JP2007324504A - Method and apparatus of transfer printing, and transfer printing product manufactured using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive imprint apparatus capable of always maintaining a surface of a form plate clean, reducing regeneration frequency of the form plate, performing rapid temperature rising and cooling of a printed member, and accurately controlling a surface temperature in a transfer printing. <P>SOLUTION: In the transfer printing where an uneven pattern is formed on a surface of a transfer printing plate 2, and the uneven pattern of the transfer printing plate is formed directly on a printed member, or on a resin film formed on the printed member, the transfer printing apparatus has a system in which the transfer printing plate 1 is irradiated with infrared ray 15 of an infrared lamp 16, resin stuck substance stuck to the transfer printing plate is decomposed to be washed, the printed member is heated with infrared ray. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to transfer printing used for nano- and micro-imprints.

  Recently, for nano- and micro-level material forming processing, a transfer printing device (also known as an imprinting device, hereinafter referred to as a transfer printing device or imprinting device) using a transfer printing plate such as quartz, sapphire, or silicon substrate subjected to uneven pattern processing. Is used). Transfer printing by this transfer printing plate (also called imprint, hereinafter referred to as transfer printing or imprint) is performed by placing a transfer printing plate on a member to be printed and applying pressure while heating or irradiating light. For the member to be printed, a polymer material such as a thermoplastic resin or a photosensitive resin is used. When a thermoplastic resin is used, it is a system in which the temperature of the material is raised to a temperature in the vicinity of the glass transition point (Tg) of the material to perform pressure printing, which is called a thermal transfer system (or thermal imprint system). The thermal transfer system has a feature that a general-purpose resin can be widely used as long as it is a thermoplastic resin.

In the case of a photosensitive resin, a photo-curing resin that is cured by irradiation with light such as ultraviolet rays is used, which is described as a light transfer method (hereinafter referred to as a light transfer method, a light transfer method, or a light imprint method). )is called. This light transfer method requires the use of a special photo-curing resin, but has a feature that the dimensional error of the finished product due to the thermal expansion of the transfer printing plate and the member to be printed can be reduced as compared with the heat transfer method. Further, the apparatus is characterized in that a complicated heating mechanism and temperature control are not required, and that the imprint apparatus as a whole does not require measures against thermal distortion such as heat insulation.
Non-Patent Document 1 is a document related to the thermal transfer system, and Non-Patent Document 2 and Non-Patent Document 3 are documents related to the optical transfer system.

Hirai Yoshihiko; Nanostructure by nanoimprint method, Journal of Precision Engineering, 70 (10) (2004) pp. 1223-2861227 Taniguchi et al., Present Status of Nanoimprint Technology, Journal of Abrasives, 46 (6) (2002) pp. 282-286 Kanno et al .: Research and development on photo-curing nano molds, mold technology, 19 (12) (2004) pp. 63-65

  At present, there are few announcements regarding the details of transfer printing plates and apparatuses used for transfer printing, but a transfer printing plate called a sapphire mold that can transmit ultraviolet rays is applied to a printing member called a substrate, and ultraviolet rays are irradiated from above. Non-Patent Document 2 shows an apparatus structure diagram of the system. This structural diagram is shown in FIG. In this figure, the transfer printing plate 1 and the member 2 to be printed are both flat and are horizontally opposed to each other. The transfer printing plate and the member to be printed can be raised and approached by driving the stepping motor 7 of the ball screw 11 and then subjected to pressure bonding, and then irradiated with ultraviolet rays by the irradiation lens 4, and the space between the transfer printing plate and the member to be printed. The mechanism by which the photocurable resin is photocured is described. The transfer pressure at this time is measured by the load cell 10. Further, the arrangement of the bellows 6 and the rotary pump connection port 8 makes it possible to adjust the atmosphere and reduce the pressure between the transfer printing plate and the member to be printed during transfer. In this document, it is explained that when ultraviolet rays are not used, the thermal transfer method can be used.

