JP2011161806A - Imprinting stamper and method of producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of producing an imprinting stamper for simply producing an inexpensive imprinting stamper for trial production provided with a fine transfer pattern by means of a mechanical work or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The method of producing an imprinting stamper includes: a simulation process (ST3); a swelling mold forming process (ST5) of forming a swelling mold 1A by hardening a liquid gel material up to a swollen state having such a hardness as to permit mechanical work; a swelling transfer pattern forming process (ST6) of forming a rugged swelling transfer pattern (2A) on the surface 1a of the swelling mold 1A; and a dry contraction process (ST7) of obtaining an imprinting stamper 1B provided with a fine transfer pattern 2B having preset dimensions by contracting and curing the swelling mold 1A and contracting the swelling transfer pattern (2A). The imprinting stamper provided with the nanometer-order fine transfer pattern can be produced simply and inexpensively by means of the mechanical work. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an imprint stamper suitable for use as a prototype imprint stamper.

  In manufacturing a semiconductor device or the like that requires fine processing, a fine uneven pattern is transferred onto the surface of a semiconductor substrate or the like by photolithography. The photolithographic method needs to produce a fine mask pattern, and needs to accurately position the mask pattern with respect to the surface to be transferred. Therefore, there is a problem that the production cost is high and it is not suitable for mass production. For this reason, in recent years, a technique called an imprint method (nanoimprint method) capable of transferring a fine pattern suitable for mass production has become widespread.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a simple and inexpensive method for producing a transfer mold suitable for nanoimprint by the sol-gel method, and Patent Document 2 discloses a nanoimprint stamp in which a stamp surface is formed from a fine crystal layer of diamond. Proposed. Patent Document 3 proposes a method for manufacturing an imprint mold in consideration of curing shrinkage of the sol-gel material on the transfer side. Similarly, Patent Document 4 proposes a modeling method in which the pitch and shape of the position where the transfer body contacts the workpiece is changed in accordance with the shrinkage of the workpiece.

JP 2009-233855 A JP 2009-023132 A JP 2008-006639 A JP 2009-023353

  In the imprint method, since it is necessary to form a fine transfer pattern on an imprint stamper (imprint mold), the fine transfer pattern is formed by a photolithography method or the like. Therefore, an imprint stamper, in particular a nanoimprint stamper having a fine nanometer order transfer pattern, cannot be manufactured by an inexpensive method such as machining, resulting in a very high manufacturing cost. In the case of producing a prototype in which a transfer pattern is transferred using an imprint stamper, it is desired that an inexpensive prototype imprint stamper can be easily used.

  In view of this point, an object of the present invention is to propose an imprint stamper manufacturing method capable of easily manufacturing an inexpensive prototype imprint stamper having a fine transfer pattern by machining or the like. .

In order to solve the above problems, a method for manufacturing an imprint stamper according to the present invention includes:
A swelling mold forming step of solidifying a liquid gel material to a swelling state having a self-holding property, and molding a swelling mold of a predetermined shape;
A swelling transfer pattern forming step of forming an uneven swelling transfer pattern on the surface of the swelling type;
A shrinking step of shrinking the swelling transfer pattern by shrinking and hardening the swelling mold to obtain a first imprint stamper having a first fine transfer pattern having a first set dimension and a first set hardness. It is characterized by being.

  The liquid gel material shrinks to a solid state due to state changes such as drying and curing, pH change, solvent substitution, and progress of crosslinking. Some gel materials have a volume shrinkage of, for example, 1/10 or less. Therefore, the dimension of the swollen transfer pattern is set in consideration of the contracted state so that the first fine transfer pattern having the first set dimension after shrinkage due to drying or the like is formed, and such a swollen transfer pattern is formed on the surface of the swollen mold. do it. For example, if the shrinkage rate is 1/10, the swollen transfer pattern may be formed with a dimension 10 times the first set dimension of the fine transfer pattern. Therefore, even when a nanometer-order fine transfer pattern is obtained, a swollen transfer pattern can be formed by mechanical cutting.

  Here, the gel in a swollen state may be too weak and difficult to machine. Therefore, a swollen mold in which a liquid gel material is poured into a mold such as a metal mold to which a transfer pattern is applied by machining, the gel material is gelled by a chemical reaction in the mold, and the swollen transfer pattern is transferred. It is desirable to mold. In other words, it is desirable to simultaneously perform the swelling mold forming step and the swollen transfer pattern forming step using the mold.

  Further, in order to form the first fine transfer pattern with high accuracy, based on the simulation step of simulating the shape change of the swollen transfer pattern accompanying the shrinkage of the swelling type, the shape change obtained by the simulation, A condition setting step for setting production conditions including at least the dimensions of the swollen transfer pattern and the swollen state so that the first fine transfer pattern having the first set dimension and the first set hardness can be obtained from the swollen transfer pattern. Then, each step may be performed according to the manufacturing conditions.

