JP2018092995A - Application equipment, imprint device, imprint method and method of manufacturing article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a supply device capable of detecting supply of an unintended imprint material from the supply device.SOLUTION: A supply device 14 according to the present invention is a supply device 14 which supplies an imprint material onto a substrate 18, an ejection surface having an ejection opening through which the imprint material is ejected being provided in the supply device 14. The supply device 14 comprises a detection unit 15 detecting the imprint material that falls from the ejection surface, and the detection unit 15 moves in accordance with the movement of the supply device 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus and an imprint method for forming a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate using a mold.

  As a method for manufacturing an article such as a semiconductor device, an imprint technique for forming a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate using a mold is known. In the imprint technique, an imprint material is supplied onto a substrate, and the supplied imprint material is brought into contact with a mold (imprinting). Then, after the imprint material is cured in a state where the imprint material and the mold are in contact, the pattern of the imprint material is formed on the substrate by separating the mold from the cured imprint material (release). .

  The imprint apparatus includes a supply device (dispenser) that supplies an imprint material onto a substrate. In the imprint technique, as a method for supplying an imprint material onto a substrate, for example, a method for supplying droplets of an imprint material onto a substrate using a supply device having a plurality of discharge ports (nozzles) is known. Yes.

  In such a supply device, when the imprint material is supplied onto the substrate, variations in the discharge amount and direction of the droplets, non-discharge of the droplets, and the like may occur. In such a case, a predetermined imprint material cannot be supplied onto the substrate, and there is a possibility that a desired imprint material pattern cannot be formed on the substrate.

  For this reason, the imprint apparatus may be provided with a mechanism for checking the state of liquid droplets discharged from the supply apparatus at a predetermined location (for example, a standby position). In Patent Document 1, an imaging unit fixed in an imprint apparatus is provided, and the state of droplets of an imprint material applied on a substrate is observed, whereby droplets discharged from a plurality of discharge ports are observed. A method for detecting variations in ejection amount and ejection direction, non-ejection of droplets, and the like is described. Patent Document 2 describes a print head unit including a droplet detection device including a light source and a light receiving unit. The light source and the light receiving unit are provided so that the liquid droplets discharged from the discharge port of the print head unit cross the light emitted from the light source and received by the light receiving unit. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-228561 describes a method for checking a variation or non-ejection of ejected droplets in synchronization with ejection.

  Further, when foreign matter adheres to the substrate, there is a risk that a defect is generated in the pattern formed on the substrate. In addition, if foreign matter adheres to the driving unit (for example, stage) of the imprint apparatus, the apparatus needs to be maintained and the operation rate may be reduced. As a cause of foreign matter generation, the imprint material attached to the discharge surface where the discharge port of the supply device is formed is dried and fixed, and then drops onto the substrate. May be.

JP2015-144305A JP-A-2005-280351

  As described above, in the conventional imprint apparatus, the non-ejection or ejection state of the droplet is checked by providing a detection unit at a predetermined location. Therefore, the droplet cannot be detected unless the coating device is moved to a predetermined place where the detection means is provided. Accordingly, it is impossible to detect that an unnecessary imprint material has been supplied from the coating apparatus in a place where the detection means is not provided.

  An object of this invention is to provide the supply apparatus which can detect that the imprint material which was not intended fell from the discharge surface of the supply apparatus.

  The supply device of the present invention is a supply device for supplying an imprint material onto a substrate, and a discharge surface having a discharge port through which the imprint material is discharged is provided in the supply device, and falls from the discharge surface. A detection unit that detects an imprint material is provided, and the detection unit can move in accordance with the movement of the supply device.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the supply apparatus which can detect that the imprint material which was not intended fell from the discharge surface of the supply apparatus can be provided.

It is the figure which showed the imprint apparatus of embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the imprint method of embodiment. It is the figure which showed the supply apparatus of embodiment. It is the figure which showed the supply apparatus and droplet detector of embodiment. It is the figure which showed the relationship between the supply apparatus of embodiment, a substrate stage, and a board | substrate. It is the figure which showed the relationship between the supply apparatus, board | substrate, and shot layout of embodiment. It is a flow which shows the detection and imprint operation | movement of the droplet of embodiment. It is a flow which shows the detection and imprint operation | movement of the droplet of embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of articles | goods.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same reference number is attached | subjected about the same member and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Embodiment)
(About imprint equipment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an imprint apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. The configuration of the imprint apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, each axis is determined as shown in FIG. 1, assuming that the surface on which the substrate 18 is disposed is the XY plane and the direction orthogonal to the XY plane is the Z direction. The imprinting device forms a cured product pattern in which the concave / convex pattern of the mold is transferred by bringing the imprinting material supplied on the substrate into contact with the mold (mold) and applying energy for curing to the imprinting material. It is a device to do. The imprint apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 is used for manufacturing a device such as a semiconductor device as an article. Here, the imprint apparatus 1 which employ | adopted the photocuring method is demonstrated.

