JP2019079926A - Imprint device, and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an imprint device advantageous for reducing the used amount of gas replacing the air between a board and a mold.SOLUTION: An imprint device for forming a pattern on a board by bringing the pattern part of a mold into contact with an imprint material on the board includes an arrangement part for arranging the imprint material in the shot region of the board, a movement mechanism for moving the board so that the shot region moves from the arrangement position where arrangement is performed by the arrangement part to an imprint position where the contact takes place, and a feed section for feeding gas from a supply port, provided between the arrangement part and the pattern part of the mold, to a space between the mold at the imprint position and the board. The imprint device tilts at least one of the mold and the board so as to prevent outflow of the gas from the space, at a prescribed timing during movement of the shot region from the arrangement position to the imprint position due to movement of the board by the movement mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus and an article manufacturing method.

  Imprinting technology is being put to practical use as one of lithography techniques for manufacturing articles such as semiconductor devices. In the imprint apparatus, since the pattern is formed by bringing the mold into contact with the imprint material on the substrate, a pattern defect tends to occur in principle compared to the conventional exposure apparatus, and the reduction of this defect is an issue . Specifically, when the mold is brought into contact with the imprinting material on the substrate, the curing reaction of the imprinting material becomes difficult to progress due to the influence of oxygen in the atmosphere between them, which causes defects in the transferred pattern. It can occur. As a solution to this problem, it is conceivable to wait until the residual gas dissolves, diffuses or permeates into the imprint material or mold and disappears, but in such a case, productivity decreases due to the time required for the waiting. Resulting in.

  In order to solve this problem, the air between the substrate and the mold is replaced with a gas highly permeable or soluble to the mold or imprint material such as helium or carbon dioxide, and the air bubbles are made into the mold or imprint material A method has been proposed for allowing the volume of bubbles to be reduced rapidly by permeation. However, the gas used here is generally expensive and has a problem of high global warming potential, and there is a need to reduce the amount of such gas used.

JP, 2013-229448, A

  In the method of Patent Document 1, a gas is blown to the shot area while moving the substrate so that the shot area of the substrate supplied with the imprint material is positioned under the mold, and the pattern portion of the mold is moved along with the movement of the substrate. The gas is drawn into the space between the substrate and the substrate (imprint space). However, once the gas flows into the space, the gas continues to move with the substrate while maintaining the flow width, and flows out of the imprint space. Therefore, in order to fill the imprint space with gas, it is necessary to enclose the gas so that the flow width of the gas flowing into the imprint space is equal to or larger than the width of the pattern portion, and the amount of gas used can be reduced. Can not.

  An object of the present invention is, for example, to provide an imprint apparatus that is advantageous for reducing the amount of air and gas used between the substrate and the mold.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imprint apparatus in which a pattern portion of a mold is brought into contact with an imprint material on a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate, and the imprint material is formed on a shot area of the substrate. An arrangement unit for arranging, a moving mechanism for moving the substrate to move the shot area from an arrangement position where arrangement by the arrangement unit is performed to an imprint position where the contact is performed, the arrangement unit, and the mold And a supply unit configured to supply a gas from the supply port provided between the pattern unit and the space between the mold and the substrate at the imprint position, and the substrate is moved by the movement mechanism. The mold is configured to prevent the gas from flowing out of the space at a predetermined timing while the shot area moves from the arrangement position to the imprint position. Imprint apparatus characterized by tilting at least one of the pre said substrate.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide, for example, an imprint apparatus that is advantageous for reducing the amount of gas used to replace air between the substrate and the mold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus in embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic plan view which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus in embodiment. The figure which shows distribution of the flow of gas in the surface of a type | mold. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus in embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus in embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus in embodiment. The figure explaining the articles | goods manufacturing method in embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the following embodiment shows only the specific example of implementation of this invention, and this invention is not limited to the following embodiment. In addition, not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are essential for solving the problems of the present invention.

