JP2009160858A - Apparatus for processing microstructure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce processing cost and cost of producing an apparatus, by reducing push-in speed of the mold member to a workpiece with a simple composition thereby improving working efficiency while improving transferability from a mold member to the workpiece. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus is equipped with a holding member 19 to hold a workpiece 20, a mold 16, a driving source 11, a stationary member 14a and an elastic member 17: provided that the mold 16 is facing the workpiece 20, possessed of a first surface and a second surface in rear side of the first surface, formed of a transfer pattern 16a for transferring on the workpiece 20 on the first surface, and movable to a first direction in the workpiece 20 side and to the direction opposite to the first direction; that the driving source 11 moves the mold 16 in the first direction so that it is pushed into the workpiece 20, and in the second direction so that it is pulled apart from the workpiece 20; that the stationary member 14a is prepared spacing from the mold 16, and connected to the mold 16 with an adjustable gap; and that the elastic member 17 is arranged in the gap between the mold 16 and the stationary member 14a, and possessed of an elastic force working in the first and the second directions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fine structure processing apparatus for processing a fine structure such as an optical element, an electronic device, and a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) device.

  In recent years, as a method for manufacturing a fine structure typified by MEMS, a method using nanoimprint having a resolution not limited by the limitations of conventional machining or optical lithography is generally known. This nanoimprint method will be described below.

  First, a nanoimprint method generally called thermal imprint will be described (see, for example, Patent Document 1). FIGS. 6-1 to 6-3 are explanatory diagrams showing an outline of the invention of Patent Document 1 which is a conventional technique. As shown in FIG. 6A, in the technique of Patent Document 1, a substrate 102 on which an object 101 made of a resist film such as PMMA (Poly Methyl Methacrylate) is formed on the upper surface, and a fine structure of about 25 nm or less. An imprint mold 104 in which a concavo-convex transfer pattern 103 is formed in a grid pattern is provided to face the imprint mold 103.

  When forming a pattern on the workpiece, first, as shown in FIG. 6B, the imprint mold 104 is pressed against the workpiece 101 that has been softened by heating to the glass transition point or higher. Then, as shown in FIG. 6-3, the imprint mold 104 is pulled away from the workpiece 101 cured by cooling until the glass transition point or lower. In this way, the reverse pattern is formed on the workpiece 101 by transferring the shape of the transfer pattern 103 of the imprint mold 104.

  Further, a nanoimprint method generally called optical imprint will be described (for example, see Patent Document 2). FIGS. 7-1 to 7-3 are explanatory diagrams showing an outline of the invention of Patent Document 2 which is a conventional technique. As shown in FIG. 7-1, in the technique of Patent Document 2, a substrate 202 on which an object 201 made of an energy ray curable material such as UV (ultraviolet) curable resin is formed on an upper surface, quartz, An imprint mold 204 made of a light-transmitting material such as Pyrex (registered trademark) and having a fine uneven transfer pattern shape 203 formed in a lattice shape is provided facing the imprint mold 204.

  When forming a pattern on a workpiece, first, as shown in FIG. 7B, an imprint mold 204 is pressed against the workpiece 201. Thereafter, the imprint mold 204 is separated from the workpiece 201 cured as shown in FIG. 7C by irradiating the light L through the imprint mold 204. In this way, the shape of the transfer pattern 203 of the imprint mold 204 is transferred to form a reverse pattern on the workpiece 201.

  The workpiece to which the shape of the transfer pattern is transferred by these nanoimprint methods can be used as a mask for etching the substrate. Further, by removing the substrate by dry etching or wet etching, the separated workpiece itself can be used as a fine structure.

  As described above, in the nanoimprint method, if an imprint mold on which a desired transfer pattern is formed can be prepared, a fine pattern can be replicated by an easy process. As imprint molds, silicon and quartz molds manufactured by electron beam exposure technology and etching technology having a resolution of several nanometers to several tens of nanometers, metal molds using these molds as masters, and several tens of nanometers to Metal molds manufactured by lithography technology and metal plating technology having a resolution of several μm can be used.