  The imprint apparatus 1 contacts the mold 17 and an uncured imprint material, and in that state, irradiates the imprint material with light 19 (for example, ultraviolet rays) to cure the imprint material. After the imprint material is cured, the pattern forming apparatus forms a pattern of the imprint material on the substrate 18 by widening the distance between the mold 17 and the substrate 18. The imprint apparatus 1 according to the embodiment employs an optical imprint system, and includes a light irradiation unit 10, a mold holding unit 11, a substrate chuck 12, a substrate stage 13, a supply device 14, and a droplet detection unit. 15 and a control unit 16.

  The light irradiation unit 10 irradiates the imprint material with light 19 through the mold 17 during imprinting. A pattern to be transferred such as a circuit pattern is formed on the surface of the mold 17 facing the substrate 18. The material of the mold 17 is a material that transmits light 19, such as quartz. The substrate 18 is made of glass, ceramics, metal, semiconductor, resin, or the like, and a member made of a material different from the substrate may be formed on the surface as necessary. Specifically, the substrate 18 is a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, quartz glass, or the like. A shot region, which is a region where a pattern arranged in a specific shot layout is formed, is formed on the substrate 18. An imprint material is supplied from the supply device 14 to each shot area, and a pattern of the imprint material is formed using a mold 17.

  The mold holding unit 11 includes a mold chuck (not shown) that holds the mold 17 by an adsorbing force, a mold drive mechanism (not shown) for moving the mold chuck (mold 17), and a shape correction mechanism that deforms the mold 17. (Not shown).

  The substrate chuck 12 holds the substrate 18 by an adsorption force or the like.

  The substrate stage 13 includes a substrate driving mechanism for holding and moving the substrate chuck 12 (substrate 18). The imprint apparatus 1 supplies the imprint material by the supply device 14, and then contacts the mold 17 and the imprint material on the substrate 18 while aligning the mold 17 and the substrate 18.

  The supply device 14 discharges droplets of the imprint material from a plurality of discharge ports in order to supply the imprint material onto the substrate. In the imprint technique, a method of supplying an imprint material to a substrate includes, for example, a method in which a large number of discharge ports are provided in the supply device 14 and the droplets of the imprint material are discharged onto the substrate by an inkjet method. Are known.

  As the imprint material, a curable composition (also referred to as an uncured resin) that cures when given energy for curing is used. As the energy for curing, electromagnetic waves, heat, or the like is used. The electromagnetic wave is, for example, light such as infrared light, visible light, or ultraviolet light whose wavelength is selected from a range of 10 nm to 1 mm.

  A curable composition is a composition which hardens | cures by irradiation of light or by heating. Among these, the photocurable composition cured by light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent as necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of a sensitizer, a hydrogen donor, an internal release agent, a surfactant, an antioxidant, and a polymer component.

  The imprint material is applied in a film form on the substrate by a spin coater or a slit coater. Alternatively, the liquid ejecting head may be applied to the substrate in the form of droplets, or in the form of islands or films formed by connecting a plurality of droplets. The viscosity of the imprint material (viscosity at 25 ° C.) is, for example, 1 mPa · s or more and 100 mPa · s or less.

  The droplet detection unit 15 includes a light source unit that emits light in a direction along the ejection surface where the ejection port of the supply device 14 is formed, and a light receiving unit that receives the light emitted from the light source unit. The droplet detection unit detects an object falling from the ejection surface by constantly irradiating a light beam from the light source unit. In addition to the imprint material ejected from the ejection port, objects that fall from the ejection surface include drops of unintentional imprint material droplets, and items where the hardened imprint material adhering to the ejection surface falls. Including.