In transfer printing using a photosensitive resin or a thermosetting resin, adhesion of these resins to a transfer printing plate in repeated printing is a big problem. Therefore, at present, as a measure to prevent the adhesion of the resin, a polymer thin film having releasability (hereinafter referred to as a release material peeling film or simply referred to as a release material) is formed on the surface of the transfer printing plate, and the transfer printing plate is printed. A technique for facilitating release from a member and preventing resin adhesion to a transfer printing plate is used.
However, since nano- and micro-sized uneven patterns are formed on the surface of the transfer printing plate, there are variations in the treatment film thickness in the processing of the release material, and defective portions where the release material thin film is not formed to a sufficient thickness Occurrence etc. often occur and become a problem. This causes frequent transfer printing defects, making it impossible to continue the transfer printing operation. Further, even when the release material is processed normally, the release material thin film is taken away by the imprinting operation by the imprint operation, and the effectiveness of the release material is gradually lost. For this reason, the release action of the transfer printing plate gradually decreases as the number of imprints increases. When the release material thin film becomes ineffective, the amount of resin adhesion from the printing member to the transfer printing plate increases. Therefore, the imprint operation requires periodic cleaning of the transfer printing plate. Currently, the oxygen plasma ashing method is mainly used for cleaning the transfer printing plate. However, in this oxygen plasma ashing method, the release material thin film as well as the adhering resin is removed, so the transfer printing plate is regenerated by reprocessing the release material. This is called a normal transfer printing plate regeneration operation. This oxygen plasma ashing method has not only a very expensive apparatus, but also has a drawback that it is difficult to integrate with an imprint machine. That is, in the oxygen plasma ashing method, after a certain imprint operation is continued, the transfer printing plate must be taken out from the imprint machine and washed in a separate process. For this reason, it is impossible to always perform an imprint operation on the surface of a clean transfer printing plate. In nanometer-size transfer printing called nanoimprint, the pattern size of the unevenness of the transfer printing plate has a value of several tens to several hundred nanometers. For this reason, minute resin adhesion to the transfer printing plate appears as a print defect, and therefore the transfer printing plate must always be imprinted in a clean surface state without resin adhesion. However, no cleaning method that makes this possible has been proposed yet.

  Further, in the case of thermal imprinting, there is a problem of temperature rise and cooling of a printed member in which a thermoplastic resin is applied on a substrate or a printed member made of a thermoplastic resin. At present, as a method for raising the temperature and cooling, a method in which a heater 9 is provided directly below a member to be printed is common. However, with this heater heating method, 1. Due to heat transfer from the heater, it takes time to raise the temperature of the printed member. 2. It is difficult to accurately control the temperature of the printed material. 3. It takes time to cool the member to be printed. 4. It is necessary to take measures against thermal distortion of the imprint machine. Since the design takes thermal distortion into consideration, there is a drawback that the apparatus is very expensive. Currently, in order to solve this problem, a heating and cooling method using a heater and water cooling or air cooling is employed. However, in this conventional system, since temperature control is based on on / off of the heater and forced cooling, it is very difficult to maintain the required temperature control range (normal temperature control range requires ± 5 ° C.).

The problems to be solved by the invention are as follows.
1) Always keep the surface of the transfer printing plate clean.
2) To reduce the frequency of reproduction work of the transfer printing plate.
3) The temperature of the printing member can be rapidly raised and cooled and the surface temperature of the printing member can be precisely controlled.
4) To provide an inexpensive imprint machine.

According to the present invention, the problems to be solved by the present invention can be solved, and the effects thereof are as follows.
1) Since the surface of the transfer printing plate can always be maintained in a clean state, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a defective portion on the member to be printed in imprinting and to improve the quality of the imprinted product.
2) Since the surface of the transfer printing plate can always be maintained normally, the frequency of regenerating the transfer printing plate by reprocessing the release material thin film can be reduced.
Defects in imprinting are mainly caused by resin adhesion to the transfer printing plate. This resin adhesion is initially a very small region with the defect portion of the release material thin film as the core, but by overlapping transfer printing, the defect adhesion portion is bridged and the resin adhesion portion gradually spreads in the surface direction. When the resin adhesion spreads in the surface direction, the mold is finally released with the resin remaining inside the pattern of the transfer printing plate (the operation of peeling the transfer printing plate from the printing member, hereinafter referred to as mold release). Appears as an imprint defect. On the other hand, in a state where the transfer printing plate is always maintained normally, the resin adhering to the extremely small area is eliminated each time, so that the resin adhesion does not spread in the surface direction and no imprint defect occurs. . As a result, the frequency of the reproduction work of the transfer printing plate by reprocessing the release material thin film can be reduced (the reproduction life is extended).
3) Rapid heating and cooling of the printing member is possible, and the surface temperature of the printing member can be precisely controlled. Since the heater is not attached to the lower part of the printing member, rapid heating and cooling are possible, and the temperature of the printing member surface can be precisely controlled.
4) An inexpensive imprint machine can be provided.
Since only the resin of the material to be printed can be heated without using a heater, there is no heat conduction to the imprint machine body, and no structural member is required to prevent thermal distortion of the machine, reducing the equipment cost. it can.