  Conventionally, many techniques have been disclosed in order to improve the processing accuracy of such an imprint method. For example, after forming an organic film made of polymethylmethacrylate containing dibutyl phthalate as a softening agent on the substrate, the imprint mold is pressed against the organic film in a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide, The shape is transferred to an organic film. A method is disclosed in which the imprint mold and the substrate are taken out of the supercritical fluid in a state where the imprint mold is pressed against the organic film, and then the imprint mold is detached from the organic film (patent). Reference 3).

  Further, for example, by using a transfer material having a cure shrinkage of 2% or less, preferably a cyanate ester monomer or oligomer as the transfer material, a UV curable resin may be further mixed with the transfer material, an epoxy resin, an acrylic resin, or the like. A method of using a mixture of resins as a transfer material is disclosed (see Patent Document 4).

US Pat. No. 5,772,905 JP 2000-194142 A JP 2002-270540 A JP 2004-71934 A

  However, even if any of the above-described methods is used to form a pattern on a workpiece, special equipment, special materials, and special processes are required. Since the introduction of the imprint method may be abandoned due to the increase in volume, the application range of the imprint method is reduced.

  Moreover, in such an imprint method, it is an important issue to process the workpiece with high accuracy, that is, to improve transferability to the workpiece. Here, it is generally known that when the speed at which the mold member is pushed into the workpiece is decreased, the processing accuracy of the imprint method, that is, transferability to the workpiece is improved. Such results are also obtained from the inventors' research. Therefore, if the drive mechanism and control mechanism of the imprint apparatus are made to have high performance, it is possible to slow down the pressing speed of the mold member, but in this case, the manufacturing cost of the imprint apparatus increases. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and by arranging an elastic body having an elastic force in a direction in which the mold member is pushed into the workpiece and in a direction opposite to the direction, the mold has a simple configuration. Providing a microstructure processing device that slows the pushing speed of members into the workpiece, improves work efficiency while improving transferability from the mold member to the workpiece, and reduces processing costs and device manufacturing costs The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a holding member that holds a workpiece, and is provided to face the workpiece, and the first surface and the first A mold member having a second surface on the back side of the surface, and a transfer pattern to be transferred to the workpiece, the mold member being fixed to the second surface of the mold member; A movable member movable in a first direction on the body side and in a direction opposite to the first direction; and moving the movable member in the first direction to push the mold member into the workpiece; A drive unit that moves the mold member away from the workpiece by moving in a second direction, and a surface on the back side of the surface of the movable member on which the mold member is fixed, provided with a gap from the movable member The movable member and the gap are connected in an adjustable state. A fixed member, and an elastic body disposed in the gap between the movable member and the fixed member and having an elastic force acting in the first direction and the second direction. It is a structure processing apparatus.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the fine structure processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body has at least the mold member pushed into the workpiece, and then the workpiece is inserted into the workpiece. It has an elastic force acting until reaching a predetermined pressing pressure capable of transferring the transfer pattern.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the fine structure processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable member is compressed by the elastic body when the mold member is pushed into the workpiece. It is possible to move more than a distance in the first direction and the second direction.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the fine structure processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elastic body is not fixed to either the fixed member or the movable member. It is characterized by being arranged in the gap.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fine structure processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the movable member is integrally formed with the mold member.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the microstructure processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the movable member has a heating section that heats the mold member. .

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a holding member for holding a workpiece, a first surface and a second surface on the back surface side of the first surface, which is provided to face the workpiece. A mold member on which the transfer pattern to be transferred to the workpiece is formed on the first surface, a first fixing member that fixes the second surface of the mold member and fixes the mold member, and the holding member A movable member that is fixed to the holding member on the back surface side of the surface on which the workpiece is held, and is movable in a first direction on the workpiece side and in a direction opposite to the first direction, and the movable member By moving the mold member in the first direction to push the mold member into the workpiece, and moving the movable member to the second position to move the mold member away from the workpiece, and the movable member And a gap between the movable member and the movable member. A second fixed member connected to the movable member in a state where the gap can be adjusted on the back surface of the surface to which the member is fixed; and the gap between the movable member and the second fixed member. And an elastic body having an elastic force acting in the first direction and the second direction.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the fine structure processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the movable member is formed integrally with the holding member.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the fine structure processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the movable member includes a heating unit that heats the workpiece.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the fine structure processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the elastic body is a spring.

