JP2017147284A - Imprint method and imprint device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imprint method and an imprint device that can form a microstructure with high precision.SOLUTION: Before resin 23 is cured on a substrate 20 constituting a microstructure after pressurization, surplus resin 23a which protrudes out to the periphery of the substrate 20 is preferentially cured by pressurization, whereby the microstructure can be formed with high accuracy.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an imprint method and an imprint apparatus for transferring a fine structure to a transfer target.

  In recent years, in optical parts used in products such as displays and lighting, a fine structure (nanometer (nm) order to micron (μm) order) that exhibits special optical properties is formed on the surface of optical parts, etc. Therefore, it is desired to realize a device that controls the reflection and diffraction of the film and that exhibits an unprecedented new function. As a method for forming such a fine structure, in recent years, in addition to the photolithography technique and the electron beam lithography technique, an imprint technique has attracted attention. The imprint technique is a technique for transferring a fine pattern of a mold onto the surface of a transferred object by pressing a mold having a fine pattern formed on the surface against the transferred object.

  Specific methods include a thermal imprint method and a UV imprint method. In the thermal imprint method, a thermoplastic resin, which is a transfer material, is applied onto a substrate, which is a transfer target, and the thermoplastic resin is heated to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature and softened, and a mold is placed on the softened thermoplastic resin. It has the process of pressing and transferring the fine pattern of a mold to a thermoplastic resin, and the process of cooling and hardening a thermoplastic resin.

  In the UV imprint method, a UV curable resin, which is a transfer material, is applied on a substrate, the mold is pressed against an uncured UV curable resin, and a mold fine pattern is transferred to the substrate, and the mold is pressed. And curing the UV curable resin by irradiating the UV curable resin with UV light.

  The thermal imprint method has an advantage that the transfer material has a wide selectivity, but has a disadvantage that the throughput is low because a heating step and a cooling step of the thermosetting resin are required. On the other hand, in the UV imprint method, since the transfer material is limited to the UV curable resin, the selectivity of the material is narrower than that of the thermal imprint method, but the heating process and the cooling process are not required, and therefore, several seconds to several tens of seconds. The transfer of the fine pattern can be completed with a high throughput. Which of the thermal imprint method and the UV imprint method is adopted differs depending on the device to be applied, but if there is no problem caused by the transfer material, the UV imprint method is considered suitable as a mass production method.

A general process flow for forming a fine structure by the UV imprint method will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a general flat plate imprint process.

  First, in the step shown in step a of FIG. 8, a transfer material 12 is applied to the entire surface of the transfer target 11 on which a fine structure is to be formed by using a spin coat method or the like. Next, in the step shown in step b of FIG. 8, the transfer target 11 is placed on the flat stage 13, and the transfer material 12 is pressed from the upper surface side of the mold 14 to bring the mold 14 into contact with the transfer material 12. As the pressurizing means, a method of pressing the pressurizing tool 15 against the mold 14 and a roll pressurizing method (not shown) that pressurizes the mold 14 linearly while feeding a cylindrical roll are generally used. .

  Next, in the step shown in step c of FIG. 8, the transfer material 12 is cured by performing UV irradiation with the UV irradiator 16 from above the mold 14 and the pressing tool 15. Finally, in the step d of FIG. 8, the pressing tool 15 and the mold 14 are moved vertically upward with respect to the stage 13 to release from the transfer material 12.

  In such a transfer method, as shown in FIG. 9, when the mold 14 is pressed against the transfer material 12 with the pressurizing tool 15, the excess transfer material 12 pushed away by the pressurization protrudes around the transferred object 11. As a result, the stage 13 is contaminated. In particular, when a substrate having a thin transfer target 11 is applied, the gap between the mold 14 and the stage 13 is narrowed, so that it tends to spread to the surroundings due to capillary action, and as a result, the protruding area of the transfer material 12 is enlarged. End up.