First Embodiment
First, an outline of the imprint apparatus according to the embodiment will be described. The imprint apparatus is an apparatus for forming a pattern of a cured product to which an uneven pattern of a mold is transferred by bringing an imprint material supplied on a substrate into contact with the mold and applying energy for curing to the imprint material. is there.

  As the imprint material, a curable composition (sometimes referred to as an uncured resin) which is cured by receiving energy for curing is used. As energy for curing, electromagnetic waves, heat, etc. may be used. The electromagnetic wave may be, for example, light whose wavelength is selected from the range of 10 nm or more and 1 mm or less, such as infrared light, visible light, and ultraviolet light. The curable composition may be a composition which is cured by irradiation of light or by heating. Among these, the photocurable composition which is cured by irradiation with light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may further contain a nonpolymerizable compound or a solvent as required. 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, a polymer component and the like. The imprint material can be disposed on the substrate in the form of droplets or in the form of islands or a film formed by connecting a plurality of droplets by an imprint material supply device (not shown). The viscosity (the viscosity at 25 ° C.) of the imprint material may be, for example, 1 mPa · s or more and 100 mPa · s or less. As a material of the substrate, for example, glass, ceramics, metals, semiconductors, resins and the like can be used. If necessary, a member made of a material different from that of the substrate may be provided on the surface of the substrate. The substrate is, for example, a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, or quartz glass.

  FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic plan view, respectively, showing the configuration of the imprint apparatus 200 in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the imprint apparatus 200 adopts a photo-curing method of curing the imprint material by irradiation of light (ultraviolet light), but is not limited thereto. For example, the imprint material is cured by heat input It is also possible to employ a thermosetting method. In each of the following figures, the Z axis in the XYZ coordinate system is taken in a direction parallel to the irradiation axis of light to the mold, and the X axis and the Y axis are taken in directions perpendicular to each other in a plane perpendicular to the Z axis. I assume.

  The illumination optical system 120 irradiates the mold 50 with the ultraviolet light from the light source 130 in the imprint process. For example, a halogen lamp that generates ultraviolet light is used as the light source 130. The illumination optical system 120 can include an optical element such as a lens, an aperture, a shutter that switches irradiation and light blocking, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the mold 50 has a pattern portion 40 (mesa portion) having a substantially rectangular outer shape and having a predetermined pattern (for example, a circuit pattern) formed in a three-dimensional shape. The material of the mold 50 is a material capable of transmitting ultraviolet light, such as quartz glass.

  The imprint head 100 functions as a mold holding unit that holds and moves the mold 50. The imprint head 100 can include a mold chuck 60 that attracts and holds the mold 50 by vacuum suction or electrostatic suction. Further, the imprint head 100 can have a mold driving mechanism 101 which drives the mold chuck 60 in the Z-axis direction in order to bring the mold 50 into contact with the imprint material 30 on the substrate 20. The mold driving mechanism 101 further has a function of adjusting the position of the mold 50 in the X and Y directions and the θ direction (rotational direction around the Z axis) and a tilt function of adjusting the tilt of the mold 50. A linear motor, an air cylinder, or the like can be adopted as an actuator of this type drive mechanism 101.

  The dispenser 80 (placement unit) places (applies or supplies) the imprint material 30 on the substrate 20. The illumination optical system 120, the imprint head 100, and the dispenser 80 described above are supported by a support 110.

  The substrate stage 10 and the substrate chuck 15 function as a substrate holding unit that holds and moves the substrate. The substrate chuck 15 is fixed on the substrate stage 10. A large number of holes are provided on the upper surface of the substrate chuck 15, and the gas on the upper surface of the substrate chuck 15 is discharged by a vacuum pump (not shown) through these holes. The substrate 20 is disposed such that the back surface thereof is in contact with the top surface of the substrate chuck 15 and the substrate 20 is a substrate chuck 15 by discharging the gas between the back surface of the substrate 20 and the top surface of the substrate chuck 15 by a vacuum pump. It is held by suction.