  According to the present invention, by arranging the elastic member having an elastic force in the direction in which the mold member is pushed into the workpiece and in the direction opposite to the direction, the pushing speed of the die member into the workpiece with a simple configuration. As a result, the working efficiency is improved while improving the transferability from the mold member to the workpiece, and the processing cost and the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the elastic force of the elastic body may be impaired after the mold member is pushed into the workpiece until the predetermined pressing pressure at which the transfer pattern can be transferred to the workpiece is reached. As a result, there is an effect that the pressing speed of the mold member into the workpiece can be kept constant, and the transferability can be stabilized.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the elastic body is arranged without being fixed to either the fixed member or the movable member, the elastic body can be easily replaced according to the quality of the workpiece. There is an effect.

  Exemplary embodiments of a fine structure processing apparatus according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Below, the example which applied the fine structure processing apparatus to the imprint processing apparatus which manufactures a fine structure by transferring a pattern to a to-be-processed body is shown. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In addition, since the cross-sectional view of the imprint processing apparatus in the following embodiment is schematic, the scale of the fixing member, mold, holding member, material to be processed, etc. is different from the actual one. To do.

  The imprint processing apparatus of the present embodiment manufactures a microstructure by transferring a transfer pattern formed on a mold onto the workpiece by pressing the mold against the workpiece held by the holding member. To do.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an overall view showing the configuration of the imprint processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the imprint processing apparatus 10 includes a drive source 11 formed of a servo motor or the like, and a drive force transmission mechanism 12 formed of a ball screw or the like is connected to the drive source 11.

  The driving force transmission mechanism 12 is connected to a dynamic sensor 13 such as a load cell via a connecting jig. Then, a fixing member 14a is connected to the mechanical sensor 13 via a connecting jig 13a, and the dynamic sensor 13 detects a pressing pressure from the fixing member 14a. On the other hand, a fixing member 14b is fixed to the imprint processing apparatus 10 at a position facing the fixing member 14a.

  And when transferring a pattern to a to-be-processed object by the imprint processing apparatus 10, the driving force from the drive source 11 is transmitted to the fixing member 14a via the driving force transmission mechanism 12, and thereby the fixing member 14a. Moves downward. In addition, when the imprint processing apparatus 10 finishes transferring the pattern to the workpiece, the driving force from the driving source 11 is transmitted to the fixing member 14a via the driving force transmission mechanism 12, thereby fixing the pattern. The member 14a moves upward. The above upward direction and downward direction are directions of arrows in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a partial configuration of the imprint processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 2 shows the configuration of a part of the area A in the imprint processing apparatus of FIG. 1, that is, the configuration of the manufacturing part that transfers the pattern to the workpiece, and the other parts are omitted. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturing part in the imprint processing apparatus includes a holding member 19, a mold 16, a fixing member 14a, an elastic member 17, a heating plate 18b, and a fixing member 14b. ing. In the mold 16 of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the mold member and the movable member in the present invention are integrally formed.

  The fixing member 14a and the fixing member 14b are disposed at positions facing each other, and the mold 16 is fixed to the lower surface side (the fixing member 14b side) of the fixing member 14a via the connecting jig 15. An elastic member 17 is disposed in the gap between the fixing member 14 a and the mold 16.

  On the other hand, a heating plate 18b and a holding member 19 are fixed in order on the upper surface side (the fixing member 14a side) of the fixing member 14b. The workpiece 20 is arranged on the holding member 19 to transfer the pattern. Thus, a fine structure is manufactured.

  The workpiece 20 is manufactured as a fine structure by transferring the pattern by the transfer pattern 16a of the mold 16, and for example, COP (cycloolefin polymer) or the like is used.

  The holding member 19 is fixed to the upper surface of the heating board 18b fixed to the fixing member 14b, and holds the workpiece 20 when the pattern is transferred.

  The mold 16 is used to transfer a pattern to the workpiece 20 by being pressed into the workpiece 20. A plurality of concave and convex shapes transferred to the workpiece 20 are formed on the lower surface of the workpiece 20. A transfer pattern 16a is formed. The mold 16 is connected to the fixing member 14a via the connecting jig 15 as described above, and is provided so that the transfer pattern 16a faces the workpiece 20 held by the holding member 19. Yes. A gap is provided between the mold 16 and the fixing member 14a. In the present embodiment, the mold 16 is made of nickel produced by X-ray lithography technology and electroforming technology, and a lot of lines and spaces having a width of 5 μm are formed on the surface. Yes.