In order to solve the above problems, for example, an in-mold method described in Patent Document 1 is known.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an outline of the in-mold method in Patent Document 1. When the mold 14 is pressed against the transfer material 12 on the transfer body 11, UV light is irradiated to the edge portion of the transfer body 11 from the mold 14 side in advance. Thereby, even if the transfer material 12 moves to the end portion of the transfer body 11, the transfer material 12 that has flowed out to the end portion is cured by UV light, and further transfer material 12 flows out by the transfer material 12 cured at the end portion. Suppress.

JP2013-69919A

  However, in the case of this method, there is a possibility that the curing may start first at the end of the transfer object 11 before the pressurization to the uncured region 17 of the transfer material 12 is completed. That is, the transfer material 12 previously cured in the cured region 18 that is the end of the transfer body 11 becomes a dam and obstructs the pressurization to the uncured region 17, so that the remaining film 19 constituting the microstructure is formed. This may cause variation, and the fine structure may not be formed with high accuracy.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to form a fine structure with high accuracy.

  The imprint method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a step of applying a resin on a substrate, a step of pressing a fine pattern formed on a mold against the resin only on the substrate, and the fine pattern as described above. Curing the resin extruded around the substrate after being pressed against the resin, and curing the resin on the substrate after the resin around the substrate is cured Further, a fine structure corresponding to the fine pattern is formed on the substrate by the resin on the substrate.

  Furthermore, the imprint apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sheet on which a substrate coated with a resin is placed, a mold in which a fine pattern is formed at a position facing the substrate, and only on the substrate. A pressing tool for pressing a mold against the substrate, a first curing device for curing the resin around the substrate on the sheet, a second curing device for curing the resin on the substrate, and A pressure tool, and a control unit that controls operations of the first curing device and the second curing device, and the control unit presses the mold against the substrate with the pressure tool, The resin extruded on the sheet around the substrate by pressing the mold is cured by the first curing device, and then the resin on the substrate is cured by the second curing device. Characterized in that it is a configuration that.

  A stage on which a substrate coated with a resin is placed; a mold in which a fine pattern is formed at a position facing the substrate; a pressure tool that presses the mold against the substrate only on the substrate; A first curing device that cures the resin around the substrate on the stage; a second curing device that cures the resin on the substrate; the pressure tool; the first curing device; A control unit that controls the operation of the curing device, and the control unit presses the mold against the substrate with the pressurizing tool, and then presses the mold to press the stage around the substrate. The resin extruded above is cured by the first curing device, and then the resin on the substrate is cured by the second curing device.

  As described above, after the pressurization, before the resin on the substrate constituting the microstructure is cured, the excess resin that has flowed out to the periphery of the substrate by the pressurization is cured in advance, thereby increasing the microstructure. It can be formed with high accuracy.

The figure which shows the outline | summary of the structural example of the to-be-transferred body in embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrates the composition of the mold in an embodiment of the invention The figure which shows the example of the imprint method by the flat plate pressurization system in Embodiment 1 of this invention for every process The figure which shows the example of the imprint method by the flat plate pressurization system in Embodiment 1 of this invention for every process The figure which shows the example of the imprint method by the roll pressurization system in Embodiment 2 of this invention for every process The figure which shows the example of the imprint method by the roll pressurization system in Embodiment 2 of this invention for every process Schematic which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus in embodiment of this invention. Schematic diagram showing the outline of a general flat plate UV imprint method Schematic diagram for explaining issues of imprint system Schematic diagram showing the outline of the UV imprint method in Patent Document 1

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, an imprint method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a top view and a side view, which are schematic views of a circular substrate placed on a sheet as an example of a transfer object of the present embodiment. The outer end of the sheet 22 is held by the sheet holding unit 21. The sheet 22 is a flexible material, and polyolefin or the like can be used, but is not limited thereto. For example, in order to fix a transfer target such as a substrate to be mounted on the sheet 22, adhesiveness may be imparted to the substrate mounting surface of the sheet 22. Further, the sheet holding portion 21 does not need to be ring-shaped as shown in FIG. 1 and may be polygonal, for example, but is not limited thereto. FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration in which a circular substrate 20 is placed on a sheet 22 as an example of a transfer target. For example, a UV curable resin 23 is applied on the entire surface of the circular substrate 20 in advance as a transfer material. Examples of a method for applying a transfer material such as the UV curable resin 23 on the circular substrate 20 include screen printing, a dispensing method, a spray method, an ink jet method, and the like. It is good to select suitably according to it.