Next, by repeating each of the above steps, the swollen transfer pattern can be made into a fine transfer pattern having a greatly reduced size exceeding the shrinkage rate of the gel material. That is, the method of the present invention comprises:
Next to the shrinking step, the liquid swelling gel material or a liquid gel material of a type different from the gel material is solidified, and a second swelling mold forming step for forming a second swelling mold having a predetermined shape;
A transfer step of transferring the first fine transfer pattern to the surface of the second swelling type using the first imprint stamper;
A second imprint stamper having a second fine transfer pattern having a second set dimension and a second set hardness is obtained by shrinking and curing the second swelling mold to shrink the first fine transfer pattern. And a second shrinking step.

  Even in this case, it is desirable to simultaneously perform the second swelling mold forming step and the transfer step. In other words, the liquid gel material or a liquid gel material of a different type from the gel material is poured into a second mold in which the first fine transfer pattern of the first imprint stamper is arranged on the molding surface, It is desirable to mold the second swelling mold to which the first fine transfer pattern is transferred by gelling the gel material by chemical reaction in the second mold.

  For example, a swollen transfer pattern formed using a gel material having a shrinkage rate of 1/10 is shrunk to produce a first imprint stamper having a first fine transfer pattern having a size of 1/10 times. Using this first imprint stamper, when the first fine transfer pattern is transferred to a second swelling mold made of a gel material having a shrinkage rate of 1/10, and this is shrunk, A second imprint stamper having a second fine transfer pattern reduced by a factor of 100 can be obtained. Therefore, by repeating this process, an imprint stamper having an extremely fine transfer pattern reduced to an exponential multiple of the shrinkage rate of the gel material can be obtained.

Even in this case, a second simulation step for simulating the shape change of the second swelling transfer pattern accompanying the shrinkage of the second swelling type,
Based on the shape change obtained by the second simulation, at least the first fine transfer pattern having the second set dimension and the second set hardness can be obtained from the first fine transfer pattern. It is desirable to perform a second condition setting step for setting a second manufacturing condition including a dimension of the fine transfer pattern and a swollen state, and to perform each of the above steps according to the second manufacturing condition.

  According to the method of the present invention, from the swelling transfer pattern or the second swelling transfer pattern having a pattern size ranging from the millimeter order to the micrometer order, from the micrometer order to the nanometer, depending on the shrinkage ratio of the gel material to be used. It is possible to obtain a first fine transfer pattern or a second fine transfer pattern having a pattern size in a range up to the order. Therefore, in the swelling transfer pattern forming step, a pattern can be formed easily and inexpensively by machining or laser processing.

  When the swelling transfer pattern is engraved by machining, in the swelling mold forming step, the surface of the swelling mold may be hardened until the swelling transfer pattern has a hardness capable of machine cutting.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an imprint stamper provided with a target fine transfer pattern by forming a swollen transfer pattern on a surface of a swollen mold and shrinking and swelling the swollen mold by drying or the like. I try to make it. An imprint stamper can be easily and inexpensively manufactured because a transfer pattern having a large dimension may be formed on the surface of the swelling type. Therefore, if the imprint stamper manufactured by the method of the present invention is used as a prototype imprint stamper, a prototype can be manufactured by the imprint method very easily and inexpensively.

It is a schematic flowchart which shows the manufacturing process of the stamper for imprint of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows each manufacturing process of FIG. It is a schematic flowchart which shows another manufacturing process of the stamper for imprints.

  An example of a method for manufacturing an imprint stamper to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart showing a method of manufacturing a prototype imprint stamper according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing each manufacturing process. Referring to these drawings, first, basic production conditions such as a fine transfer pattern transferred to a prototype and a surface hardness of a prototype imprint stamper having the fine transfer pattern are determined (step ST1). Next, a gel material used for manufacturing a prototype imprint stamper is selected (step ST2).

  In selecting the gel material, for example, a shrinkage rate from a swollen state in which a pattern of a predetermined dimension can be cut on the surface by machining to a predetermined surface hardness by, for example, drying is considered. Further, a gel material having a shrinkage ratio capable of shrinking a pattern having dimensions that can be cut by machining to a required fine transfer pattern is selected. In the following description, the case where the gel material is dried and shrink-cured will be described as an example, but it is needless to say that the gel material may be shrink-cured by a known method other than drying. .