  Here, the connection between the fixing member 14a and the mold 16 will be described. Since the lower surface of the fixing member 14a is fixed to the portion 15a in the connecting jig 15, the fixing member 14a and the connecting jig 15 are fixed. On the other hand, the upper surface of the mold 16 is movably connected to a portion 15 a in the connecting jig 15. That is, a through hole (not shown) is provided in the mold 16 from the upper surface to the lower surface, and the connecting jig 15 passes through the through hole (not shown), and the mold 16 is connected by the through hole. The jig 15 is connected so as to be guided. Thereby, the mold 16 is movable with respect to the connecting jig 15. The mold 16 is movable in the direction pushed into the workpiece 20 and in the opposite direction, that is, in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  Further, when the mold 16 is pushed into the workpiece 20, a direction beyond which the elastic member 17 disposed in the gap with the fixing member 14 a compresses is pushed into the workpiece 20 (FIG. 2). It is possible to move downward). As described above, the mold 16 has a configuration in which the mold member on which the transfer pattern 16a is formed and the movable member movable with respect to the connecting jig 15 are integrally formed. The number of parts can be reduced and a simple configuration can be achieved.

  Here, the mold 16 has a configuration in which a mold member on which the transfer pattern 16a is formed and a movable member movable with respect to the connecting jig 15 are integrally formed. You may arrange as. In that case, the mold member is fixed to the lower surface of the movable member.

  Further, when the mold and the movable member are separately provided, the movable member may have a heating unit that heats the mold. Thereby, since the movable member can directly heat the mold, the time for heating the workpiece to a desired temperature can be shortened, and imprint processing for transferring the pattern to the workpiece more efficiently is performed. Can do.

  The fixing member 14 a is provided with a gap from the mold 16, and is connected to the mold 16 via a connecting jig 15. Since the mold 16 is movable as described above, the fixing member 14a can adjust the gap between the upper surface of the mold 16 and the lower surface of the fixing member 14a by moving the mold 16. It has become.

  The elastic member 17 is not fixed to either the mold 16 or the fixing member 14a, but is sandwiched in the gap between the mold 16 and the fixing member 14a. The mold 16 is a workpiece. It has an elastic force that acts in the direction pushed into 20 and in the opposite direction. The elastic member 17 is transferred to the workpiece 20 at least after the mold 16 is pushed into the workpiece 20 so as not to impair the elastic force during the transfer operation to the workpiece 20. It has an elastic force that acts until a predetermined pressing pressure at which the pattern 16a can be transferred is reached. In the present embodiment, the elastic member 17 uses a disc spring. As described above, when the mold 16 is pushed into the workpiece 20 by the elastic force of the elastic member 17 disposed between the mold 16 and the fixing member 14a, the speed can be reduced.

  In addition, the elastic member 17 is not limited to a spring, A member other than a spring and having an elastic force can also be used. In addition, since the spring has a clear spring constant, it is preferable to use a spring as the elastic member 17 as in the present embodiment from the viewpoint that a stable elastic force can be obtained. Further, since the elastic member 17 is only sandwiched in the gap between the fixing member 14 a and the mold 16, it can be easily exchanged according to the quality of the workpiece 20.

  The heating board 18b is fixed to the fixing member 14b on the lower surface, and the holding member 19 is fixed to the upper surface, and the workpiece 20 held on the holding member 19 is heated. For example, the heating board 18b is a contact-type heating device in which a cartridge heater or the like is incorporated. In the present embodiment, the heating platen 18b and the holding member 19 are provided as separate members, but the heating platen 18b and the holding member 19 are integrally formed so that the heating platen 18b holds the workpiece 20. However, it may be configured such that it can be heated.

  The fixing member 14b fixes the heating board 18b.