  Next, FIG. 2 shows a top view and a side view, which are schematic views of a mold applied to the present embodiment. The mold is, for example, in the form of a film, and the fine pattern 34 is formed in the constant pattern formation region 28. One end of the film-shaped mold 26 is held by the movable holding portion 24a and the other end is held by the movable holding portion 24b. By moving the movable holding portions 24a and 24b up and down, the tension applied to the film mold 26 at the time of pressurization can be arbitrarily adjusted. Further, the film mold 26 in the present embodiment is a material having UV transparency and flexibility, and is, for example, a PET film.

3 and 4 show schematic views of a process for forming a fine structure on the circular substrate 20.
First, in the step a shown in FIG. 3, the circular substrate 20 placed on the sheet 22 is preliminarily coated with the UV curable resin 23 and placed on the center of the stage 25 through the sheet 22. The outer shape of the stage 25 is preferably the same as the outer shape of the circular substrate 20 or smaller than the outer shape of the circular substrate 20. That is, it is preferable that the outer shape of the stage 25 does not protrude from the circular substrate 20 in a state where the circular substrate 20 is placed.

  Next, in step b shown in FIG. 3, the sheet holding unit 21 that holds the sheet 22 is lowered vertically downward with respect to the mounting surface of the circular substrate 20 by a driving unit (not shown here for simplicity). Stop at a predetermined position. Thereby, both ends of the sheet 22 are pulled downward, and the sheet 22 on the stage 25 receives tension in the both end directions. Further, around the circular substrate 20, the sheet 22 is disposed below the bottom surface of the circular substrate 20. At this time, the film mold 26 is arranged in parallel so that the fine pattern 34 formed on the surface of the film mold 26 faces the circular substrate 20.

  In the stage of step c shown in FIG. 3, the translucent pressing tool 27 uniformly presses the film mold 26 from above the circular substrate 20 to which the UV curable resin 23 is applied. The pressurizing tool 27 preferably pressurizes a region that does not protrude from the circular substrate 20. At this time, in synchronization with the pressing operation of the pressing tool 27, the movable holding portion 24a and the movable holding portion 24b are raised vertically upward with respect to the circular substrate 20 (not shown for simplicity) by the driving portion. Stop at the position. By this operation, a space 50 can be formed in the peripheral portion of the circular substrate 20 between the film mold 26 and the sheet 22. As the pressing tool 27 is pressed, the excess UV curable resin 23a flows radially toward the outer end of the circular substrate 20, but the gap between the film-shaped mold 26 and the sheet 22 is outside as shown in the figure. Since it increases radially toward the end, the excess UV curable resin 23 a is retained in the space 50, and the UV curable resin 23 is prevented from spreading in the horizontal direction on the surface of the circular substrate 20. The gap amount between the film mold 26 and the sheet 22 can be varied by controlling the relative positions of the sheet holding portion 21 and the movable holding portions 24 a and 24 b of the film mold 26. The gap amount between the film-shaped mold 26 and the sheet 22 is appropriately set according to the size and thickness of the circular substrate 20 to which the fine pattern 34 is transferred, but it is desirable to control it within a range where the film-shaped mold 26 is not plastically deformed.

  Next, in synchronism with the pressurizing operation, the UV irradiator 281 arranged around the stage 25 irradiates UV light from the back surface to the outside of the end portion of the circular substrate 20, and the excess portion protruding. The UV curable resin 23a is cured. By such a method, wetting and spreading of the UV curable resin 23 is suppressed, so that the protrusion of the resin is suppressed. The timing of irradiating UV light may start irradiation of UV light during pressurization, but it is desirable to irradiate after pressurization by the pressurization tool 27 is completely completed. When UV light is irradiated in a state where pressure is incomplete, the excess UV curing resin 23a that has protruded is accelerated to the inner region of the circular substrate 20, and the cured resin becomes a dam. This is because the pressurization by the pressurization tool 27 may be hindered. Further, it is preferable to irradiate the UV light to the outside of the end portion of the circular substrate 20, but it is possible to suppress the outflow of the excess UV curable resin 23a depending on the material of the transfer material, the thickness, shape, etc. of the microstructure. To the extent possible, UV light may be applied to the outside of the circular substrate 20 at a certain distance from the end, and the edge of the circular substrate 20 including the inside of the circular substrate 20 at a certain distance may be irradiated. You may irradiate UV light with respect to the outer side of a part.