  The best embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows an example of thermal imprinting using a thermoplastic resin. For example, FIG. 2 shows a cross-section in which the transfer printing plate 1 made of a circular quartz substrate having a thickness of 4 mm and a thickness of 0.5 mm is housed in a circular transfer printing plate holding frame 14. Under the transfer printing plate, a circular nanoglass substrate having a thickness of 1.0 mm and an outer diameter of 3 inches φ is installed on the transfer stage 17 as the member 2 to be printed. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the nanoglass is held on the transfer stage by suction of a vacuum pump. That is, the transfer stage has a plurality of fine holes that can suck the nanoglass, and the nanoglass is sucked through the holes and held on the transfer stage. A thermoplastic resin film 19 is applied on the nanoglass. As shown in FIG. 2, an infrared lamp 16 is disposed on the upper portion of the transfer printing plate, and irradiates infrared rays 15 onto the transfer printing plate 1 and the thermoplastic resin film on the nanoglass which is a member to be printed. Since the transfer printing plate made of quartz transmits infrared light by 90% or more, the infrared lamp can simultaneously irradiate the thermoplastic resin adhering to the lower surface of the transfer printing plate.

  For example, a near-infrared halogen lamp having a center wavelength of 1.2 μm is used as the infrared lamp. The absorption rate of near infrared rays in this wavelength band of a polymer material such as a thermoplastic resin is 20 to 30%. On the other hand, the absorption rate in this wavelength band of the transparent quartz substrate is about 2%. Therefore, the transfer printing plate made of the quartz substrate is not heated by the near infrared irradiation, and the thermoplastic resin film attached to the transfer printing plate is selectively heated. Since the thermoplastic resin film heated by near infrared irradiation decomposes and disappears when the decomposition temperature of the thermoplastic resin is reached, the transfer printing plate can be repeatedly washed during the transfer printing operation. In the experiment, when a near-infrared lamp with a rating of 1 KW and a center wavelength of 1.2 μm was placed at a height of 50 mm on the transfer printing plate and irradiated with the transfer printing plate, the transparent acrylic thermoplastic adhered to the transfer printing plate The resin film reached 500 ° C. within 2 minutes, and it was confirmed that the adhered resin could be decomposed within 1 minute after reaching this temperature.

  Further, the thermoplastic resin film on the printing member can be heated at the same time. A radiation thermometer 18 is inserted in the transfer stage immediately below the member to be printed. This radiation thermometer is for controlling the temperature of the thermoplastic resin at an optimum temperature for imprinting. Usually, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, or the like is used as the member to be printed. The transfer stage is usually made of stainless steel or super hard material with high rigidity. In the conventional method, a thermocouple is inserted into the transfer stage simultaneously with the heater to control the temperature. In this conventional method, the temperature of the thermoplastic resin is not directly measured, but the temperature of the transfer stage is measured to control the temperature of the thermoplastic resin. In the radiation thermometer of the present invention, the temperature of the thermoplastic resin is directly measured by the radiation thermometer from directly under the printing member made of a quartz substrate. Even when the member to be printed is a general-purpose glass substrate such as soda glass, the absorptance in the infrared wavelength band is about 5%. Therefore, in the method of the present invention, most of the heat rays radiated from the thermoplastic resin reach the radiation thermometer, so that the temperature of the thermoplastic resin can be accurately measured. For this reason, when the thermoplastic resin on the member to be printed is heated by infrared rays, and then the infrared irradiation is momentarily stopped and the temperature is measured with a radiation thermometer, the temperature of the thermoplastic resin can be measured in real time. When the temperature of the thermoplastic resin does not reach the required temperature, the measurement is repeated by irradiating infrared rays again. Once the infrared output is fixed, the relationship between irradiation time and temperature rise is obtained, the temperature is raised to the approximate temperature by setting the timer, and the infrared lamp is turned on from the temperature data output of the radiation thermometer. Accurate temperature control becomes possible by repeating lighting. After reaching the required temperature, the ball screw 11 is rotated by a stepping motor to raise the transfer stage, and thermal imprinting is performed.