  The droplet detection unit 15 is held by the supply device 14 and can move together with the supply device 14. Therefore, the droplet detection unit 15 can always detect an object falling from the ejection surface regardless of the location of the supply device 14.

  The control unit 16 controls the operation and adjustment of each component of the imprint apparatus. The control unit 16 is configured by, for example, a computer and may be provided in the imprint apparatus 1 or may be connected via a line or the like and disposed at a location different from the imprint apparatus 1. The control unit 16 controls the operation of each component of the imprint apparatus 1 according to a program or the like. This control includes the control of the imprint operation of the imprint apparatus after the operation status of the imprint apparatus 1 is determined with respect to the detection of dripping dripping that is the object of the embodiment. In addition, the control unit 16 may detect that an object has dropped from the ejection surface of the supply device 14 based on the light reception result of the light receiving unit provided in the supply device 14.

(About imprint operation)
Next, an imprint operation for forming an imprint material pattern on the substrate 18 using the imprint apparatus 1 will be described. Here, the imprint operation is performed in the order of an imprint material supply process, a stamping process, an alignment process, an imprint material curing process, and a mold release process. This imprint operation is executed for each shot area.

  An imprint method for forming an imprint material pattern on the substrate 18 using the imprint apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the imprint method (imprint operation).

  When the imprint operation is started in S10, the mold 17 is carried into the imprint apparatus 1 by the mold conveying device and placed in the mold holding unit 11 (S11). Similarly, the board | substrate 18 is carried in in the imprint apparatus 1 with a board | substrate conveyance apparatus, and is arrange | positioned to the board | substrate chuck | zipper 12 (S12). The order of S11 and S12 may be interchanged and may be processed in parallel. When the imprint operation is started, the first command from the control unit 16 enters the supply device 14 and the substrate stage 13. The substrate stage 13 on which the substrate 18 is placed moves the shot area of the substrate within the imprint apparatus 1 according to the shot layout of the substrate 18. At the same time, the supply device 14 moves from the standby position (201) to the application position (202). The droplet detection unit 15 is held by the supply device 14 and is always operating while moving with the movement of the supply device 14 to detect dripping. During the imprint operation, the droplet detection unit performs droplet detection by irradiating a light beam.

  Next, the supply device 14 supplies the imprint material to the shot area of the substrate 18 (S13). The imprint material is supplied to the shot region while the substrate chuck 12 scans the substrate 18 under the supply device 14.

  Next, by driving the substrate stage 13, the substrate 18 supplied with the imprint material is disposed immediately below the mold 17. In this state, the mold 17 and the substrate 18 are aligned (S14). As an alignment method, there is a method in which alignment marks formed on the mold 17 and the substrate 18 are detected by an alignment scope provided in the mold holding unit 11. Based on the detection result of the alignment mark, the positional deviation between the mold 17 and the substrate 18 is detected, and the substrate stage 13 is driven to perform alignment.

  Next, by bringing the mold 17 and the substrate 18 closer, the imprint material supplied on the substrate 18 is brought into contact with the mold 17 (S15). By bringing the mold 17 into contact with the imprint material, the imprint material enters the concave portion of the pattern formed on the mold 17, and the pattern is formed by the mold 17. The alignment mark detection and alignment by the alignment scope may be performed in a state where the mold 17 and the imprint material are in contact with each other (S16). And the imprint material is hardened by irradiating the light 19 from the light irradiation part 10 in the state which the imprint material and the type | mold 17 contacted (S17).

  After the imprint material is cured, the distance between the mold 17 and the substrate 18 is widened to separate the mold 17 from the cured imprint material (mold release). As a result, a cured imprint material pattern is formed on the substrate 18 (S18). When forming a pattern in a plurality of shot areas, the pattern is formed by repeating the processes of S13 to S18.

  Finally, the substrate 18 on which the pattern has been formed by the substrate transfer device is unloaded from the imprint apparatus 1 (S19), and the mold 17 is unloaded from the imprint apparatus 1 by the mold transfer device (S20). The order of S20 and S21 may be interchanged and may be processed in parallel. Then, a series of imprint operations ends (S21).

  In the above-described imprint method, the photocuring method for curing the imprint material by irradiating light has been described. However, a heat curing method for curing the imprint material by heat may be applied.