  Next, a simulation of the shape change of the swollen transfer pattern accompanying the swelling type drying is performed (step ST3: simulation step). First, a liquid gel material is poured into a mold, and a swollen mold having a predetermined shape is formed by hardening to a swollen state having self-holding properties (step ST3-1). For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, a rectangular parallelepiped swelling mold 1A having a constant thickness is formed, and the swelling mold 1A is hardened until the surface 1a has a hardness capable of cutting a transfer pattern by machining.

  Next, in consideration of the amount of shrinkage when the swelling mold 1A is dried and cured to the set hardness, an uneven swelling transfer pattern is formed on the surface 1a of the swelling mold 1A (step ST3-2). For example, when the contraction amount is about 10 times, the swelling transfer pattern 2A having a size 10 times the pattern size of the fine transfer pattern is formed on the surface 1a as shown in FIG. For example, the surface 1a is machined to form a lattice-like swollen transfer pattern 2A having a constant depth D and a constant width W at constant intervals.

  Thereafter, the swelling mold 1A is dried and hardened until the surface 1a has a set hardness. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the swollen transfer pattern 2A contracts to about 1/10, and an imprint stamper 1B having a fine transfer pattern 2B having a depth d of 1/10 and a width w is obtained. Is obtained (step ST3-3).

  Here, by repeating these steps ST3-1, ST3-2, and ST3-3, a simulation of the shape change of the swollen transfer pattern 2A accompanying the drying of the swollen mold 1A is performed (loop of arrow C). Then, based on the shape change obtained by the simulation, at least the dimensions (depth d, width w) and swelling of the swollen transfer pattern 2A so that a fine transfer pattern 2B having a set dimension and set hardness can be obtained from the swollen transfer pattern 2A. Production conditions including the state are set (step ST4: condition setting step).

  In this simulation, the swelling transfer pattern 1A is actually manufactured, and the swelling transfer pattern 2A is obtained by accurately performing the steps of mechanically cutting the swelling transfer pattern 2A, and drying and shrinking the same. You may obtain | require the dimension (depth D, width W, etc.) of each part of 2A. It is also possible to calculate the dimensions of each portion of the swollen transfer pattern 2A by performing a simulation using a computer while changing various conditions in sequence.

  If the target fine transfer pattern cannot be obtained by simulation, the gel material to be used is changed, the shape of the swelling mold 1A, for example, the surface shape is changed, and the simulation is performed again. By doing so, a condition for obtaining a satisfactory result is obtained (a loop indicated by a broken line D in FIG. 1).

  After this, based on the shape change obtained by the simulation, the liquid gel material is poured into the mold and solidified to a swollen state having a self-retaining property and then swollen in a predetermined shape, similar to the above-described step ST3-1. A swelling mold forming step ST5 for forming the mold 1A is performed. Next, a swollen transfer pattern forming step ST6 and a drying shrinkage step ST7 similar to the step ST3-3 are performed as in the step ST3-2. Thereby, the imprint stamper 1B provided with the fine transfer pattern 2B as the final product is obtained.

  It is also possible to perform a surface treatment such as plating on the surface of the imprint stamper 1B manufactured using a gel having conductivity. Further, a treatment film such as a metal thin film can be applied to the surface by various methods such as electrostatic coating. Furthermore, it is also possible to use the imprint stamper obtained as described above as a final imprint stamper obtained by transferring a fine transfer pattern to another material.

  Here, the hardness of the swelling type 1A (swelled gel) is generally low, and machining is generally difficult in many cases. In this case, it is desirable to simultaneously perform the swelling mold forming step ST3-1 and the swollen transfer pattern forming step ST3-2 in the simulation step. Moreover, it is desirable to perform the swelling mold forming step ST5 and the swelling transfer pattern forming step ST6 at the same time. That is, a mold such as a metal mold on which a swollen transfer pattern is formed by machining is manufactured, a liquid gel material is poured into the mold, and the gel is gelled by a chemical reaction, thereby transferring the swollen transfer pattern. What is necessary is just to shape | mold the made swelling mold and to make the said swelling mold shrink.

  Next, in the case of manufacturing an imprint stamper having a fine transfer pattern having a reduction ratio that greatly exceeds the shrinkage ratio due to the gel material, as shown in FIG. 3, the imprint for the imprint manufactured as described above is used. Using the stamper (steps ST1 to ST7), the fine transfer pattern is transferred to the second swelling mold formed from the gel material (steps ST8 and ST9). Next, the second swellable mold is contracted to produce an imprint stamper having a second fine transfer pattern that is further reduced by the contraction rate of the gel material compared to the fine transfer pattern (steps ST10 and ST11). ). The second swelling type may be manufactured in parallel with the first swelling type. In the simulation step (ST3), the swollen contraction state and the second swollen contraction state are simulated. Furthermore, the shrinkage rate in the drying shrinkage steps ST7 and ST10 can be set to different values.