  Next, a microstructure manufacturing method (manufacturing process) by the microstructure processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3D are cross-sectional views illustrating an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  First, the workpiece 20 to which the pattern is transferred is disposed on the upper surface of the holding member 19. Then, as shown in FIG. 3A, using a non-contact heating device (not shown) such as a high frequency induction heating device, the mold 16 is heated until the glass point transfer of the workpiece 20 is equal to or higher. Further, the workpiece 20 is heated using a contact-type heating device (not shown) such as a cartridge heater incorporated in the heating panel 18b until the glass point is transferred or more (heating step). For example, in this embodiment, since COP is used as the workpiece 20, the mold 16 and the workpiece 20 are heated until the temperature reaches about 150 ° C. which is equal to or higher than the glass transition point of the workpiece 20.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the drive source 11 is driven and the driving force is transmitted to the fixing member 14 a via the driving force transmission mechanism 12. Then, the fixed member 14a is moved downward by the transmitted driving force, that is, the direction in which the fixing member 14a is pushed toward the workpiece 20, so that the mold 16 connected to the fixed member 14a is moved downward, and The mold 16 is pushed into the workpiece 20 with a constant pressing pressure for a predetermined time (pressing process). In the present embodiment, the pressing is performed for 120 seconds with a pressing pressure of 5 MPa.

  Here, the elastic member 17 uses a disc spring having a spring constant of 5 kN / mm, and has an elastic force during the pushing process. That is, in this pushing step, the elastic member 17 is compressed by about 1 mm, but the mold 16 is connected to the fixing member 14a so as to be movable by about 2 mm in the direction opposite to the pushing direction. Accordingly, the elastic member 17 does not lose its elastic force while being compressed in the pressing process.

  Moreover, since the time change of the pressure detected by the dynamic sensor 13 such as the load cell can be reduced by the elastic force of the elastic member 17, the speed at which the mold 16 is pushed in is the case where the elastic member 17 is not disposed. The speed can be reduced to about half of the speed, and as a result, the transferability of the pattern to the workpiece 20 can be improved.

  Next, in a state where the transfer pattern 16a of the mold 16 is pressed into the workpiece 20, the mold 16 and the workpiece 20 are cooled until the glass point transfer of the workpiece 20 is equal to or less than ( Cooling step). In the present embodiment, the workpiece 20 and the mold 16 are cooled to 120 ° C. or lower.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, by driving the fixing member 14 a, the mold 16 connected to the fixing member 14 a is moved upward, thereby pulling the mold 16 away from the workpiece 20 ( Mold release step).

  Through such a manufacturing process, as shown in FIG. 3-4, the fine structure 21 to which the transfer pattern 16a is transferred is manufactured.

  As described above, in the imprint processing apparatus of the present embodiment, the gap between the mold 16 and the fixing member 14a is elastic in the direction in which the mold 16 is pushed into the workpiece 20 and in the opposite direction. By disposing the elastic member 17 having a force, the pushing speed of the mold 16 into the workpiece 20 can be reduced with a simple configuration, and the machining accuracy of the workpiece 20 can be improved. This eliminates the need for any other special device or mechanism for processing the workpiece 20 with high accuracy, and improves work efficiency while improving the transferability of the pattern from the mold 16 to the workpiece 20. Processing costs and device manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  Further, the elastic force of the elastic member 17 is not impaired until the predetermined pressing pressure at which the transfer pattern can be transferred to the workpiece 20 is reached after the mold 16 is pushed into the workpiece 20. Therefore, the pressing speed of the mold 16 into the workpiece 20 can be kept constant, and the transferability can be stabilized.

  Further, since the elastic member 17 is not fixed to either the fixing member 14a or the mold 16, but is disposed in the gap between the fixing member 14a and the mold 16, it matches the quality of the workpiece 20. Thus, the elastic member 17 can be easily replaced.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the elastic member 17 is disposed in the gap between the fixed member 14a and the mold 16 integrally formed with the movable member and the mold member has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . That is, for example, the mold 16 is not integrally formed with the movable member, but the holding member 19 is integrally formed with the movable member, and the elastic member is disposed in the gap between the holding member 19 and the fixed member 14b. Good. However, in this case, the heating panel 18b is not used.

  Further, for example, a movable member may be provided between the holding member 19 and the fixed member 14b, and the elastic member may be disposed in the gap between the movable member and the fixed member 14b. In this case, the heating plate 18 b may not be used, and the movable member may have a heating unit that heats the workpiece 20.

(Embodiment 2)
In the imprint processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, the heating plate 18a is provided on the workpiece 20 side. However, in the present embodiment, the heating plate is provided also on the mold side. is there. Note that an overall view of the imprint processing apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted (see FIG. 1).