(About droplet detection)
Next, the droplet detection performed during the imprint operation will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the supply device 14 and the droplet detection unit 15. FIG. 4 shows a view of the supply device 14 and the droplet detection unit 15 shown in FIG. 3 viewed from below (−Z direction).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the droplet detection unit 15 includes a light source unit 100 and a light receiving unit 101 held by the supply device 14, and the light beam M emitted from the light source unit 100 is a droplet from the supply device 14. Irradiation is performed along the ejection surface 102 to be ejected. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the light beam M emitted from the light source unit 100 is emitted so as to cover the entire area of the ejection surface 102. In such a state, when the droplet L of the imprint material is ejected from the supply device 14 and passes through the light beam M, the light beam M is blocked, thereby reducing the amount of light reaching the light receiving unit 101. By detecting this decrease in the amount of light, it is detected that the droplet L has been ejected. Thereby, the droplet detection unit 15 can detect whether the imprint material is appropriately discharged from the supply device 14 in the imprint material supply process of S13 of FIG. In this way, it is possible to detect the amount and speed of droplet discharge when applying the imprint material onto the substrate during normal imprinting.

  Here, the purpose of the droplet detection in the embodiment is to detect an object falling from the ejection surface of the supply device 14 that occurs at a time other than the time when the normal imprint material is applied. 15 always performs a detection operation. For example, the dripping of the imprint material droplets can be detected from the ejection surface of the supply device 14. Since the droplet detection unit 15 is held by the supply device 14, the droplet detection unit 15 performs detection even when moving together with the supply device 14 and when normal discharge is not performed at the discharge position during imprinting. The above-described detection signal when applying a normal imprint material can be determined together with the imprint operation command from the control unit 16 so that the control unit 16 does not drop an unintended object. Here, the constant detection includes not only a normal imprint operation but also a case where the supply device 14 moves to the retreat position 201 during maintenance of the imprint device 1 or the supply device 14.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the supply device 14, the movable range 203 of the substrate stage 13, the position of the substrate 18 and the shot layout 20, and the operation relationship.

  The supply device 14 is normally on standby at a standby position 201. Then, the supply device 14 moves to the application position 202 during the imprint operation in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 16. At the same time, the designated shot area on the substrate 18 is moved below the coating position 202 by the substrate stage 13, and the imprint material is supplied from the supply device 14 to the shot area. The shot area to which the imprint material is supplied moves to the stamping position 200 where the mold 17 is arranged, and a pattern is formed on the substrate. An instruction is issued from the control unit 16 along the shot layout 20, and the above-described movement, application, and stamping operations are repeated. When the final shot is stamped, the stage 13 moves to the substrate collection position (not shown), the substrate 18 is collected, and the supply device 14 moves to the standby position 201.

  For example, when a droplet of the imprint material drops unintentionally from the supply device 14 during the stamping, the imprint material adheres to other shot areas on the substrate, or the imprint material on the substrate stage. There is a risk of sticking. There is a possibility that the imprint material dripping on the substrate unintentionally becomes a foreign matter. If foreign matter adheres to the substrate, a pattern defect may occur during imprinting, which may reduce product yield.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the relationship among the supply device 14, the substrate 18, and the shot layout 20 during the imprint operation is viewed from above (+ Z direction).

  FIG. 6A shows a state where the supply device 14 is outside the substrate 18. When the droplet detection unit 15 detects a droplet from the supply device 14 at this position, the control unit 16 detects the droplet based on the position information of the supply device 14 and the position information of the substrate stage 13 (substrate 18) at this time. The drooping position can be specified. When the control unit 16 determines that the droplet of the imprint material has dropped on the substrate stage 13, for example, the control unit 16 stops the imprint operation and stops the operation of the substrate stage. At this time, the operation result (not shown) of the imprint apparatus 1 may display the result of the liquid drop detection unit 15 detecting the liquid drop and the operation status of the imprint apparatus.

  FIG. 6B shows a state where the supply device 14 is on the substrate 18. In the shot layout 20 shown in FIG. 6B, the lower two colored shot areas indicate shot areas in which a pattern is formed by imprinting. On the other hand, among the shot areas shown in FIG. 6B, the shot area not colored is a shot area before the pattern is formed. When the droplet detection unit 15 detects a droplet from the supply device 14 at this position, the control unit 16 detects the droplet based on the position information of the supply device 14 and the position information of the substrate stage 13 (substrate 18) at this time. The position of the drooping shot area can be specified.

