then manufacturing the patterns complementary with the imprinting master template through processes of demoulding, etching excess glue, etching, removing glue and the like. However, since the nano-structure is too small, the imprinting master template B for nano-imprinting can only be manufactured by EBL (electron beam lithography, abbreviation of electron beam lithography), and the like, and since the cost is too high, generally, the EBL can only correspond to the manufacturing of the imprinting master template for nano-imprinting the template less than 12 inches, and the nano-imprinting template more than 12 inches needs to be realized by a splicing method.

For example, in the related art, referring to fig. 1, the method for manufacturing the splicing template E may include the steps of: 1. preparing a splicing substrate A and an imprinting master template B for splicing, wherein the splicing substrate A comprises a substrate and a template layer formed on the substrate; 2. transferring the pattern on the imprinting master template B to a template layer of the splicing substrate A by using high-precision splicing equipment C to obtain a nano pattern D; 3. sequentially transferring and imprinting the graph of the mother template B onto a template layer of the spliced substrate A, splicing the obtained nano patterns D for multiple times (such as splicing of a nano pattern D1, a nano pattern D2, a nano pattern D3, a nano pattern D4, a nano pattern D5 and the like shown in FIG. 1), and thus obtaining spliced nano patterns Dn; thereby completing the manufacture of the splicing template E.

In the above-mentioned manufacture process, the most important is the problem of the splicing seam between the adjacent nanometer patterns D, if the splicing seam is too wide, such as tens of microns, the performance of the splicing template E will be seriously affected, and therefore, in order to guarantee the splicing precision, the splicing seam between the adjacent nanometer patterns D needs to be reduced to the minimum, and therefore, the splicing equipment C needs to be provided with a high-precision mobile unit and a high-precision alignment unit, so that the structure of the splicing equipment C is relatively complex, the cost is high, mass production is difficult to realize, and the processing efficiency is low. For example, in the example shown in fig. 2, if a 1-micron patchwork is to be achieved, the precision of both the high-precision moving unit and the high-precision aligning unit needs to be less than 1 micron to ensure that the distance between the imprinting master templates B obtained by two adjacent transfers is small, so that the gap between the nano-patterns D1 and D2 obtained by two adjacent transfers is small.

In order to solve at least one of the above technical problems, the invention provides a splicing method and a splicing device 40, the splicing device 40 can realize high-precision splicing of large-size nano-imprint templates without a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit, so that the production cost and the production difficulty of the splicing device 40 are greatly reduced, and the splicing device 40 can realize mass production.

Next, a method of stitching a nanopattern according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention is first described.

The method for splicing the nano patterns comprises a window manufacturing step, a pattern transfer printing step, an etching step, a removing step and a splicing step.

In the window making step: as shown in fig. 3, a window film layer 13 is formed on a tiled substrate 1 to obtain a patterned substrate 10, the tiled substrate 1 includes a substrate 11 and a template layer 12 formed on the substrate 11, the window film layer 13 is formed on the template layer 12, as shown in fig. 4, the window film layer 13 is patterned to form a plurality of stamping windows 14 arranged at intervals, that is, any two of the plurality of stamping windows 14 are not adjacent, the region of the template layer 12 exposed by the stamping window 14 is a region 15 to be stamped, that is, the window film layer 13 at the stamping window 14 is removed to expose the template layer 12, at this time, each region of the template layer 12 exposed is a region 15 to be stamped, and several stamping windows 14 are formed, corresponding to several regions 15 to be stamped.

In the pattern transfer step: as shown in fig. 4 and 5, an imprinting adhesive layer 20 is formed on the patterned substrate 10, a region of the imprinting adhesive layer 20 opposite to the imprinting window 14 is a window region 21, and a plurality of window regions 21 on the imprinting adhesive layer 20 and a peripheral region 22 adjacent to each window region 21 are nano-imprinted using an imprinting master template 30 to form a plurality of imprinting patterns 24. For simplicity of description, each window area 21 to be imprinted and the peripheral area 22 adjacent thereto are defined as a glue imprint area 23, so that there are several imprint windows 14, and thus several glue imprint areas 23, and the coverage of the glue imprint area 23 is larger than that of the corresponding imprint window 14.