  The thermoplastic resin adhering to the transfer printing plate by thermal imprinting is washed by, for example, one infrared irradiation for 10 thermal imprints. The cleaning time is related to the infrared output and time. For example, when a transfer printing plate is irradiated with a near-infrared lamp rated at 1 kW and center wavelength of 1.2 μm at a height of 50 mm on the transfer printing plate, transfer printing is performed. The transparent acrylic thermoplastic resin adhering to the plate reaches about 500 ° C. within 2 minutes, and then the thermoplastic resin adhering to the transfer printing plate can be completely decomposed within 1 minute. After the thermal decomposition of the transfer printing plate by infrared rays is completed, the thermal imprint can be resumed. For example, in the case of a transparent acrylic thermoplastic resin having a glass transition point of 120 ° C. applied on a printing member, a near-infrared lamp having a rating of 1 kW and a center wavelength of 1.2 μm is arranged at a height of 50 mm on the printing member. When irradiated with near infrared rays, the temperature of the applied thermoplastic resin reaches 120 ° C. within 5 seconds. For this reason, thermal imprinting can be started within 5 seconds.

  In thermal imprinting, the cooling time is also very important for shortening the tact time. In the heating system using a heater, several minutes are used for heating and heating, and several minutes are required for cooling. This is because heating is performed using heat conduction by a heat source of a heater built in the transfer stage. In the thermal imprint method, thermal imprinting is performed and then the process proceeds to a mold release stage. At the time of mold release, it is necessary to lower the stage temperature below the glass transition point. For this reason, a forced cooling device is usually attached to the stage. Water cooling, air cooling, etc. are used for this forced cooling system. Usually, cooling to about 80 ° C. is necessary, so cooling takes several minutes. In addition, the temperature is increased to perform thermal imprint again, and this temperature increase takes several minutes. The next drawback of the heater heating method is that it is difficult to control the temperature. This is based on the temperature difference between the stage temperature and the printing member. Therefore, in the heater heating method, even if temperature control is performed by turning the heater on and off, it is impossible to control the actual temperature of the thermoplastic resin on the printing member. On the other hand, in the infrared irradiation method, the thermoplastic resin on the printing member is rapidly cooled by contact with the transfer printing plate at the time of thermal imprinting. When resuming thermal imprinting, the temperature of the thermoplastic resin can be raised to the temperature required for thermal imprinting within 5 seconds by infrared irradiation.

FIG. 3 shows the best mode for optical imprinting. In the case of optical imprinting, an ultraviolet lamp 21 is used in combination. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a state in which photo-imprinting is performed by irradiating the photocurable resin film 20 on the printing member using an ultraviolet lamp. In the optical imprint, heating of the photocurable resin is not necessary. Therefore, the infrared lamp is used only for irradiation cleaning of the transfer printing plate. Similar to thermal imprinting, after performing optical imprinting, for example, 10 times, the transfer printing plate is irradiated with an infrared lamp for cleaning the transfer printing plate. As the infrared lamp, a lamp similar to the thermal imprint can be used. The ultraviolet lamp 21 and the infrared lamp 16 are attached to the lamp movable rail 22. The ultraviolet lamp and infrared lamp can be moved while sliding freely on the movable rail. After optical imprinting by ultraviolet irradiation is repeated 10 times, for example, the ultraviolet lamp is moved backward in the left direction of FIG. 3, and then the infrared lamp is moved onto the printing member and irradiated with infrared rays to form a transfer printing plate. Dissolve and clean the attached photo-curing resin. When cleaning the transfer printing plate by infrared irradiation, the transfer stage is moved downward to prevent the transfer stage from being heated.
In the case of optical imprinting, the washing time is related to the output of infrared rays, but for example, a near infrared lamp with a rating of 1 kW and a center wavelength of 1.2 μm is placed at a height of 50 mm on the transfer printing plate. When irradiated, the transparent acrylic resin-based photocurable resin adhering to the transfer printing plate reaches about 500 ° C. within 2 minutes like the thermoplastic resin, and then photocuring adhering to the transfer printing plate within 1 minute. The mold resin can be completely decomposed.