  Furthermore, the control unit 16 can also determine whether the shot S in which the droplet of the imprint material hangs is formed before or after the pattern is formed, based on the information regarding whether or not the pattern is formed. If the shot region at the position where the droplet detection unit 15 detects the droplet is before the pattern is formed, it is determined that imprinting is not performed on the shot region S, and imprint operation is performed on the other shot regions. continue. On the other hand, if the shot region at the position where the droplet detection unit 15 has detected the droplet is after the pattern is formed, the shot unit S is informed to the operation unit (not shown) of the imprint apparatus 1. It may be displayed. In addition, information can be output as an error shot in the shot area S where the droplet is detected.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation for detecting the dripping of the droplet. The operation of detecting the dripping of the droplet will be described with reference to FIG.

  The droplet detection unit 15 operates constantly and detects dripping of the droplet from the ejection surface of the supply device 14 by the light beam (F100). When a droplet crosses the light beam M from the supply device 14, dripping of the droplet is detected (F101). When a droplet is detected from the supply device 14, the control unit 16 obtains at least one piece of information such as position information of the supply device 14, position information of the substrate stage 13, imprint information such as pattern formation presence / absence and imprint operation. Obtain (F102). Subsequently, the control unit 16 determines whether the imprint material is supplied by the normal imprint operation from the information acquired in F102 (F103). When it is determined that the imprint material is supplied by the normal imprint operation, the imprint operation is continued (F107). When it is determined that the imprint material is not supplied by the normal imprint operation (droplet dripping), it is determined from the information acquired in F102 whether the imprint operation is to be continued (F104). Even when the droplet detection unit 15 detects the dripping of the droplet, if it is determined that the pattern formation is not affected, the apparatus operation is continued (F105). On the other hand, the operation of the imprint apparatus may have to be changed as a result of detecting the dripping of the droplet (F106). As described above, by providing the droplet detection device 15 in the supply device 14 of the present embodiment, whether or not the imprint operation is continued by detecting the droplet from the supply device 14 even during the imprint operation. It becomes possible to judge.

  FIG. 8 is a flow for explaining a case where the dripping of the droplet is detected from the supply device 14 and the operation of the imprint apparatus is changed. The operation to be changed can be switched in accordance with the location where the droplet has dropped.

  If it is determined that the operation of the imprint apparatus is to be changed (F106), it is determined whether or not the position where the droplet drips is on the substrate (F201). When it is determined that the position where the droplet is detected is not on the substrate (for example, on the substrate stage 13), the imprint operation is stopped and the status is displayed on the operation unit (not shown) of the imprint apparatus (F202). ). If droplets of the imprint material droop in an unintended place, it may become a source of foreign matter. Therefore, the apparatus is stopped and processing such as cleaning the inside of the apparatus or cleaning the discharge surface of the supply apparatus 14 is performed. Do. Further, the imprint operation may be continued if the position where the droplet is detected in the imprint apparatus does not immediately affect the imprint operation.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the position where the droplet is detected in F201 is on the substrate, it is determined whether the position where the droplet is detected is a shot region where a pattern is formed by the imprint operation (F203). . If it is determined that the position where the droplet is detected is the shot area before the pattern is formed by the imprint operation, the imprint operation is continued and the shot area where the droplet is detected is skipped. A printing operation is performed (F204). If it is determined in step F203 that the droplet is detected at the position where the pattern is formed by the imprint operation, the imprint operation is continued because the pattern formation is not immediately affected (F205). If the position where the droplet is detected in the determination of F201 is out of the shot area even on the substrate, the imprint operation is continued (F205).

  Furthermore, when the droplet detection unit 15 detects an unintended droplet, an unnecessary imprint material may be attached to the ejection surface of the supply device 14. Therefore, in addition to the flow of the imprint operation described above, a step of removing the imprint material attached to the discharge surface of the supply device 14 may be included. Further, when the droplet detection unit 15 detects an unintended droplet, there is a possibility that the supply device 14 has a problem. Therefore, you may have the process of replacing | exchanging the supply apparatus 14. FIG. In the imprint apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment, the case where the supply apparatus 14 moves between the standby position 201 and the application position 202 has been described. However, in addition to this, an inspection position for inspecting the state of the supply apparatus 14 and the supply apparatus 14 are provided. An exchange position for exchange may be set.