Therefore, in the pattern transfer step, the imprinting master template 30 is used to perform nanoimprint on the plurality of glue layer imprinting areas 23 on the imprinting glue layer 20 sequentially or simultaneously to form a plurality of imprinting patterns 24, i.e. one glue layer imprinting area 23 corresponds to one imprinting pattern 24. It is thus shown that the pattern area of the imprinting master template 30 is slightly larger than the window area 21, so that when the imprinting master template 30 is used to imprint the imprinting glue layer 20, it is ensured that the imprinting pattern 24 of each glue layer imprinting area 23 can cover and exceed the corresponding area to be imprinted 15, so that each area to be imprinted 15 is covered by an imprinting pattern 24 exceeding the area thereof, and thus, a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit are omitted.

In the etching step: as shown in fig. 5 and 6, the plurality of regions to be imprinted 15 on the template layer 12 are etched using the imprint patterns 24 as a mask to form a plurality of nano-patterns 16, i.e., several imprint patterns 24 are formed, which correspond to several nano-patterns 16, and thus several imprint windows 14 are formed, which correspond to several nano-patterns 16.

In the removing step: as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the window film layer 13 is removed. For example, the removal may be achieved using a wet etching process or a dry etching process, etc. In addition, it should be noted that the imprint glue layer 20 may be removed first, and then the window film layer 13 may be removed, or the imprint glue layer 20 and the window film layer 13 may be removed at the same time.

In the splicing step: as shown in fig. 8 to 12, the window making step, the pattern transferring step, the etching step, and the removing step are repeatedly performed to form the stitched nanopattern 17. That is, after the first round of window making step, the pattern transfer step, the etching step and the removing step are sequentially performed, the second round of window making step, the pattern transfer step, the etching step and the removing step are sequentially performed, the third round of window making step, the pattern transfer step, the etching step and the removing step are sequentially performed, and so on until the nano pattern 17 with the designed size is completed. In addition, it should be noted that if the splicing can be completed by two rounds, a third round of repetition is not needed.

Therefore, according to the splicing method of the embodiment of the invention, as the plurality of stamping windows 14 are formed in each window manufacturing step, a plurality of stamping patterns 24 can be obtained in each pattern transfer step, so that a plurality of nano patterns 16 can be obtained in each etching step, the frequency of the window manufacturing step can be greatly reduced, the total frequency of repeatedly executing the window manufacturing step, the pattern transfer step, the etching step and the removing step is reduced, the production efficiency can be effectively improved, and the production process is simplified. It should be noted that the splice substrate 1 shown in fig. 3 to 12 is only a partial cross-sectional schematic view.

In short, when the stitched nano-pattern 17 is manufactured, the imprint master template 30 and the patterned substrate 10 are first prepared, and the patterned substrate 10 includes the substrate 11, the template layer 12 on the substrate 11, and the window film layer 13 on the template layer 12. Then, a plurality of stamping windows 14 are fabricated on the window film layer 13 of the patterned substrate 10, such as the plurality of first embossing windows a shown in fig. 4, and ensures that the plurality of first embossing windows a are arranged spaced apart, i.e., any two first embossed windows a are not contiguous, the window film layer 13 at the first embossed windows a is removed, so that the template layer 12 is exposed in the area opposite to the first imprinting window a, after which an imprinting glue layer 20 is provided on the patterned substrate 10, and the pattern on the imprinting master template 30 is transferred to a position on the imprinting glue layer 20 opposite to each of the first imprinting windows a and the periphery thereof, using the stitching device 40, a plurality of imprinting patterns 24 are obtained, and then the plurality of imprinting patterns 24 are used as a mask, the region of the template layer 12 opposite to each of the first imprinting windows a is etched to form a mosaic nanopattern 16, and then the imprinting glue layer 20 and the window film layer 13 are removed. Next, the window film layer 13 is again disposed on the template layer 12, then a plurality of second imprinting windows 14 for stitching, such as a plurality of second imprinting windows b shown in fig. 9, are formed on the window film layer 13, and then the pattern on the imprinting master template 30 is transferred onto the mosaic substrate 1 by referring to the above steps, thereby obtaining a nano pattern 16 for stitching.