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a partial configuration of the imprint processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. 4 shows a configuration of a part of the area A in the imprint processing apparatus of FIG. 1, that is, a configuration of a manufacturing part that transfers a pattern to the workpiece, and other parts are omitted. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the manufacturing part in the imprint processing apparatus includes a holding member 19, a mold 116, a heating plate 18a, a fixing member 14a, an elastic member 17, a heating plate 18b, and a fixing member 14b. It is configured with.

  The fixing member 14a and the fixing member 14b are disposed at positions facing each other, and the heating plate 18a is fixed to the lower surface side (the fixing member 14b side) of the fixing member 14a via the connecting jig 15. Further, a mold 16 is fixed below the heating panel 18a. An elastic member 17 is disposed in the gap between the fixing member 14a and the heating panel 18a.

  On the other hand, a heating plate 18b and a holding member 19 are fixed in order on the upper surface side (the fixing member 14a side) of the fixing member 14b. The workpiece 20 is arranged on the holding member 19 to transfer the pattern. Thus, a fine structure is manufactured.

  Here, the workpiece 20, the holding member 19, the heating panel 18 b, and the fixing member 14 b are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  The mold 116 is used to transfer a pattern to the workpiece 20 by being pressed into the workpiece 20. A plurality of concave and convex shapes transferred to the workpiece 20 are formed on the lower surface of the workpiece 20. A transfer pattern 116a is formed. In addition, the mold 116 has the heating plate 18 a fixed to the upper surface as described above, and is provided so that the transfer pattern 116 a faces the workpiece 20 held by the holding member 19. In this embodiment, the mold 116 is made of nickel made by the X-ray lithography technique and the electroforming technique as in the first embodiment, and the surface has a line with a width of 5 μm. And many spaces are formed.

  The heating board 18a fixes the mold 116 to the lower surface thereof and heats the mold 116. For example, the heating board 18a is a contact type heating device in which a cartridge heater or the like is incorporated. The heating platen 18a is connected to the fixing member 14a via the connecting jig 15 as described above, and a gap is provided between the heating platen 18a and the fixing member 14a.

  Here, the connection between the fixing member 14a and the heating panel 18a will be described. Since the lower surface of the fixing member 14a is fixed to the portion 15a in the connecting jig 15, the fixing member 14a and the connecting jig 15 are fixed. On the other hand, the upper surface of the heating board 18a is movably connected to a portion 15a in the connecting jig 15. That is, the connecting jig 15 passes through a through hole (not shown) provided in the heating board 18a, and the heating board 18a is connected so that the connecting jig 15 is guided by the through hole. Thereby, the heating board 18a is movable with respect to the connecting jig 15. The heating platen 18a is movable in the direction in which the mold 116 is pushed into the workpiece 20 and in the opposite direction, that is, in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  Further, when the mold 116 is pushed into the workpiece 20, the heating plate 18 a is more than the distance that the elastic member 17 arranged in the gap with the fixing member 14 a compresses the mold 116. It is possible to move in the direction of being pushed in (downward direction in FIG. 4).

  Here, since the heating platen 18a is integrally formed with a movable member movable with respect to the connecting jig 15, the mold 116 is directly heated by the heating platen 18a which is a movable member. Therefore, the efficiency of the heating process can be improved.

  Further, the heating panel 18a is not only configured to be fixedly formed with the movable member, but may be arranged as a separate member. In that case, the heating plate is fixed to the lower surface of the movable member.

  The fixing member 14 a is provided with a gap from the heating plate 18 a and is connected to the heating plate 18 a via the connecting jig 15. In addition, since the heating plate 18a to which the mold 116 is fixed is movable as described above, the fixing member 14a moves the heating plate 18a so that the upper surface of the heating plate 18a and the lower surface of the fixing member 14a are moved. It is possible to adjust the gap.

  The elastic member 17 is not fixed to either the heating platen 18a or the fixing member 14a, but is sandwiched and disposed in the gap between the heating platen 18a and the fixing member 14a. It has an elastic force that acts in the direction pushed into 20 and in the opposite direction. The elastic member 17 is transferred to the workpiece 20 at least after the mold 116 is pushed into the workpiece 20 so that the elastic force is not lost during the transfer operation to the workpiece 20. It has an elastic force that acts until a predetermined pressing pressure at which the pattern 16a can be transferred is reached. In the present embodiment, the elastic member 17 uses a disc spring. Thus, when the mold 16 is pushed into the workpiece 20 by the elastic force of the elastic member 17 disposed between the heating plate 18a and the fixing member 14a, the speed can be reduced.