  The substrate stage 10 includes a moving mechanism 10 a that moves the substrate stage 10 (that is, the substrate 20) on the stage surface plate 11 in the X and Y directions. The moving mechanism 10 a may further have an adjustment function of adjusting the position in the Z-axis direction or the position in the θ direction, and a tilt function of adjusting the tilt of the substrate 20. The moving mechanism 10 a moves the shot area of the substrate 20 from the arrangement position where the placement of the imprint material by the dispenser 80 is performed to the imprint position where the mold 50 contacts the imprint material 30 on the substrate 20. The substrate 20 can be moved. Further, a purge plate 25 is provided to surround the outer periphery of the substrate 20 and is held by the substrate stage 10. The purge plate 25 has a surface substantially the same height as the substrate 20 disposed on the substrate chuck 15. The purge plate 25 can be driven in the in-plane direction of the substrate.

  The control unit 1 controls each unit in the imprint apparatus 200. The control unit 1 can be realized by a computer device including the CPU 1a and the memory 1b.

  The control unit 1 controls the imprint process as follows, for example. First, the control unit 1 controls the moving mechanism 10 a to transport the substrate 20 so that the shot area of the substrate 20 is at the placement position where placement of the imprint material by the dispenser 80 is performed. Next, the control unit 1 controls the dispenser 80 to place the imprint material 30 in the shot area located at the placement position. Thereafter, the control unit 1 controls the moving mechanism 10 a to transport the substrate 20 so that the shot area of the substrate 20 is at the imprint position. Then, the control unit 1 controls the imprint head 100 to lower the mold 50 to contact the imprint material 30 on the shot area. By this contact, the imprint material 30 flows into (fills in) the groove carved in the pattern portion 40. In this state, the control unit 1 causes the light source 130 to generate ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light from the light source 130 passes through the mold 50 through the illumination optical system 120 and is incident on the imprint material 30. Thus, the imprint material 30 irradiated with the ultraviolet light is cured. A reverse pattern of the pattern of the mold 50 is formed on the cured imprint material. After the imprint material 30 is cured, the control unit 1 controls the imprint head 100 to lift the mold 50 and widen the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20. Thereby, the mold 50 is pulled away from the hardened imprint material 30.

  In the above description, the imprint head 100 is lowered to contact the mold 50 with respect to the imprint material 30 on the fixed substrate 20, but the opposite operation may be possible. That is, the substrate stage 10 may be driven with respect to the fixed mold 50 to bring the imprint material 30 on the substrate 20 into contact. Alternatively, the imprint head 100 and the substrate stage 10 may be respectively driven. That is, any configuration may be used as long as the distance between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 is relatively changed.

  The outline of the imprinting process is as described above. In the imprinting process, when the mold 50 and the imprinting material 30 on the substrate 20 are brought into contact, the filling of the imprinting material 30 is impeded by the influence of oxygen in the air in the space between them, thereby causing pattern defects. It will be easier. Therefore, the imprint apparatus 200 supplies a purge gas (filling promotion gas) to a space between the mold 50 at the imprint position and the imprint material 30 disposed in the shot area (hereinafter also referred to as “imprint space”). It has a supply unit. The supply unit may include gas nozzles 71, 72, 73, and 74 provided as a plurality of supply ports, and gas flow rate control units 141, 142, 143, and 144 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 2, the gas nozzles 71-74 are arranged to surround the mold 50. The gas nozzles 71 to 74 are connected to the gas flow rate control units 141 to 144, respectively. Among these, the gas nozzle 71 is disposed between the mold 50 and the dispenser 80. In the example of FIG. 1, gas nozzles 71 to 74 as a plurality of supply ports are arranged in the imprint head 100.

  In FIG. 2, the widths (slit widths) of the gas nozzles 71 to 74 are drawn larger than the sides of the pattern portion 40 for convenience, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The narrower the slit width, the higher the flow velocity of the gas in the vicinity of the outlet, so the amount of air taken in decreases. Therefore, the width of the gas nozzles 71 to 74 should be narrower than the width of the pattern portion 40 in order to prevent ambient air from being mixed with the gas blown out from the gas nozzles 71 to 74 and getting caught in the imprint space. .