From this, through the position of reasonable first impression window a and the second impression window b of setting up, can make the 16 mosaics of 16 and the 16 mosaics of nanometer patterns of two mosaics, can accomplish the preparation of concatenation template. It should be noted that the splicing template can be further spliced more times, for example, the third imprinting window c can be manufactured through the same steps, and the three-spliced nano pattern 16 is obtained through transferring a pattern and an etching process, at this time, the positions of the first imprinting window a, the second imprinting window b, and the third imprinting window c are reasonably set, so that the one-spliced nano pattern 16, the two-spliced nano pattern 16, and the three-spliced nano pattern 16 can be spliced, and thus, the manufacturing of the splicing template is completed. And so on, and will not be described herein.

In the step of "patterning the window film layer 13 to form a plurality of stamping windows 14 arranged at intervals": the method can be realized by photolithography or photolithography and etching, for example, by a photolithography method, the material of the window film layer 13 may be photoresist, and for example, by a photolithography and etching method, the material of the window film layer 13 may be ITO, IGZO, or the like. Both methods are mature in the semiconductor process or the display panel manufacturing process, so that the width of a seam between two spliced windows (such as the first stamping window a and the second stamping window b) can reach the micrometer level, such as 1 micrometer. Because the abutted seam between the two abutted windows has reached the high-precision requirement through the manufacturing process of the imprinting window 14, when the pattern on the imprinting master template 30 is transferred to the imprinting adhesive layer 20 by using the splicing device 40, only the area of the pattern region of the imprinting master template 30 needs to be larger than that of the window region 21, and the window region 21 is completely covered (for example, the difference between the pattern region of the imprinting master template 30 and the window region 21 can be in the micrometer-millimeter level, such as 1 millimeter), so that the splicing device 40 does not need a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the invention, the high-precision splicing template manufacturing can be realized by combining the simple splicing equipment 40 with the high-precision imprint window 14 manufacturing method.

In short, by setting the area of the pattern region on the imprinting master template 30 to be slightly larger than the imprinting window 14, a high-precision moving unit is not needed in the splicing process, and since the imprinting window 14 is made in advance on the composition substrate 10, that is, by making the imprinting window 14 smaller than the pattern region of the imprinting master template 30 on the composition substrate 10 in advance, a high-precision aligning unit is not needed on the splicing device 40, thereby reducing the manufacturing difficulty of the large-size nano-imprinting template manufacturing device, and easily realizing the manufacture from a small-size template to a large-size template, so that the splicing device 40 provided by the invention is simple, does not need a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit, and has high feasibility in mass production.

Moreover, the width of the seam between the two spliced windows (such as the first imprinting window a and the second imprinting window b) is determined by the manufacturing process of the imprinting window 14, and the precision of the seam is very high (such as 1 micron) no matter the manufacturing process of the imprinting window 14 adopts a photoetching process or a photoetching process combined with an etching process, which can be met by the existing process level, so that the manufacturing method of the large-size splicing template provided by the invention can simply have very high splicing precision, and thus the high-precision splicing template can be obtained.