  An embodiment of thermal imprint will be described with reference to FIG. First, a transfer printing plate 1 made of a quartz substrate having a thickness of 1, 0 mm and 4 inches φ is accommodated in a circular support frame 14, and a printing member 2 (a thermoplastic resin film 19 is formed on the lower portion of the transfer printing plate ( For example, a nanoglass substrate having a thickness of 1.0 mm and an outer diameter of 3 inches φ is placed on the transfer stage 17. As the thermoplastic resin for thermal imprinting, PMMA (polymethyl methyl methacrylate), polystyrene, polyacetate, or the like can be used. These resins are used as a diluted solution of a solvent, and are applied onto the nanoglass using a spin coater. The coating thickness can be adjusted by the spin coater rotation speed, solution viscosity, spin coating time, etc., but as the optimum thickness for thermal imprinting, for example, depending on the groove depth of the transfer printing plate, It is applied in a thickness range of 1 to 5 μm after drying. The variation of the coating thickness within the substrate is adjusted to a range of ± 10% with respect to the set thickness, for example. On the surface of a transfer printing plate made of a 4 inch φ quartz substrate, a groove having a depth or width of nano or micro level is formed by, for example, dry chemical etching after drawing an etching resist pattern by EB drawing.

  After arranging the transfer printing plate and the printing member, the thermoplastic resin film on the printing member surface is heated by a near infrared irradiation device using a halogen lamp as described in the best mode for carrying out the invention. . The heating temperature can be set by feedback of measured temperature data from the radiation thermometer 18 to the near infrared irradiation device and on / off control of the near infrared irradiation so that it is in the vicinity of the glass transition point of the thermoplastic resin. With a normal thermoplastic resin, the temperature of the thermoplastic resin can be raised to a temperature near 120 ° C. within 5 seconds by infrared irradiation using a near-infrared lamp having a rating of 1 KW and a center wavelength of 1.2 μm. After completion of temperature setting by raising the temperature, the transfer stage 17 is pushed upward by driving the stepping motor to perform thermal imprinting. Thermal imprinting is performed by pressurizing the transfer printing plate onto the nanoglass. Although the transfer printing plate is not heated, since the thermoplastic resin film is heated, the groove pattern of the transfer printing plate is formed on the thermoplastic resin film on the nanoglass. At the same time, the thermoplastic resin film on the nanoglass is rapidly cooled by contact and pressurization of the transfer printing plate. The thermoplastic resin film shrinks by cooling, and is peeled off from the groove pattern of the transfer printing plate and released. When the transfer stage is moved downward by driving the stepping motor, one cycle of thermal imprinting is completed. In the present invention, thermal imprinting and cooling proceed almost simultaneously. Therefore, a cooling operation after thermal imprinting is unnecessary. However, if imprinting is not performed normally due to cooling too fast, the transfer printing plate may be irradiated with near-infrared light while being pressed on the printing member or the thermoplastic resin on the printing member. It is also possible to increase the temperature of the member to be printed or the thermoplastic resin on the member to be printed.

  After the one-cycle thermal imprinting is completed, the printed material (nanoglass) coated with the thermoplastic resin film is set again on the transfer stage, and the thermoplastic resin on the nanoglass is heated by near infrared irradiation until the set temperature is reached. Increase the temperature of the thermoplastic resin. Then, a series of thermal imprint operations are performed again. By repeating this thermal imprinting operation, the thermoplastic resin film on the nanoglass gradually adheres to the grooves of the transfer printing plate. Even if the adhesion amount is very small, it grows gradually as the number of times is increased, and finally the groove is completely filled with the thermoplastic resin. When the groove is closed, it appears as a thermal imprint defect and a product defect occurs. This defective portion is very fine and cannot be confirmed by visual inspection of the product, and it is very difficult to identify the location with an optical microscope or an electron microscope because it is a full inspection. Therefore, prevention of adhesion of the thermoplastic resin on the transfer printing plate is very important. However, it is impossible to observe the adhesion of the thermoplastic resin on the transfer printing plate during the operation because the transfer printing plate is mounted on the imprint apparatus and cannot be taken out during the operation.