  The imprint apparatus 200 supplies a purge gas from the gas nozzles 71 to 74 to the imprint space to perform imprint. As the purge gas, a permeable gas which is excellent in diffusibility and solubility in the imprint material from the viewpoint of the filling property, and which permeates the mold when the mold and the imprint material come in contact with each other may be employed. Alternatively, as the purge gas, a condensable gas which is liquefied due to the pressure increase of the space between the mold and the imprint material at the time of contact between the mold and the imprint material on the substrate can be employed. At the time of contact between the mold and the imprint material, the gas remaining in the imprint material or mold dissolves or diffuses in the case of a permeable gas, and in the case of a condensable gas, it condenses due to pressure increase due to imprint, Compared to the volume is reduced to a few hundredths. This can suppress the influence of residual gas on pattern formation. Specifically, nitrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, xenon, pentafluoropropane or the like may be employed as the permeable gas. Further, as the condensable gas, specifically, a hydrofluorocarbon represented by pentafluoropropane, one gas selected from hydrofluoroether and the like, or a mixed gas thereof may be employed.

  With the above configuration, in the imprint process of the present embodiment, the above-described purge gas (hereinafter, simply referred to as “gas”) can be supplied from the gas nozzles 71 to 74. Hereinafter, the details of the imprint process involving the supply of gas in the present embodiment will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1A, the control unit 1 controls the moving mechanism 10a so that the shot area of the substrate 20 comes to the placement position where the placement of the imprint material by the dispenser 80 is performed. Transport Next, the control unit 1 controls the dispenser 80 to place the imprint material 30 in the shot area of the substrate 20. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1B, the control unit 1 controls the moving mechanism 10a to start transport of the substrate 20 in the SD direction such that the shot area of the substrate 20 comes to the imprint position. .

  Thereafter, the control unit 1 controls the gas flow rate control unit 141 to start supply of the gas G from the gas nozzle 71. For example, the control unit 1 controls the gas flow rate control unit 141 to start supply of the gas G from the gas nozzle 71 before the shot area of the substrate 20 passes under the gas nozzle 71. The supplied gas G is drawn into the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 as the substrate 20 moves. After the supply of the gas G is started, the controller 1 controls the imprint head 100 to gradually move the mold 50 and the substrate as the substrate stage 10 advances in the SD direction from the position of the dispenser 80 toward the mold 50. The mold 50 is inclined so that the gap with 20 becomes smaller. The inclination of the mold 50 suppresses the flow velocity at which the gas G is drawn between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 as the substrate 20 moves, whereby the flow width of the gas G is expanded.

  After an elapse of a time predetermined as a sufficient supply of the gas G, the control unit 1 controls the gas flow rate control unit 141 to stop the supply of the gas G from the gas nozzle 71. Thereafter, when the shot area of the substrate 20 is positioned below the pattern portion 40 of the mold 50, the control section 1 stops driving the substrate stage 10 and returns the mold 50 horizontally as shown in FIG. 1 (c). Thereafter, the control unit 1 aligns the pattern unit 40 and the shot area, controls the imprint head 100, and lowers the mold 50 to contact the imprint material 30 on the shot area. In this state, the control unit 1 causes the light source 130 to generate ultraviolet light to cure the imprint material 30. After the imprint material 30 is cured, the control unit 1 controls the imprint head 100 to raise the mold 50 and pulls the mold 50 away from the cured imprint material 30.

  In the above example, when moving the substrate stage 10 in the SD direction to position the substrate 20 at the imprint position, the control of the gas from the gas nozzle 71 corresponding to the moving direction is described. When the moving direction of the substrate stage 10 is different from the SD direction, the gas is controlled from the corresponding one of the gas nozzles 72, 73, 74.

  Further, in the above example, the control unit 1 controls the imprint head 100 to incline the mold 50 so that the gap between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 gradually becomes smaller as the substrate stage 10 moves in the SD direction. I did. Instead, the control unit 1 controls the substrate stage 10 (moving mechanism 10a) so that the gap between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 gradually decreases as the substrate stage 10 moves in the SD direction. You may make it incline. Alternatively, both the mold 50 and the substrate 20 may be inclined. That is, at least one of the mold 50 and the substrate 20 may be inclined. The inclination of the mold 50 or the substrate 20 is performed, for example, so that the difference between the closest distance between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 and the distance at the farthest distance is, for example, 0.1 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less. Good.