In conclusion, according to the method for splicing the nano-patterns provided by the embodiment of the invention, the nano-spliced patterns with large size and high precision can be formed. The number of times of repeatedly executing the window making step, the pattern transfer printing step, the etching step and the removing step is less, and the making efficiency is high. Moreover, the splicing device 40 does not need a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit, the structure of the splicing device 40 is simplified, the cost of the splicing device 40 is reduced, and mass production can be realized.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of gum layer imprinting areas 23 are successively nanoimprinted with the imprint master template 30 during at least one pattern transfer step. This can simplify the production of the imprint master 30. For example, in some specific examples, when the stitched nano pattern 17 is manufactured, first, the imprint master template 30 and the stitched substrate 1 are prepared, and a plurality of first imprint windows a for stitching are manufactured (see fig. 13), then, the pattern on the imprint master template 30 is sequentially transferred onto the regions to be imprinted 15 corresponding to the plurality of first imprint windows a by using the stitching device 40 (see fig. 14), and then, a plurality of second imprint windows b for stitching are manufactured (see fig. 13), and the pattern on the imprint master template 30 is sequentially transferred onto the regions to be imprinted 15 corresponding to the plurality of second imprint windows b by using the stitching device 40 (see fig. 14); then, a plurality of third imprinting windows c for triple-stitching (refer to fig. 13) are manufactured, and the patterns on the imprinting master template 30 are sequentially transferred to the regions to be imprinted 15 corresponding to the plurality of third imprinting windows c by using the stitching device 40; then, a plurality of fourth imprinting windows d (see fig. 13) for four-splicing are manufactured, and the patterns on the imprinting master template 30 are sequentially transferred to the regions to be imprinted 15 corresponding to the plurality of fourth imprinting windows d by using the splicing device 40; the fabrication of the stitched nanopattern 17 is completed. It is understood that for the sake of brevity, some specific steps, such as some of the pattern transfer steps, some of the etching steps, and the removal steps, etc., are omitted from the fabrication process described in this paragraph.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of gum layer imprint regions 23 are simultaneously nanoimprinted with the imprint master template 30 during at least one pattern transfer step. Thus, the number of pattern transfer steps can be reduced, and the production efficiency can be improved. For example, in some specific examples, in the process of manufacturing the stitched nano pattern 17, first, the imprint master template 30 and the stitched substrate 1 are prepared, and a plurality of first imprint windows a for stitching are manufactured (see fig. 15), then, the pattern on the imprint master template 30 is primarily transferred onto the regions to be imprinted 15 corresponding to the plurality of first imprint windows a by using the stitching device 40 (see fig. 16), and then, a plurality of second imprint windows b for stitching are manufactured (see fig. 15), and the pattern on the imprint master template 30 is primarily transferred onto the regions to be imprinted 15 corresponding to the plurality of second imprint windows b by using the stitching device 40; then, a plurality of third imprinting windows c for triple-stitching (refer to fig. 15) are manufactured, and the pattern on the imprinting master template 30 is primarily transferred to the to-be-imprinted region 15 corresponding to the plurality of third imprinting windows c by using the stitching device 40; then, a plurality of fourth imprinting windows d for four-splicing (refer to fig. 15) are manufactured, and the pattern on the imprinting master template 30 is primarily transferred to the regions to be imprinted 15 corresponding to the plurality of fourth imprinting windows d by using the splicing device 40; the fabrication of the stitched nanopattern 17 is completed. It is understood that for the sake of brevity, some specific steps, such as some of the pattern transfer steps, some of the etching steps, and the removal steps, etc., are omitted from the fabrication process described in this paragraph.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the same number of embossed windows 14 are produced per window making step. That is to say, N first imprinting windows a are manufactured in the first window manufacturing step, and N second imprinting windows b are also manufactured in the second window manufacturing step, so that the N second imprinting windows b can be spliced with the N first imprinting windows a one by one, the splicing times can be reduced, and the production efficiency is improved. For example, in the first embodiment described later, four embossed windows 14 are produced at each window forming step as shown in fig. 17, and in the second embodiment described later, six embossed windows 14 are produced at each window forming step as shown in fig. 18.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of embossed windows 14 produced by at least one of the window-making steps are all of the same size. That is, N embossed windows 14 are manufactured in a certain window manufacturing step, the shape of each embossed window 14 in the N embossed windows 14 is a set shape, and the size of each embossed window 14 is a set size, so that the specifications of the N embossed windows 14 are consistent, and thus, the design difficulty can be reduced. For example, in the first embodiment described later, four embossed windows 14 are formed in one mold at each window forming step, as shown in fig. 17.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of embossed windows 14 produced at each window-making step are of the same size, and each embossed window 14 produced at a different window-making step is of the same size. That is to say, N number of stamping windows 14 are manufactured in one of the window manufacturing steps, the shape of each stamping window 14 in the N number of stamping windows 14 is a set shape, and the size of each stamping window 14 is a set size, N number of stamping windows 14 are also manufactured in the other window manufacturing step, the shape of each stamping window 14 in the N number of stamping windows 14 is a set shape, and the size of each stamping window 14 is a set size, so that the specifications of all stamping windows 14 manufactured in all the window manufacturing steps are consistent, and the design difficulty is reduced. For example, in the first embodiment described below, as shown in fig. 17, sixteen embossed windows 14 with the same specification are manufactured in a total of four window manufacturing steps.