  Next, in the step d shown in FIG. 4, the UV curable resin 23 on the circular substrate 20 is irradiated with UV light, and the UV curable resin 23 is cured. Since the film mold 26 and the pressurizing tool 27 are formed of a material having UV transparency, the UV irradiator 282 applies UV light from above the pressurizing tool 27 toward the stage 25. The UV curable resin 23 can be irradiated with UV light through the pressure tool 27 and the film-shaped mold 26.

  Finally, as shown in steps e and f in FIG. 4, after the pressurizing tool 27 is raised to a predetermined position, the movable holding portion 24a and the movable holding portion 24b of the film mold 26 are raised, The UV curable resin 23 is gradually released from the outer side of the circular substrate 20 toward the center, and the fine structure 35 corresponding to the fine pattern 34 can be transferred onto the circular substrate 20. Thus, by separating the film mold 26 from the UV curable resin 23 from the outer periphery toward the center, it is possible to suppress the release resistance, and thus it is possible to reduce the mold release failure and the load on the film mold 26. .

  The above is the imprint method for transferring the fine structure 35 corresponding to the fine pattern 34 formed on the mold 26 to the circular substrate 20. The method includes a step of preparing a resin-coated substrate on the stage 25 and a step of pressing the fine pattern 34 formed on the mold against the resin. When the mold is pressed against the resin, at least one of the substrate holding portion such as the sheet 22 provided between the stage 25 and the substrate and holding the substrate, or the mold is separated from the fine structure forming surface of the substrate. Pulled in the direction. Thus, by deforming either the sheet 22 or the mold, a space 50 is formed in the outer peripheral portion of the substrate, and after the mold is pressed against the resin, before the entire resin is cured, the surplus that has spread into the space 50 It is a feature of the present invention that only this resin is cured. Further, after the excess resin staying on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate is cured, the imprint method is carried out by curing the resin on the substrate which is a resin inside the excess resin. In this way, the space 50 is formed around the substrate, the excess resin flowing out from the substrate is retained in the space 50, and then retained outside the pressure region before the resin on the substrate is cured. When the excess resin is cured and the mold is pressed against the resin, only the uncured resin is pressurized, thereby suppressing the outflow of further resin by the cured excess resin. Since this resin does not hinder pressurization, variation in the formed fine structure is suppressed, and the fine structure can be formed with high accuracy.

  Note that wrinkles may occur when the outer peripheral portion 22a located on the outer periphery of the stage 25 of the sheet 22 is lowered. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sheet holding portion 21 is moved downward to lower the outer peripheral portion 22a of the sheet 22, and at the same time, the sheet holding portion 21 is also moved in the horizontal direction, which is the direction away from the substrate. 22 is stretched. Thereby, the generation of wrinkles can be reduced. In order to further reduce wrinkling, it is preferable to use a polyolefin having a low Young's modulus for the sheet 22. In particular, since the outer shape of the transfer target of the fine pattern 34 is likely to be wrinkled when it is circular, when the transfer target is a circular substrate 20 having a disk shape, the outer peripheral portion 22a of the sheet 22 is extended simultaneously with the lowering to be transferred. It is preferable to pull.

Although not shown, it is desirable that the sheet 22 has a high adhesive strength with the cured UV curable resin 23 with respect to the film-shaped mold 26. By setting the adhesive strength between the sheet 22 and the UV curable resin 23 high, the UV curable resin 23 protruding to the outer periphery of the circular substrate 20 can be selectively attached to the sheet 22 side. Therefore, the UV curable resin 23 can be attached only to the sheet 22 side at the time of mold release, and the film-like mold 26 can be continuously used without being washed each time, so that an improvement in productivity can be expected. .
(Embodiment 2)
Further, the present invention is not limited to the flat plate pressure type imprint method, and the same effect can be obtained even in a pressure method using a cylindrical roll.