  Here, the reason for tilting the mold 50 as described above will be described. By inclining the mold 50 as described above, the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 is narrowed on the side opposite to the side where the gas flows into the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20. This prevents the gas from flowing out of the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20. Thus, with respect to the flow of gas in the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20, a pressure gradient is applied which increases in pressure downstream in the SD direction. Thereby, the flow velocity of the gas G drawn in by the movement of the substrate 20 in the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 is suppressed compared to the case where the facing angles of the mold 50 and the substrate 20 are parallel. When the flow rate decreases, the flow rate of the gas G can be increased while maintaining the flow rate of the gas G supplied from the gas nozzle 71.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the imprint apparatus 200 inclines at least one of the mold 50 and the substrate 20 so as to prevent the flow of the gas G from the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20. . The tilt is performed at a predetermined timing while the shot area is moved from the arrangement position by the dispenser 80 to the imprint position by the movement of the substrate 20 by the movement mechanism 10a. The predetermined timing may be, for example, a time before the shot area passes under the gas nozzle 71 after the movement of the substrate 20 by the movement mechanism 10a is started. Alternatively, with the predetermined timing, the supply of gas from the gas nozzle 71 is started at a time before the shot area passes under the gas nozzle 71 after the movement of the substrate 20 by the moving mechanism 10a is started. It may be at a later point in time.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the distribution of the flow of the gas G in the plane of the mold 50 in the direction opposite to the substrate 20. A dispenser 80 is on the left side of the mold 50 and the substrate stage 10 advances in the SD direction shown from left to right. 3 (a) and 3 (b) both show the distribution of the gas G when the gas G with the same flow rate is supplied from the gas nozzle 71 while driving the substrate stage 10 in the SD direction. FIG. 3A shows the distribution when the mold 50 and the substrate 20 face in parallel, and FIG. 3B shows the mold 50 so that the gap between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 becomes narrower as it proceeds in the SD direction. Distribution when the Such an inclination of the mold 50 has the effect of widening the flow width of the gas G while maintaining the flow rate of the gas G supplied from the gas nozzle 71. Thereby, the gas in the imprint space can be effectively replaced with the gas G. This also reduces the gas flow rate required to achieve the desired gas flow width, thereby reducing the amount of gas used.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the imprint apparatus 200 in the second embodiment. In FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment, the gas nozzles 71 to 74 are disposed as a plurality of supply ports in the imprint head 100 at a position between the mold 50 and the dispenser 80. On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 4, the several hole which connects the type | mold 50 and the type | mold chuck 60 is formed, and the gas nozzles 71-74 as a several supply port are arrange | positioned there. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  When the gas nozzles 71 to 74 are disposed outside the mold 50 as in the first embodiment, a decrease in the flow velocity of the gas G drawn in the SD direction can not be avoided as the substrate 20 moves in the SD direction. When the flow velocity of the gas G decreases, the amount of the gas G introduced into the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 decreases, and the possibility of the gas G leaking to the outside of the space increases. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the gas nozzles 71 to 74 are formed by the holes penetrating the die 50, the gas G can be supplied at a position closer to the pattern portion 40 compared to the configuration of the first embodiment. . Thereby, the gas G can be more reliably introduced into the imprint space. With this configuration, the amount of gas leaking from the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 can be reduced, so that the gas G in the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 can be more effectively replaced with the gas G. Can.

Third Embodiment
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, by tilting the mold 50, a pressure gradient in which the pressure rises on the downstream side in the SD direction with respect to the flow of gas in the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 is Added. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, instead of inclining the mold 50, an air supply / exhaust mechanism is provided to prevent the flow of gas from the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20. FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the imprint apparatus 200 in the present embodiment. The imprint apparatus 200 includes a first supply unit that supplies a gas G (first gas) to the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20. The first supply unit may include gas nozzles 71, 72, 73, 74 provided as a plurality of supply ports as in the first embodiment, and gas flow rate control units 141, 142, 143, 144 (FIG. 2). reference). Among these, the gas nozzle 71 (first supply port) is disposed between the mold 50 and the dispenser 80.