For example, in the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 17, four window making steps are performed, four rows of windows arranged along the first direction F1 are formed in the rectangular area, each row of windows includes four stamping windows 14 arranged in sequence along the second direction F2, the row-wise dimension of each stamping window 14 in the second direction F2 is the first dimension L1, all stamping windows 14 have the same specification, and the first direction F1 is perpendicular to the second direction F2. Therefore, four times of splicing are needed to complete the spliced template, namely four times of window manufacturing steps (four first imprinting windows a are obtained in the first window manufacturing step, four second imprinting windows b are obtained in the second window manufacturing step, four third imprinting windows c are obtained in the third window manufacturing step, four fourth imprinting windows d are obtained in the fourth window manufacturing step, and the arrangement of the first imprinting windows a, the second imprinting windows b, the third imprinting windows c and the fourth imprinting windows d is shown in fig. 17) and at least four times of pattern transfer steps are needed, and the specifications of all the imprinting windows 14 are the same, so that the design is simple.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the joints between the first stamping window a, the second stamping window b, the third stamping window c and the fourth stamping window d which are adjacent to each other may be cross-shaped joints, and the regions of the template layer 12 opposite to the cross-shaped joints may be etched away or retained according to different stamping patterns. That is, the template layer 12 in the cross-shaped seam obtained by the four etching steps may be left or etched depending on the difference of the imprinting patterns, by defining "the nano-pattern etched on the region to be imprinted opposite to the first imprinting window a" as a first nano-pattern, defining "the nano-pattern etched on the region to be imprinted opposite to the second imprinting window b" as a second nano-pattern, defining "the nano-pattern etched on the region to be imprinted opposite to the third imprinting window c" as a third nano-pattern, defining "the nano-pattern etched on the region to be imprinted opposite to the fourth imprinting window d" as a fourth nano-pattern, and defining the seam between the adjacent first nano-pattern, second nano-pattern, third nano-pattern, and fourth nano-pattern obtained by the four etching steps as a cross-shaped seam.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of embossed windows 14 produced by at least one of the window-making steps are not all of the same size. That is, N embossed windows 14 are manufactured in a certain window manufacturing step, and at least two embossed windows 14 of the N embossed windows 14 have different shapes and different sizes, so that the N embossed windows 14 are not completely the same, and thus, the number of times of splicing can be reduced by smart design. For example, in the second embodiment described later, as shown in fig. 18, the six second embossed windows b obtained in the second window making step are not completely identical, and the six third embossed windows c obtained in the third window making step are not completely identical, so that the number of times of splicing can be reduced.