  Here, an example of a process when the present invention is applied to a roll pressure imprint apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same as FIG.

  First, in the step a shown in FIG. 5, the circular substrate 20 placed on the sheet 22 is placed on the stage 25, and the sheet holding unit 21 is moved in a downward direction perpendicular to the placement surface of the circular substrate 20. The At this time, the film-shaped mold 26 on which the fine pattern 34 is formed has one end held by the movable holding portion 24a and the other end held by the movable holding portion 24b. Next, the film mold 26 is arranged in parallel so that the surface on which the fine pattern 34 formed on the film mold 26 is formed and the circular substrate 20 face each other.

  In the stage of step b shown in FIG. 5, the cylindrical pressure roll 29 is lowered from above the film mold 26, so that one outer end portion of the circular substrate 20 placed on the stage 25 is moved. Pressure is applied vertically. At this time, the movable holding part 24a of the film-like mold 26 is moved so as to be positioned on the same plane as the height of the circular substrate 20 by a driving part (not shown for simplicity). Note that the pressure of the pressure roll 29 is measured by the load cell, and when the measured pressure reaches a predetermined pressure, the circular substrate 20 rotates from one outer end to the other outer end. Move while. Then, the film mold 26 sequentially contacts the UV curable resin 23 on the circular substrate 20, and the fine pattern 34 is sequentially transferred to the UV curable resin 23 and moves to the other outer end of the circular substrate 20 and stops. To do. At that time, the movable holding portion 24b on the other outer end side holding the film-shaped mold 26 is gradually lowered by the driving unit in synchronization with the movement amount of the pressure roll 29, and the pressure roll 29 is a circular substrate. At the same time as stopping at the other outer end of the circular substrate 20, it is moved to a position where it is flush with the circular substrate 20. By operating in this way, it is possible to maintain a state where the pattern forming surface of the film mold 26 and the UV curable resin 23 are in contact with each other.

  Next, in the step c shown in FIG. 5, the UV irradiator 281 disposed around the stage 25 irradiates UV light from the back surface of the circular substrate 20, and the pressure roll 29 is applied to the outer peripheral portion of the circular substrate 20. The excess UV curing resin 23a that has been swept away is cured. As a result, wetting and spreading of the UV curable resin 23 can be suppressed, so that the protruding region can be minimized.

  Thereafter, as shown in step d in FIG. 6, the pressure roll 29 moves upward with respect to the substrate placement surface of the sheet 22. The UV irradiator 282 irradiates UV light from above the film mold 26 toward the stage 25 to cure the UV curable resin 23 on the circular substrate 20.

  Finally, as shown in step e and step f in FIG. 6, the movable holding portion 24a or the movable holding portion 24b of the film mold 26 is moved vertically upward with respect to the substrate mounting surface of the sheet 22, and the film mold 26 is gradually separated from the UV curable resin 23, and the fine structure 35 corresponding to the fine pattern 34 can be transferred to the circular substrate 20.

  Thus, before the resin on the substrate is cured, the excess resin extruded outside the pressurizing region is cured, and when the resin on the substrate is cured, the resin is wet spread by the cured excess resin. In addition, since the hardened surplus resin does not inhibit the pressurization, variation of the formed fine structure is suppressed, and the fine structure can be formed with high accuracy.

  Here, an example of the configuration of the imprint apparatus according to the above-described method will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the imprint apparatus includes a pressing tool 27, a film mold 26, movable holding parts 24 a and 24 b, a stage 25, a camera 30, UV irradiators 281 and 282, and a mold driving part 31. A sheet drive unit 32 and a control unit 33.

  The control unit 33 includes a memory or a processor (not shown). The control unit 33 stores a program for executing the above imprint method. Each component of the apparatus is controlled by the control unit 33 according to a programmed algorithm.