  Moreover, the air supply / exhaust devices 150 and 160 are provided further outside the gas nozzles 71 to 74 with respect to the mold 50. Among them, the air supply and exhaust system 160 is provided at a second supply port at a position opposite to the gas nozzle 71 with the pattern portion 40 of the mold 50 interposed therebetween. The air supply and exhaust devices 150 and 160 are supported by a support 110, for example. The air supply and exhaust system 150, 160 may include, for example, a fan for performing forced air supply and air exhaust. Here, the operation of the air supply / discharge device 150, 160 supplying air (second gas) toward the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 is referred to as the air supply operation, and the air supply / discharge device 150, 160 is The operation of discharging air is called exhaust operation. The air supply / exhaust devices 150, 160 function as a supply unit (second supply unit) that supplies air when performing the air supply operation, and function as an exhaust unit that discharges the air when performing the air discharge operation.

  First, the control unit 1 controls the moving mechanism 10 a to transport the substrate 20 so that the shot area of the substrate 20 is at the placement position where the placement of the imprint material by the dispenser 80 is performed. Next, the control unit 1 controls the dispenser 80 to place the imprint material 30 in the shot area of the substrate 20. Thereafter, the control unit 1 controls the moving mechanism 10a to start the transport of the substrate 20 in the SD direction so that the shot area of the substrate 20 comes to the imprint position. During the conveyance, the control unit 1 causes the air supply / exhaust device 160 located downstream in the SD direction with respect to the pattern unit 40 of the mold 50 to perform the air supply operation. Alternatively, the control unit 1 causes the air supply / exhaust device 150 on the upstream side in the SD direction with respect to the pattern unit 40 of the mold 50 to perform the exhaust operation. Alternatively, the control unit 1 causes the air supply / exhaust device 160 located on the downstream side in the SD direction with respect to the pattern unit 40 of the mold 50 to perform the air supply operation, and the upstream of the SD direction with respect to the pattern unit 40 of the mold 50 The air supply / exhaust device 150 located on the side may perform the exhaust operation. Such a pumping operation adds a pressure gradient that prevents the gas from flowing out of the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20.

  However, the pressure gradient to be applied needs to be in a range in which the air flow of the gas G drawn between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 due to the movement of the substrate 20 does not reversely flow. Such pressure gradient PG is represented by the following equation based on the premise of Couette-Poiseuille flow, where the viscosity of gas G is μ, the distance between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 is d, and the velocity of the substrate 20 is v. Be done.

      PG <6 μv / d ^ 2

  Thereafter, the control unit 1 controls the gas flow rate control unit 141 to start supply of the gas G from the gas nozzle 71. For example, the control unit 1 controls the gas flow rate control unit 141 to start supply of the gas G from the gas nozzle 71 before the shot area of the substrate 20 passes under the gas nozzle 71. The supplied gas G is drawn into the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 as the substrate 20 moves.

  After an elapse of a time predetermined as a sufficient supply of the gas G, the control unit 1 controls the gas flow rate control unit 141 to stop the supply of the gas G from the gas nozzle 71. Thereafter, when the shot area of the substrate 20 is located below the pattern unit 40 of the mold 50, the control unit 1 stops the driving of the substrate stage 10 and the air supply / discharge operation by the air supply / discharge device 150. The subsequent operation is the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the air supply and discharge operation may always be continued.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the imprint apparatus 200 supplies air from the air supply and exhaust device 160 so as to prevent the flow of the gas G from the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20. The supply of the air is performed at a predetermined timing while the shot area is moved from the arrangement position by the dispenser 80 to the imprint position by the movement of the substrate 20 by the movement mechanism 10a. The predetermined timing may be, for example, a time before the shot area passes under the gas nozzle 71 after the movement of the substrate 20 by the movement mechanism 10a is started. Alternatively, with the predetermined timing, the supply of gas from the gas nozzle 71 is started at a time before the shot area passes under the gas nozzle 71 after the movement of the substrate 20 by the moving mechanism 10a is started. It may be at a later point in time.