For example, in the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 18, three window making steps are performed, four rows of windows arranged along the first direction F1 are formed in the rectangular region, the first row of windows and the third row of windows are identical and are both one of the odd row windows 60 or the even row windows 50, the second row of windows and the fourth row of windows are identical and are both the other of the odd row windows 60 or the even row windows 50, for example, in the example shown in fig. 18, the first row of windows and the third row of windows are identical and are both the even row windows 50, and the second row of windows and the fourth row of windows are identical and are both the odd row windows 60. Wherein, the even row windows 50 include four stamping windows 14 arranged in sequence along the second direction F2, the odd row windows 60 include five stamping windows 14 arranged in sequence along the second direction F2, the row-wise dimension of each stamping window 14 in the even row windows 50 in the second direction F2 is the second dimension L2, the row-wise dimension of the middle three stamping windows 14 in the odd row windows 60 in the second direction F2 is the second dimension L2, the sum of the row-wise dimensions of the two stamping windows 14 on the edge in the odd row windows 60 in the second direction F2 (such as the sum of L3 and L4 shown in fig. 18) is the second dimension L2, and the first direction F1 is perpendicular to the second direction F2. Therefore, the spliced template only needs to be spliced for three times, namely three window making steps (six first imprinting windows a are obtained in the first window making step, six second imprinting windows b are obtained in the second window making step, six third imprinting windows c are obtained in the third window making step, and the arrangement of the first imprinting windows a, the second imprinting windows b and the third imprinting windows c is shown in fig. 17) and at least three graphic transfer steps are needed, although the specifications of all the imprinting windows 14 are not completely the same, the design is slightly complicated, the manufacturing is simple, and the manufacturing efficiency is high.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the seams between every two adjacent first imprinting windows a, second imprinting windows b, and third imprinting windows c may be "T" -shaped seams, and the regions of the template layer 12 opposite to the "T" -shaped seams may be etched away or retained according to different imprinting patterns. That is, the nano-pattern etched on the region to be imprinted opposite to the first imprinting window a is defined as a first nano-pattern, the nano-pattern etched on the region to be imprinted opposite to the second imprinting window b is defined as a second nano-pattern, the nano-pattern etched on the region to be imprinted opposite to the third imprinting window c is defined as a third nano-pattern, and the seams between the adjacent first nano-pattern, second nano-pattern and third nano-pattern obtained by the three etching steps are in a shape of a "T", and the template layer 12 in the seam in the shape of the "T" can be remained or etched away according to the difference of the imprinting patterns.

In some embodiments, "patterning the window film layer 13 to form the plurality of embossed windows 14 arranged at intervals" may be embodied as: coating photoresist on the window film layer 13 to form a photoresist layer, performing operations such as ultraviolet ultraviet, ultraviolet exposure, development and the like on the photoresist layer by using a mask plate through a photoetching process, patterning the photoresist layer to form a photoresist removing area corresponding to the imprinting window 14, then removing the photoresist layer in the photoresist removing area to expose the window film layer 13 at the imprinting window 14, etching the exposed window film layer 13 to obtain the imprinting window 14, exposing the template layer 12 at the imprinting window 14, and removing the photoresist layer by using a photoresist stripping process. The photoresist may be a positive photoresist.

In some embodiments, the coating thickness of the imprinting glue layer 20 may be determined according to actual requirements, for example, according to the size of the pattern of the imprinting master template 30, or according to the etching process for subsequently forming the nano-patterns 16, and so on. The thicknesses of the imprinting glue layer 20 and the window film layer 13 may be set according to actual requirements, such as several hundred nanometers or micrometers, for example, the coating thickness of the imprinting glue layer 20 may be 20-150 nanometers, the thickness of the window film layer 13 may be 10-100 nanometers, and so on. The thickness of the window film layer 13 is much smaller than that of the imprinting adhesive layer 20, so that a step is not formed at the edge of the region 15 to be imprinted, poor imprinting is not caused, and the accuracy of the formed nano-pattern 16 can be further improved.