  In a conventional imprint apparatus, when a droplet of an imprint material falls unintentionally on a substrate or a stage from a supply device other than a predetermined location such as an inspection position, the location where the droplet has dropped cannot be detected. . For this reason, there is a possibility that pattern defects and apparatus maintenance may occur due to the imprint material droplets falling to an unintended place.

  In this way, the droplet detection unit 15 detects the dripping of the droplet from the ejection surface of the supply device 14, and determines the subsequent imprint operation based on the position where the droplet is detected and the status of the imprint operation. The imprint apparatus can be operated. As a result, the imprinting operation can be stopped or continued depending on the position where the droplet is detected, reducing mold contamination and occurrence of defects, and improving yield and operating rate. it can. Further, when the droplet detection position is on the substrate stage, it is possible to determine whether the imprint operation is stopped, shorten the recovery time such as cleaning, and improve the operation rate of the imprint apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the droplet detection unit 15 detects the dripping of the droplet of the imprint material from the discharge surface of the supply device 14 has been described. However, the hardened imprint material attached to the discharge surface falls. Including those that detect As described above, the droplet detection unit 15 of the present embodiment is not limited to the imprint material ejected from the ejection port, and the imprint material that is not intended to drop or imprint material that adheres to the ejection surface and is cured. Includes materials that fall.

  In the above-described embodiment, the droplet detection unit 15 has been described as detecting the droplets of the imprint material that hangs down from the ejection surface of the supply device 14, but the configuration of the detection unit is not limited thereto. For example, a liquid film detection unit may be used as the detection unit. If the liquid film of the imprint material formed on the discharge surface can be constantly measured by the liquid film detection unit attached to the supply device 14, when the liquid film becomes thick, droplets are supplied from the supply device 14. It becomes possible to perform a cleaning operation before dripping.

  The standby position 201 of the imprint apparatus 1 may include another detection unit in addition to the droplet detection unit 15 described in the above embodiment. For example, when the drop detection unit 15 provided integrally with the supply device 14 detects dripping of the imprint material, the normal imprint process is stopped and the supply device 14 is moved to the standby position 201. Let Then, the state of the discharge port and the state of the discharge surface may be inspected in detail by the detection unit provided at the standby position 201.

  In the above-described embodiment, the droplet detection unit 15 has been described as a device that detects the dripping of the imprint material on the supply device 14. When the supply device 14 is provided with a discharge detection unit that detects droplets discharged from the discharge port during the coating process, the discharge detection unit may be used as the above-described droplet detection unit 15.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the droplet detection unit 15 always detects has been described. Since it is only necessary to detect an unintended droplet dripping different from the imprint material supply in the imprint operation, the droplet detection unit 15 does not need to be detected when the normal imprint material is supplied.

  The supply device 14 used in the imprint apparatus 1 may be a cartridge-type supply device. When the imprint material stored in the cartridge runs out, or when a malfunction occurs in the discharge port, the cartridge is replaced with a new one. When such a cartridge type supply device 14 is used, the light source unit 100 and the light receiving unit 101 of the droplet detection unit 15 may be detachable. Thus, when the cartridge type supply device 14 is replaced, the light source unit 100 and the light receiving unit 101 of the droplet detection unit 15 can be replaced with a new supply device 14.

(Product manufacturing method)
The above-mentioned imprint technology can form a three-dimensional structure all at once, and can produce diffractive optical elements and bio-type chip-type inspection elements, as well as pattern formation on the nanometer order. It can be applied to a wide range of fields.

  The pattern of the cured product formed using the imprint apparatus is used permanently on at least a part of various articles or temporarily used when manufacturing various articles. The article is an electric circuit element, an optical element, a MEMS, a recording element, a sensor, or a mold. Examples of the electric circuit elements include volatile or nonvolatile semiconductor memories such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, and MRAM, and semiconductor elements such as LSI, CCD, image sensor, and FPGA. Examples of the mold include an imprint mold.

  The pattern of the cured product is used as it is as a constituent member of at least a part of the article or temporarily used as a resist mask. After etching or ion implantation or the like is performed in the substrate processing step, the resist mask is removed.