  As described above, the flow rate of the gas G drawn with the movement of the substrate 20 is suppressed by the exhaust operation by the air supply / discharge device 150 performed by or in addition to the air supply operation by the air supply / discharge device 160 at the time of supply Be done. When the flow velocity is suppressed, the flow width of the gas G can be extended while maintaining the flow rate of the gas G supplied from the gas nozzle 71. This effect can also reduce the amount of gas used because the gas flow rate required to achieve the desired gas flow width is reduced.

Fourth Embodiment
In the above-described third embodiment, for example, the aspect including the air supply / exhaust device 150 that performs the air supply / exhaust operation by the fan is shown. The present embodiment is a modification thereof. FIG. 6A shows the configuration of the imprint apparatus 200 in the present embodiment. Here, gas nozzles 91 to 94 are provided further outside of the mold 50 of the imprint head 100 by the gas nozzles 71 to 74.

  FIG. 6 (b) is a view showing the arrangement of the gas nozzles 71 to 74 and the gas nozzles 91 to 94 with respect to the pattern portion 40. The gas nozzles 91, 92, 93, 94 are respectively connected to the gas flow rate control units 151, 152, 153, 154, whereby the flow rate of the gas A supplied from the gas nozzles 91 to 94 can be individually controlled. As the gas A, at least one of clean air (clean dry air) different from the gas G and nitrogen can be used.

  The arrangement of the gas nozzles 91 to 94 is not limited to this. For example, if the control of the gas A and the gas G is clearly divided, the function of the gas nozzles 91 to 94 for supplying the gas A may be shared by the gas nozzles 71 to 74. Further, as in the second embodiment (FIG. 4), the gas nozzles 71 to 74 are located at a certain distance in the direction of the pattern 40 from the center of each side of the mold 50 so as to surround the pattern 40 of the mold 50. Consider the case where gas G is supplied through the opened hole. In this case, the gas A may be supplied through the holes opened in the mold 50 so as to surround those holes.

  Control of the gas flow rate control units 151 to 154 is the same as that of the third embodiment. For example, while the control unit 1 moves the substrate 20 in the SD direction, the control unit 1 controls the gas flow rate control unit 153 to supply the gas A from the gas nozzle 93. This corresponds to the air supply / exhaust device 150 on the downstream side in the SD direction in the third embodiment performing the air supply operation. As a result, a pressure gradient that impedes the flow of gas from the space between the mold 50 and the substrate 20 is added, and the same effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained.

<Embodiment of a method of manufacturing an article>
The pattern of the cured product formed using the imprint apparatus is used permanently on at least a part of various articles or temporarily for 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 element 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. The mold may, for example, be a mold for imprinting.

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

  Next, an article manufacturing method will be described. In step SA of FIG. 7, a substrate 1z such as a silicon substrate on which a workpiece 2z such as an insulator is formed is prepared, and subsequently, an imprint material 3z is formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. Grant Here, a state in which a plurality of droplet-shaped imprint materials 3z are applied onto a substrate is shown.

  In step SB of FIG. 7, the mold 4z for imprint is faced with the side on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed facing the imprint material 3z on the substrate. In step SC of FIG. 7, the substrate 1z to which the imprint material 3z is applied is brought into contact with the mold 4z, and pressure is applied. The imprint material 3z is filled in the gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. In this state, when light is irradiated through the mold 4z as energy for curing, the imprint material 3z is cured.

  In step SD of FIG. 7, after the imprint material 3z is cured, when 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. In the pattern of the cured product, the concave portions of the mold correspond to the convex portions of the cured product, and the concave portions of the mold correspond to the convex portions of the cured product, that is, the uneven pattern of the mold 4z is transferred to the imprint material 3z. It will be done.