In some embodiments, an ICP (inductively coupled plasma) etching process is used in the etching step, the etching atmosphere is a mixed gas of carbon tetrafluoride and oxygen, the imprinting adhesive layer 20 is oxidized and removed by the etching atmosphere during the etching process, the window film layer 13 is made of a material that is not affected by the etching atmosphere used in the etching step, for example, the window film layer 13 is made of ITO, IZO or metal, the etching atmosphere does not react with the ITO material, and finally the nano pattern 16 is formed on the template layer 12. For example, when the window film layer 13 is made of ITO, since the deposition thickness of the ITO film layer can be as small as about 10 nm, which is much smaller than the thickness of the imprinting adhesive layer 20, a step difference is not formed at the edge of the region 15 to be imprinted, and the accuracy of the formed nano pattern 16 is higher.

In some embodiments, the template layer 12 may be an inorganic material layer. For example, the template layer 12 may include: the silicon nitride SiNx film layer, the silicon oxynitride SiON film layer and the silicon dioxide SiO2 film layer are sequentially arranged in a direction from being close to the substrate base plate 11 to being far away from the substrate base plate 11, or the template layer 12 may further include: a silicon nitride film layer and a silicon dioxide film layer; or a silicon oxynitride film and a silicon dioxide film, etc. In still other embodiments, the template layer 12 may also include a metal layer and an inorganic material layer. For example: the aluminum film layer and the silicon dioxide film layer are sequentially arranged in the direction from the position close to the substrate base plate 11 to the position far away from the substrate base plate 11; or a silicon nitride film layer, an aluminum film layer, and a silicon dioxide film layer, etc., which are sequentially disposed in a direction from being close to the substrate base plate 11 to being far from the substrate base plate 11. Wherein, the silicon nitride film layer and the silicon oxynitride film layer can reduce stress.

Next, a nano-pattern stitching apparatus 40 according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is described.

The stitching device 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention is at least configured to perform the step of nano-imprinting the plurality of glue line imprinting areas 23 on the imprinting glue line 20 by using the imprinting master template 30 according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention. Therefore, as mentioned above, by setting the area of the pattern area on the imprinting master template 30 to be slightly larger than the imprinting window 14 area, a high-precision moving unit is not needed in the splicing process, and since the imprinting window 14 is made in advance on the composition substrate 10, that is, by making the imprinting window 14 smaller than the structural area of the imprinting master template 30 on the composition substrate 10 in advance, a high-precision aligning unit is not needed on the splicing device 40, thereby reducing the manufacturing difficulty of the large-size nano-imprinting template manufacturing device, and easily realizing the manufacture of a small-size template to a large-size template, the splicing device 40 provided by the invention is simple, does not need a high-precision moving unit and a high-precision aligning unit, and has high feasibility in mass production.

It should be noted that, in the high-precision splicing apparatus in the related art, in order to ensure that the splicing precision at least includes a high-precision moving unit, a high-precision aligning unit, an imprinting unit, a curing unit, and a demolding unit, the glue applying unit may be selectively assembled as needed, whereas according to the splicing apparatus 40 in the embodiment of the present invention, the high-precision moving unit and the high-precision aligning unit may be omitted, and only the moving unit 41, the imprinting unit 42, the curing unit 43, and the demolding unit 44 are included (as shown in fig. 19). Of course, in order to implement other functions, the assembling glue-applying unit 45 and the alignment unit 46 may also be selected according to the splicing apparatus 40 of the embodiment of the present invention, and details are not described here.

In addition, it should be noted that the stamping unit 42 used in the splicing apparatus 40 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a roller-type stamping unit or a stamp-type stamping unit, wherein the roller-type stamping unit may be better used in a large-sized splicing apparatus 40, such as G8.5 size, and the stamp-type stamping unit only needs to replace the roller portion with a flat plate structure. In addition, according to the curing unit 43 of the embodiment of the present invention, ultraviolet curing, heat curing, or the like may be employed. In addition, the splicing apparatus 40 according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a stage unit or the like for placing the patterned substrate 10, in addition to the above functional structure, which is not described herein again.