  Therefore, cleaning during the imprint operation of the transfer printing plate is very important. In the present invention, since the thermoplastic resin film is heated by infrared rays (near infrared rays, mid-infrared rays, far infrared rays), the transfer printing plate is subjected to thermal decomposition cleaning for each thermal imprint. That is, since the thermoplastic resin is heated by infrared rays from the top of the transfer printing plate made of a quartz substrate, the transfer printing plate is close to an infrared lamp and has a higher temperature than the thermoplastic resin film on the transfer stage. For this reason, the transfer printing plate always undergoes heat washing. In thermal imprinting, the degree of resin adhesion to the transfer printing plate varies depending on the resin. For thermoplastic resins with high resin adhesion, for example, cleaning with infrared rays is performed once per 10 thermal imprints. Good to do. In this case, infrared rays are irradiated from the upper part of the transfer printing plate with the transfer stage lowered to the lower part. In washing, the infrared output is preferably larger than that in thermal imprinting. As described in the best mode for carrying out the invention, the temperature of the transfer printing plate is raised to about 500 ° C. by a near-infrared lamp having a rating of 1 KW and a center wavelength of 1.2 μm. The resin can be decomposed and removed in less than one minute.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the transfer printing plate can be washed during imprint work, so that not only the imprint work efficiency can be improved, but also imprint defects can be prevented in advance, thereby improving the production yield. To do. In the prior art, the heating and cooling of the thermoplastic resin each takes about 3 to 5 minutes. However, the heating temperature raising time in the present invention is within 5 seconds, and further cooling is unnecessary. Thus, since the total time for heating and cooling of the transfer printing plate is very short, the production efficiency by one imprint machine can be remarkably increased as compared with the prior art.

  An embodiment of optical imprint will be described with reference to FIG. First, a transfer printing plate 1 made of a quartz substrate having a thickness of 1.0 mm and a 4 inch diameter is accommodated in a circular support frame 14, and a printed member 2 having a photocurable resin film 20 formed on the lower portion of the transfer printing plate. (For example, a nanoglass substrate having a thickness of 1.0 mm and an outer diameter of 3 inches φ) is placed on the transfer stage 17. Photosensitive PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), polystyrene, polyacetate, or the like can be used as the photocurable resin for photoimprint. A solventless liquid resin of these resin compositions is applied onto the nanoglass using a spin coater. The coating thickness can be adjusted by the spin coater rotation speed, solution viscosity, spin coating time, etc., but as the optimum thickness for optical imprinting, for example, depending on the groove depth of the transfer printing plate, 1 to Apply to a range of 5 μm. The variation of the coating thickness within the substrate is adjusted to a range of ± 10% with respect to the set thickness, for example. On the surface of a transfer printing plate made of a 4 inch φ quartz substrate, a groove having a depth and width of nano or micro level is formed by, for example, dry chemical etching after drawing an etching resist pattern by EB drawing.

  After the transfer printing plate and the printing member are arranged, the transfer stage is raised by driving the stepping motor to bring the printing member into contact with the transfer printing plate. In the optical imprint, heating of the photocurable resin is not necessary. Also, since it is not a pressurization method like thermal imprinting, in the case of a photocurable resin with high fluidity, the printing material is brought into contact with the transfer printing plate, or the transfer stage is further raised to press lightly and press-bond. You can just let When bubbles remain in the photocurable resin sandwiched between the transfer printing plate and the printing member, the inside of the bellows 6 in FIG. 1 is connected to a vacuum pump to reduce the pressure. After confirming proper pressure bonding of the transfer printing plate to the member to be printed, the ultraviolet curable resin film is irradiated with ultraviolet rays using the ultraviolet lamp 21 to cure the photocurable resin film. The ultraviolet irradiation time and the output of the ultraviolet lamp vary depending on the photocurable resin film used for photoimprinting, and are therefore determined based on the data of the amount of ultraviolet irradiation sufficient to completely cure the photocurable resin film. . In the optical imprint, since the irradiation time of ultraviolet rays greatly affects the productivity, the irradiation time within 10 seconds is usually set. After the UV irradiation, the optical imprint is completed when the transfer stage is lowered by driving the stepping motor.