  In step SE of FIG. 7, when etching is performed with the pattern of the cured product as the etching resistant, the portion of the surface of the workpiece 2z where the cured product is not present or remains thin is removed to form a groove 5z. In step SF of FIG. 7, when the pattern of the cured product is removed, it is possible to obtain an article having grooves 5 z formed on the surface of the workpiece 2 z. Although the pattern of the cured product is removed here, it may be used, for example, as a film for interlayer insulation included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a component of an article without removing it even after processing.

1: Control unit, 10: Substrate stage, 10a: Movement mechanism, 20: Substrate, 30: Imprint material, 50: Mold, 71: Gas nozzle, 80: Dispenser, 100: Imprint head, 200: Imprint apparatus

Claims (15)

An imprint apparatus, wherein a pattern portion of a mold is brought into contact with an imprint material on a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate,
An arrangement portion for arranging the imprint material in a shot area of the substrate;
A movement mechanism for moving the substrate so that the shot area is moved from an arrangement position where arrangement by the arrangement section is performed to an imprint position where the contact is performed;
A supply unit configured to supply a gas from a supply port provided between the placement unit and the pattern unit of the mold to a space between the mold and the substrate at the imprint position;
Equipped with
Of the mold and the substrate so as to prevent the gas from flowing out of the space at a predetermined timing while the shot area moves from the arrangement position to the imprint position by the movement of the substrate by the movement mechanism. An imprint apparatus comprising: tilting at least one of the two.   The in-line according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined timing is a time before the shot area passes under the supply port after the movement of the substrate by the movement mechanism is started. Printing device.   The predetermined timing is a time before the shot area passes under the supply port after the movement of the substrate by the movement mechanism is started, and the supply of the gas from the supply unit is performed. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, which is a point after the start.   The said supply port is formed of the hole which penetrates the said type | mold, The imprint apparatus of any one of the Claims 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a width of the supply port is narrower than a width of the pattern portion of the mold.   The said gas contains at least any one of the permeable gas which permeate | transmits the said type | mold by the said contact, and the condensable gas liquefied by the said contact, The any one of the Claims 1 thru | or 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Imprint apparatus. An imprint apparatus, wherein a pattern portion of a mold is brought into contact with an imprint material on a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate,
An arrangement portion for arranging the imprint material in a shot area of the substrate;
A movement mechanism for moving the substrate so that the shot area is moved from an arrangement position where arrangement by the arrangement section is performed to an imprint position where the contact is performed;
A first supply portion for supplying a first gas from a first supply port provided between the placement portion and the pattern portion of the mold to a space between the mold and the substrate at the imprint position; ,
A second supply unit for supplying a second gas different from the first gas to the space from a second supply port provided at a position opposite to the first supply port across the pattern portion of the mold When,
Equipped with
The second supply is performed to prevent the first gas from flowing out of the space at a predetermined timing while the shot area moves from the arrangement position to the imprint position by the movement of the substrate by the movement mechanism. And supplying the second gas from the unit. And an exhaust unit provided between the placement unit and the first supply port for exhausting the space;
8. The imprint apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the exhaust unit further performs exhaust at the predetermined timing.   9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined timing is a time before the shot area passes under the first supply port after movement of the substrate by the movement mechanism is started. The imprint apparatus described in.   The predetermined timing may be at a time before the shot area passes under the first supply port after the movement of the substrate by the movement mechanism is started, and from the first supply unit. 9. The imprint apparatus according to claim 7, which is at a time after supply of the first gas is started.   The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the first supply port and the second supply port are respectively formed by holes penetrating the mold.   The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein a width of the first supply port is narrower than a width of the pattern portion of the mold.   The first gas according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the first gas contains at least one of a permeable gas which permeates the mold by the contact and a condensable gas which is liquefied by the contact. The imprint apparatus described above.   The imprint apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the second gas is clean dry air or nitrogen. A process of forming a pattern on a substrate using the imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
Processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed;
Have
An article manufacturing method comprising manufacturing an article from the processed substrate.

Images