In summary, according to the method and the device 40 for splicing nano patterns in the embodiments of the present invention, the spliced nano pattern 17 with high precision can be manufactured, the spliced nano pattern 17 with large size can be manufactured, the precision of the manufactured spliced nano pattern 17 can reach hundreds of nanometers or even lower, and the method and the device can be used for manufacturing nano-imprint plates, gratings and the like, for example, large-size nano-imprint plates, gratings and the like, and have low manufacturing cost and higher manufacturing efficiency.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples," etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above are not necessarily intended to refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, various embodiments or examples and features of different embodiments or examples described in this specification can be combined and combined by one skilled in the art without contradiction.

While embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for stitching nano-patterns is characterized by comprising the following steps:

a window manufacturing step: forming a window film layer on a splicing substrate to obtain a composition substrate, composing the window film layer to form a plurality of stamping windows arranged at intervals, wherein the splicing substrate comprises a substrate and a template layer formed on the substrate, the window film layer is formed on the template layer, and the region of the template layer exposed by the stamping windows is a region to be stamped;

pattern transfer printing: forming an imprinting adhesive layer on the composition substrate, wherein a region of the imprinting adhesive layer, which is opposite to the imprinting window, is a window region, and performing nano imprinting on a plurality of window regions on the imprinting adhesive layer and a peripheral region adjacent to each window region by adopting an imprinting mother template to form a plurality of imprinting patterns;

etching: etching the plurality of regions to be imprinted on the template layer by taking the imprinted pattern as a mask to form a plurality of nano patterns;

removing: removing the window film layer;

splicing: and repeatedly executing the window manufacturing step, the pattern transfer printing step, the etching step and the removing step to form a spliced nano pattern.

2. The method for stitching a nano-pattern according to claim 1, wherein each of the imprinted window regions and the peripheral region adjacent thereto are defined as a glue line imprinting region, and the imprinting master template is used to successively nano-imprint a plurality of the glue line imprinting regions in at least one of the pattern transferring steps.

3. The method for stitching a nano-pattern according to claim 1, wherein each of the imprinted window regions and the peripheral region adjacent thereto are defined as a glue line imprinting region, and the imprinting master template is used to simultaneously nano-imprint a plurality of the glue line imprinting regions in at least one of the pattern transferring steps.

4. The method for stitching a nanopattern according to claim 1, wherein the number of embossed windows fabricated at each window fabrication step is the same.

5. The method for stitching a nanopattern according to claim 4, wherein in at least one of the window-making steps, the plurality of embossed windows are made to have the same specification.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the specification of all the embossed windows fabricated in all the window fabrication steps is the same.

7. The method for stitching a nano pattern according to claim 6, wherein the window forming step is performed four times, four rows of windows arranged along the first direction are formed in the rectangular region, each row of windows includes four embossed windows arranged in sequence along the second direction, and the row-wise dimension of each embossed window in the second direction is the first dimension.

8. The method for stitching a nanopattern according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the window forming steps does not make all of the plurality of embossed windows of the same size.

9. The method for stitching a nano pattern according to claim 8, wherein the window forming step is performed three times to form four rows of windows arranged in a first direction in a rectangular region, the first row of windows and the third row of windows are identical and are both one of odd row windows or even row windows, the second row of windows and the fourth row of windows are identical and are both the other of the odd row windows or the even row windows, wherein the even row of windows include four stamping windows arranged in sequence in a second direction, the odd row of windows include five stamping windows arranged in sequence in the second direction, the row-wise dimension of each stamping window in the even row of windows in the second direction is a second dimension, and the row-wise dimensions of the middle three stamping windows in the odd row of windows in the second direction are also all the second dimension, the sum of the line-wise sizes of the two embossed windows on the side of the odd-numbered line windows in the second direction is also the second size.

10. A nano-pattern stitching apparatus, wherein the stitching apparatus is at least used for performing the step of nano-imprinting a plurality of imprinted areas of the glue layer with the imprinting master template according to any one of claims 1 to 9.