  In addition, the elastic member 17 is not limited to a spring, A member other than a spring and having an elastic force can also be used. In addition, since the spring has a clear spring constant, it is preferable to use a spring as the elastic member 17 as in the present embodiment from the viewpoint that a stable elastic force can be obtained. Further, since the elastic member 17 is merely sandwiched in the gap between the fixing member 14a and the heating plate 18a, it can be easily replaced in accordance with the quality of the workpiece 20.

  Next, a microstructure manufacturing method (manufacturing process) by the microstructure processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5D are cross-sectional views illustrating an example of a manufacturing method of a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  First, the workpiece 20 to which the pattern is transferred is disposed on the upper surface of the holding member 19. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the mold 16 and the workpiece 20 are attached to the workpiece 20 using a contact-type heating device (not shown) such as a cartridge heater incorporated in the heating plate 18 a and the heating plate 18 b. It heats until it becomes more than glass point transfer of processed object 20 (heating process). For example, in this embodiment, since COP is used as the workpiece 20, the mold 16 and the workpiece 20 are heated until the temperature reaches about 150 ° C. which is equal to or higher than the glass transition point of the workpiece 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the driving source 11 is driven and the driving force is transmitted to the fixing member 14 a via the driving force transmission mechanism 12. Then, the fixing member 14a is moved downward by the transmitted driving force, that is, in a direction in which the mold 116 is pushed toward the workpiece 20, so that the fixing member 14a is fixed to the heating plate 18a connected to the fixing member 14a. The mold 116 is moved downward, and the mold 116 is pushed into the workpiece 20 with a certain pushing pressure for a certain time (pressing process). In the present embodiment, the pressing is performed for 120 seconds with a pressing pressure of 5 MPa.

  Here, the elastic member 17 uses a disc spring having a spring constant of 5 kN / mm, as in the first embodiment, and has an elastic force during the pushing process. That is, in this pressing step, the elastic member 17 is compressed by about 1 mm, but the mold 16 is fixed to the heating plate 18a and connected to the fixing member 14a in a state where it can move about 2 mm in the direction opposite to the pressing direction. Has been. Accordingly, the elastic member 17 does not lose its elastic force while being compressed in the pressing process.

  Moreover, since the time change of the pressure detected by the dynamic sensor 13 such as the load cell can be reduced by the elastic force of the elastic member 17, the speed at which the mold 16 is pushed in is the case where the elastic member 17 is not disposed. The speed can be reduced to about half of the speed, and as a result, the transferability of the pattern to the workpiece 20 can be improved.

  Next, in a state where the transfer pattern 116a of the mold 116 is pushed into the workpiece 20, the mold 116 and the workpiece 20 are cooled until the glass point transfer of the workpiece 20 is equal to or less than ( Cooling step). In the present embodiment, the workpiece 20 and the mold 116 are cooled to 120 ° C. or lower.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, by driving the fixing member 14a, the mold 116 fixed to the heating plate 18a connected to the fixing member 14a is moved upward, so that the mold 116 is moved. Pull away from the workpiece 20 (mold release step).

  Through such a manufacturing process, as shown in FIG. 5-4, the fine structure 21 to which the transfer pattern 116a is transferred is manufactured.

  As described above, in the imprint processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the gap between the heating plate 18a and the fixing member 14a is elastic in the direction in which the mold 116 is pushed into the workpiece 20 and in the opposite direction. By disposing the elastic member 17 having a force, the pushing speed of the mold 116 into the workpiece 20 can be reduced with a simple configuration, and the machining accuracy of the workpiece 20 can be improved. This eliminates the need for any other special device or mechanism for high-precision processing of the workpiece 20 and improves work efficiency while improving the transferability of the pattern from the mold 116 to the workpiece 20. Processing costs and device manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  In addition, the elastic force of the elastic member 17 is not impaired during the period from when the mold 116 is pushed into the workpiece 20 until a predetermined pushing pressure at which the transfer pattern can be transferred to the workpiece 20 is reached. Therefore, the pressing speed of the mold 116 into the workpiece 20 can be kept constant, and the transferability can be stabilized.