  The pressurizing tool 27 presses the film mold 26 only on the upper part of the substrate. The pressurizing tool 27 is a translucent material that transmits UV, and is, for example, quartz, but is not limited thereto. The pressurizing tool 27 can move up and down perpendicular to the substrate placement surface. Further, the pressure by the pressurizing tool 27 is measured by the load cell, and the control unit 33 can control the pressure.

  One end of the film-shaped mold 26 is held by the movable holding portion 24 a and the other end is held by the movable holding portion 24 b, and is provided between the pressing tool 27 and the stage 25. The movable holding part 24a and the movable holding part 24b are controlled by the film mold 26, and each can move the film mold 26 up and down independently, and the movable holding parts 24a and 24b move up and down. The tension applied to the film mold 26 and the angle of the film mold 26 with respect to the stage 25 can be arbitrarily adjusted. Further, the film-shaped mold 26 is connected to the control unit 33, and the movable holding units 24a and 24b can be moved up and down in synchronization with the pressing operation of the pressing tool 27. The film-shaped mold 26 is a material having UV transparency and flexibility, and is, for example, a PET film, but is not limited thereto.

  The substrate mounting surface of the stage 25 is substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the substrate. The stage 25 is, for example, a convex shape, and has a vacuum suction mechanism so that the sheet 22 can be fixed. . Further, the stage 25 is movable in the plane direction, the position of the substrate is recognized by the camera 30 provided on the upper part of the film-like mold 26, and the position of the stage is adjusted based on the position information, whereby the substrate is predetermined. It is possible to align to the position.

  The sheet driving unit 32 is provided on the stage 25 and is configured to fix the sheet holding unit 21 and drive it up and down. For example, the sheet driving unit 32 can hold the sheet holding unit 21 by vacuum-sucking the mounting surface of the sheet holding unit 21, but is not limited thereto. Thus, by moving the sheet holding unit 21 fixed by the sheet driving unit 32 up and down, it is possible to arbitrarily adjust the amount of gap between the film mold 26 and the sheet 22.

  The UV irradiator 282 is arranged on the side opposite to the surface on which the fine pattern of the film mold 26 is formed, and can irradiate the UV curable resin 23 with collimated UV light via the pressure tool 27 and the film mold 26. It has a configuration. Similarly, the UV irradiator 281 is provided around the stage 25, and can irradiate the periphery of the substrate with UV light. The UV irradiators 281 and 282 are, for example, LEDs, but are not limited thereto, and are curing devices that cure the resin.

  With the configuration as described above, before the resin on the substrate is cured, the excess resin remaining outside the pressurizing region is cured, and only the uncured resin is pressurized when the mold is pressed against the resin. As a result, the excess resin is prevented from flowing out by the hardened surplus resin, and the hardened surplus resin does not inhibit the pressurization, so that the variation in the formed fine structure is suppressed and the fine structure is highly accurate. Can be formed.

  FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a suitable imprint apparatus, and the present invention is not limited to such an apparatus configuration. For example, as described in (Embodiment 2), pressurization is performed. You may apply a cylindrical roll to a part. The thermal imprint method may be adopted without being limited to the optical imprint method. In the case of the thermal imprint method, the film-shaped mold is not limited to a material having optical transparency. Further, as the material of the transfer object, a thermosetting resin or a thermoplastic resin is used instead of the photo-curing resin. When using a thermosetting resin, it is necessary to provide a mechanism for heating the thermosetting resin instead of the light irradiator. For example, a heater is provided inside the stage 25, and the heater heats the thermosetting resin through the substrate. Moreover, when using a thermoplastic resin, it is necessary to provide further the mechanism which cools a thermoplastic resin in addition to the above heating mechanisms instead of a light irradiation device. For example, a cooling flow path is provided in the pressurization tool, and the thermoplastic resin can be cooled via the pressurization tool and the mold by flowing cooling water or a cooling gas through the cooling flow path.