  After the completion of the one-cycle optical imprinting, the member to be printed (for example, nanoglass) coated with the photocurable resin film is set again on the transfer stage and the optical imprinting is performed again. By repeating this optical imprinting operation, the photocurable resin film on the nanoglass gradually adheres to the grooves of the transfer printing plate. Even if the adhesion amount is very small, when the number of times is increased as in the case of thermal imprinting, it gradually grows thicker, and finally, the groove is completely filled with the photocurable resin. When the groove is closed, it appears as an optical imprint defect and a product defect occurs. This defective portion is very fine and cannot be confirmed by visual inspection of the product, and it is very difficult to identify the location with an optical microscope or an electron microscope because it is a full inspection. Therefore, it is very important to prevent the photocurable resin from adhering to the transfer printing plate. However, it is impossible to observe the adhesion of the photocurable resin on the transfer printing plate during the operation because the transfer printing plate is mounted on the imprint apparatus and cannot be taken out during the operation.

Therefore, also in the case of optical imprinting, cleaning during the imprinting operation of the transfer printing plate is very important. In the present invention, the transfer printing plate can be washed with infrared rays in the middle of optical imprinting. That is, for example, the transfer printing plate is cleaned by the infrared lamp 16 at a rate of once per 10 optical imprints. In this case, infrared rays are irradiated from the upper part of the transfer printing plate with the transfer stage lowered to the lower part. As described in the best mode for carrying out the invention, the temperature of the transfer printing plate is raised to about 500 ° C. by a near-infrared lamp having a rated power of 1 kW and a center wavelength of 1.2 μm. The functional resin can be decomposed, washed and removed within 1 minute.
As described above, according to the present invention, the transfer printing plate can be washed within the optical imprinting work, and not only can the optical imprinting work efficiency be improved, but also imprint defects can be prevented in advance. Yield is improved.

  Industrial application fields of the present invention are large-capacity media disks, semiconductor devices, electronic circuit formation, and the like, and can be widely applied as nano- and micro-size processing techniques replacing pattern formation by conventional photoprocesses.

Illustration of imprint device Explanatory drawing of thermal imprint equipped with infrared lamp of the present invention Explanatory drawing of optical imprint equipped with ultraviolet lamp and infrared lamp of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer printing plate 2 Printed material 3 Sapphire 4 Irradiation lens 5 Optical fiber 6 Bellows 7 Stepping motor 8 Rotary pump connection port 9 Heater 10 Load cell 11 Ball screw 12 Stage 13 Stage raising arrow 14 Transfer printing plate holding frame 15 Infrared 16 Infrared lamp 17 Transfer Stage 18 Radiation thermometer 19 Thermoplastic resin film 20 Photocurable resin film 21 UV lamp 22 Lamp movable rail 23 UV

Claims (5)

  In transfer printing, a concavo-convex pattern is formed on the surface of a transfer printing plate, and the concavo-convex pattern of the transfer printing plate is formed directly on the printing member or on a resin film formed on the printing member. A method for cleaning a transfer printing plate in which the printing plate is irradiated with infrared rays to decompose and clean the resin adhering substances adhering to the transfer printing plate.   In transfer printing in which a concavo-convex pattern is formed on the surface of a transfer printing plate and the concavo-convex pattern of the transfer printing plate is formed directly on the printing member or on a resin film formed on the printing member, A transfer printing method in which a resin film on a printing member or a member to be printed is irradiated with infrared rays, and the temperature of the resin film on the member to be printed or the member to be printed is heated.   3. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein the infrared lamp is a near-infrared lamp, a mid-infrared lamp, or a far-infrared lamp.   A transfer printing apparatus equipped with the apparatus according to claim 1. A transfer printing product manufactured using the transfer printing apparatus according to claim 4.

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