  Next, a specific method for manufacturing an article will be described. As shown in FIG. 9A, a substrate 1z such as a silicon wafer on which a workpiece 2z such as an insulator is formed is prepared. Subsequently, the substrate 1z is formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. A printing material 3z is applied. Here, a state is shown in which the imprint material 3z in the form of a plurality of droplets is applied on the substrate.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the imprint mold 4z is made to face the imprint material 3z on the substrate with the side having the concave / convex pattern formed thereon. As shown in FIG. 9C, the substrate 1 provided with the imprint material 3z is brought into contact with the mold 4z, and pressure is applied. The imprint material 3z is filled in a gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. In this state, when light is irradiated as energy for curing through the mold 4z, the imprint material 3z is cured.

  As shown in FIG. 9D, when the imprint material 3z is cured and then the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, a pattern of a cured product of the imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z. This cured product pattern has a shape in which the concave portion of the mold corresponds to the convex portion of the cured product, and the concave portion of the mold corresponds to the convex portion of the cured product, that is, the concave / convex pattern of the die 4z is transferred to the imprint material 3z. It will be done.

  As shown in FIG. 9 (e), when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured product as an anti-etching mask, the portion of the surface of the workpiece 2z where there is no cured product or remains thin is removed, and the grooves 5z and Become. As shown in FIG. 9 (f), when the pattern of the cured product is removed, an article in which the groove 5z is formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z can be obtained. Although the cured product pattern is removed here, it may be used as, for example, a film for interlayer insulation contained in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, a constituent member of an article without being removed after processing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Imprint apparatus 10 Light irradiation part 11 Type | mold holding part 13 Substrate stage 14 Supply apparatus 15 Droplet detection part 16 Control part 100 Light source part 101 Light-receiving part

Claims (13)

A supply device for supplying an imprint material on a substrate,
A discharge surface having a discharge port through which the imprint material is discharged is provided in the supply device, and includes a detection unit that detects an imprint material falling from the discharge surface.
The detection device moves in accordance with the movement of the supply device.   The supply device according to claim 1, wherein the imprint material falling from the discharge surface is a droplet of the imprint material discharged from the discharge port.   The supply device according to claim 1, wherein the imprint material falling from the discharge surface is a material in which a cured imprint material adheres to the discharge surface.   The said detection part has an irradiation part which irradiates light along the said discharge surface, and a light-receiving part which light-receives the light irradiated from this irradiation part, It is any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The supply device described.   The supply device according to claim 4, wherein the detection unit detects an imprint material falling from the ejection surface based on a light amount irradiated from the irradiation unit and a light amount received by the light receiving unit.   The detection unit detects an imprint material falling from the ejection surface when the supply device is not performing an operation of supplying the imprint material onto the substrate, thereby preventing an imprint material from being unintended from the supply device. The supply device according to claim 1, wherein a drop is detected. An imprint apparatus that forms a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate using a mold,
A supply device for supplying an uncured imprint material on the substrate;
A discharge surface having a discharge port through which the imprint material is discharged is provided in the supply device, and includes a detection unit that detects an imprint material falling from the discharge surface.
The imprinting apparatus, wherein the detection unit moves in accordance with movement of the supply apparatus. A control unit for controlling the position of the coating apparatus is provided.
The control unit detects the position of the coating device when the detection unit detects an imprint material that has dropped from the ejection surface,
The imprint apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the position of the imprint material dropped from the ejection surface is obtained based on a detection result of the detection unit and a detection result of the control unit. A control unit for controlling the position of the substrate stage is provided.
The control unit detects the position of the substrate stage when the detection unit detects the imprint material dropped from the ejection surface,
The imprint apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the position of the imprint material dropped from the ejection surface is obtained based on a detection result of the detection unit and a detection result of the control unit.   The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein when the detection unit detects an imprint material that has dropped from the discharge surface, the discharge surface of the supply device is cleaned. An imprint method for forming a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate using a mold,
A supply step of supplying an imprint material from a supply device onto the substrate;
A discharge surface having a discharge port through which the imprint material is discharged is provided in the supply device, and a detection unit detects an imprint material falling from the discharge surface.
The imprinting method, wherein the detection unit moves in accordance with movement of the supply device. An imprint method for forming a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate using a mold,
A supply step of supplying an imprint material from a supply device onto the substrate;
A step of detecting an imprint material falling from the discharge surface of the supply device when different from the supply step;
An imprinting method comprising: controlling an imprinting operation according to a position where the imprinting material has dropped from the supply device detected in the detecting step. Forming an imprint material pattern on a substrate using the imprint apparatus according to claim 9;
Processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed in the step;
A method for producing an article comprising:

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