  In each of the above embodiments, the transfer object is not limited to a circular substrate, and transfer objects of various shapes and materials are used. In addition, the sheet and the mold do not necessarily need to move in the direction away from each other to form a space around the transfer target, and either one of the sheets and the mold can be retained in the space when the excess transfer material to be extruded can sufficiently stay in the space. The space may be formed by moving in a direction away from the fine structure forming surface of the transfer target. Further, instead of providing a sheet, the stage may have a configuration in which the transfer object mounting surface is larger than the transfer object, and an area where excess transfer material stays around the transfer object. Furthermore, the stage may be provided with a taper on the transfer object mounting surface, and the space in which the excess transfer material stays may be enlarged. In this case, a curing device that cures excess transfer material is provided on the side of the stage where the stage does not get in the way. Moreover, it can also be set as the structure which a mold moves and does not enlarge space.

  The various forms described above can be combined as appropriate. An imprint apparatus that performs various imprint methods obtained as a result of various combinations is also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can form a fine structure with high accuracy, and is useful for an imprint method and an imprint apparatus that transfer a fine structure to a transfer target.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Transfer object 12 Transfer material 13 Stage 14 Mold 15 Pressure tool 16 UV irradiator 17 Uncured area 18 Cured area 19 Residual film 20 Circular substrate 21 Sheet holding part 22 Sheet 22a Outer peripheral part 23 UV curable resin 23a Excess UV Cured resin 24a, 24b Movable holding part 25 Stage 26 Film-shaped mold 27 Press tool 28 Pattern forming area 281, 282 UV irradiator 29 Press roll 30 Camera 31 Mold drive part 32 Sheet drive part 33 Control part 34 Fine pattern 35 Fine Structure 50 space

Claims (11)

Applying a resin on the substrate;
Only on the substrate, pressing the fine pattern formed in the mold against the resin,
Curing the resin extruded around the substrate after pressing the fine pattern against the resin;
Curing the resin on the substrate after the resin around the substrate is cured, and forming the microstructure corresponding to the fine pattern on the substrate by the resin on the cured substrate Imprinting method, wherein: The substrate is placed on a sheet;
The method further comprises a step of lowering a region around the substrate of the sheet before the fine pattern is pressed against the resin, and the resin extruded around the substrate stays on the sheet. The imprint method according to claim 1.   The imprint method according to claim 2, wherein the sheet is extended when the sheet is lowered.   The imprint method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is placed on a stage, and the resin pushed out around the substrate stays on the stage.   The imprint method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a disk shape. The step of pressing the fine pattern against the resin is performed so as to press the pattern in order from the first end side to the second end side of the substrate,
6. The imprint according to claim 1, wherein when the extruded resin is cured, the resin around the second end of the substrate is cured. Method.   The imprint method according to claim 1, wherein the resin is a UV curable resin. A sheet on which a substrate coated with resin is placed;
A mold having a fine pattern formed at a position facing the substrate;
A pressure tool for pressing the mold against the substrate only on the substrate;
A first curing device for curing the resin around the substrate on the sheet;
A second curing device for curing the resin on the substrate;
A controller that controls operations of the pressing tool, the first curing device, and the second curing device, and the control unit presses the mold against the substrate with the pressing tool; A structure in which the resin pushed onto the sheet around the substrate is cured by the first curing device by pressing the mold, and then the resin on the substrate is cured by the second curing device. An imprint apparatus characterized by being: A movable holding unit configured to be movable under the control of the control unit while holding an end of the sheet;
The imprint apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the movable holding unit moves before the pressing tool presses the mold against the substrate. A stage on which a substrate coated with resin is placed;
A mold having a fine pattern formed at a position facing the substrate;
A pressure tool for pressing the mold against the substrate only on the substrate;
A first curing device for curing the resin around the substrate on the stage;
A second curing device for curing the resin on the substrate;
A controller that controls operations of the pressing tool, the first curing device, and the second curing device, and the control unit presses the mold against the substrate with the pressing tool; A configuration in which the resin pushed onto the stage around the substrate by pressing the mold is cured by the first curing device, and then the resin on the substrate is cured by the second curing device. An imprint apparatus characterized by being:   The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the pressure tool is a pressure roll, and is configured to move from one end to the other end on the substrate.