  Further, since the elastic member 17 is not fixed to either the fixing member 14a or the heating platen 18a but is disposed in the gap between the fixing member 14a and the heating platen 18a, it matches the quality of the workpiece 20. Thus, the elastic member 17 can be easily replaced.

  Further, since the heating plate 18a has a configuration in which a mold member on which the transfer pattern 16a is formed and a movable member movable with respect to the connecting jig 15 are integrally formed, the heating plate 18a is a movable member. Since the mold 116 can be directly heated, the efficiency of the heating process can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the elastic member 17 is disposed in the gap between the fixed member 14a and the heating panel 18a integrally formed with the movable member is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, the heating platen 18a is not formed integrally with the movable member, but the heating platen 18b is formed integrally with the movable member, and an elastic member is disposed in the gap between the heating platen 18b and the fixed member 14b. Good.

1 is an overall view showing a configuration of an imprint processing apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a partial configuration of the imprint processing apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a partial configuration of an imprint processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for manufacturing a fine structure by the fine structure processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the invention of patent document 1 which is a prior art. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the invention of patent document 1 which is a prior art. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the invention of patent document 1 which is a prior art. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the invention of patent document 2 which is a prior art. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the invention of patent document 2 which is a prior art. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the invention of patent document 2 which is a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Imprint processing apparatus 11 Drive source 12 Drive force transmission mechanism 13 Dynamic sensor 13a Connection jig 14a, 14b Fixing member 15 Connection jig 15a, 15b Part 16, 116 Mold 16a, 116a Transfer pattern 17 Elastic member 18a, 18b Heating panel 19 Holding member 20 Work piece 21 Fine structure

Claims (10)

A holding member for holding a workpiece;
A mold that is provided to face the workpiece, has a first surface and a second surface on the back side of the first surface, and a transfer pattern to be transferred to the workpiece is formed on the first surface. Members,
A movable member that fixes the second surface of the mold member and is movable in a first direction on the workpiece side and in a direction opposite to the first direction;
A driving unit that pushes the mold member into the workpiece by moving the movable member in the first direction, and pulls the mold member away from the workpiece by moving the movable member in the second direction; ,
A fixed member that is provided with a gap from the movable member, and is connected to the movable member in a state in which the gap can be adjusted on the back surface of the surface of the movable member to which the mold member is fixed;
An elastic body disposed in the gap between the movable member and the fixed member and having an elastic force acting in the first direction and the second direction;
A fine structure processing apparatus comprising:   The elastic body has at least an elastic force that acts between the time when the mold member is pushed into the workpiece and the time when a predetermined pushing pressure is reached at which the transfer pattern can be transferred to the workpiece. The fine structure processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The movable member is capable of moving in the first direction and the second direction over a distance compressed by the elastic body when the mold member is pushed into the workpiece. 3. The fine structure processing apparatus according to 1 or 2.   The fine structure processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elastic body is disposed in the gap without being fixed to either the fixed member or the movable member. apparatus.   The microstructure processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is integrally formed with the mold member.   The fine structure processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movable member includes a heating unit that heats the mold member. A holding member for holding a workpiece;
A mold that is provided to face the workpiece, has a first surface and a second surface on the back side of the first surface, and a transfer pattern to be transferred to the workpiece is formed on the first surface. Members,
A first fixing member for fixing the second surface of the mold member and fixing the mold member;
A movable member that is fixed to the holding member on the back surface side of the surface of the holding member on which the workpiece is held, and is movable in a direction opposite to the first direction and the first direction on the workpiece side;
A drive unit that pushes the mold member into the workpiece by moving the movable member in the first direction, and pulls the mold member away from the workpiece by moving the movable member to the second;
A second fixed member that is provided with a gap from the movable member, and is connected to the movable member in a state in which the gap can be adjusted on a surface on the back side of the surface of the movable member to which the holding member is fixed;
An elastic body disposed in the gap between the movable member and the second fixed member and having an elastic force acting in the first direction and the second direction;
A fine structure processing apparatus comprising:   The fine structure processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the movable member is integrally formed with the holding member.   The fine structure processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the movable member includes a heating unit that heats the workpiece.   The microstructure processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is a spring.

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