  Even in this case, as described above, it is desirable to simultaneously perform the swelling mold forming step ST5 and the swelling transfer pattern forming step ST6. It is also desirable to perform the second swelling mold forming step ST8 and the fine transfer pattern transfer step ST9 simultaneously. That is, after the drying shrinkage step ST7, a second mold having the first imprint stamper having the first fine transfer pattern arranged on the molding surface is manufactured, and a liquid gel material is poured into the second mold. It is desirable to mold the second swelling mold to which the first fine transfer pattern is transferred by gelling the gel material by chemical reaction in the mold.

  Thus, by repeating the pattern transfer and contraction twice, it is possible to obtain a fine transfer pattern that is significantly reduced in comparison with the transfer pattern obtained by machining. Of course, it is also possible to obtain an imprint stamper having an extremely fine transfer pattern by repeating pattern transfer and contraction three or more times.

1A Swelling type 1a Surface 1B Imprint stamper 2A Swelling transfer pattern 2B Fine transfer pattern

Claims (10)

A swollen mold forming step in which a liquid gel material is solidified to a swollen state with a self-holding shape to mold a swollen mold of a predetermined shape;
A swelling transfer pattern forming step of forming an uneven swelling transfer pattern on the surface of the swelling type;
A shrinking step of obtaining a first imprint stamper having a first fine transfer pattern having a first set dimension and a first set hardness by shrinking and curing the swelling mold to shrink the swollen transfer pattern. A method for producing an imprint stamper, wherein: In claim 1,
By pouring the liquid gel material into a mold on which the swollen transfer pattern is formed, and gelling the gel material by a chemical reaction in the mold, the swollen mold forming step and the swollen transfer pattern forming step, The method for producing an imprint stamper is characterized by forming a swollen mold onto which the swollen transfer pattern has been transferred. In claim 1 or 2,
A simulation step of simulating a change in shape of the swollen transfer pattern accompanying the shrinkage of the swelling type;
Based on the shape change obtained by the simulation, at least the dimensions of the swollen transfer pattern and the first fine transfer pattern having the first set dimension and the first set hardness are obtained from the swollen transfer pattern. And a condition setting step for setting production conditions including a swollen state,
A method for producing an imprint stamper, wherein the swelling mold forming step and the swelling transfer pattern forming step are performed according to the production conditions. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
Next to the shrinking step, the liquid swelling gel material or a liquid gel material of a type different from the gel material is solidified, and a second swelling mold forming step for forming a second swelling mold having a predetermined shape;
A transfer step of transferring the first fine transfer pattern to the surface of the second swelling type using the first imprint stamper;
A second imprint stamper having a second fine transfer pattern having a second set dimension and a second set hardness is obtained by shrinking and curing the second swelling mold to shrink the first fine transfer pattern. A method for producing an imprint stamper, comprising: a second shrinking step. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
Next to the shrinking step, the liquid gel material or a liquid gel of a type different from the gel material is applied to a second mold in which the first fine transfer pattern of the first imprint stamper is arranged on the molding surface. A molding step of molding a second swollen mold to which the first fine transfer pattern is transferred by pouring a material and gelling the gel material by a chemical reaction in the second mold.
A second imprint stamper having a second fine transfer pattern having a second set dimension and a second set hardness is obtained by shrinking and curing the second swelling mold to shrink the first fine transfer pattern. A method for producing an imprint stamper, comprising: a second shrinking step. In claim 4 or 5,
A second simulation step of simulating a change in shape of the first fine transfer pattern accompanying the contraction of the second swelling type;
Based on the shape change obtained by the second simulation, at least the first fine transfer pattern having the second set dimension and the second set hardness can be obtained from the first fine transfer pattern. A second condition setting step for setting a second manufacturing condition including a dimension of the fine transfer pattern and a swollen state,
The imprint stamper manufacturing method, wherein the second swelling mold forming step, the transfer step and the second shrinking step, or the molding step and the second shrinking step are performed according to the second manufacturing condition. . In claim 1,
In the swelling mold forming step, the surface of the swelling mold is solidified until the swelling transfer pattern can be formed by machining,
In the swelling transfer pattern forming step, the swelling transfer pattern is engraved by machining or laser processing. In any one of claims 1 to 7,
The pattern size of the swelling transfer pattern is in the range from millimeter order to micrometer order, and the pattern dimension of the first fine transfer pattern or the second fine transfer pattern is in the range from micrometer order to nanometer order. A method for producing an imprint stamper characterized by   An imprint stamper comprising the first fine transfer pattern or the second fine transfer pattern produced by the production method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.   An imprint method for producing a prototype, wherein the imprint stamper according to claim 9 is used as a prototype imprint stamper.

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