JP6920939B2 - Imprint equipment and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an imprinting apparatus and a method for manufacturing an article.

The imprint device cures the imprint material in a state where the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate such as a silicon wafer or a glass plate, and pulls the mold away from the cured imprint material to imprint on the substrate. Form a pattern of wood.

In the mold release operation of pulling the mold away from the cured imprint material, if the force required for mold release (release force) is large, there is a risk that the pattern formed on the substrate will collapse or the mold or substrate will peel off from the holding part of the device. be. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the mold release force as much as possible. In order to reduce the mold release force, it has been proposed to apply a mold release agent to the pattern part of the mold, or to bring the mold into contact with the imprint material containing the mold release agent multiple times (adaptation operation). (For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Special Table 2006-52888A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-205039

Supplying the mold release agent to the mold in this way helps to reduce the mold release force, but excessive application treatment and acclimatization of the mold release agent leads to an increase in cost and a decrease in productivity. .. Therefore, it is important to control the state of application of the release agent to the mold and to perform the application treatment of the release agent and the familiarization operation in a timely manner. However, in the past, such management was left to human hands, which could lead to misjudgment, extra cost and time.

An object of the present invention is, for example, to provide an imprinting apparatus which is advantageous in terms of productivity.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the imprint material is cured in a state where the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate, and the mold is separated from the cured imprint material, thereby causing the imprint material. An imprinting apparatus that performs an imprinting process for forming the pattern of The control unit has a control unit that controls the imprint process based on the history information of the mold including the history of the mold, and a drive mechanism that adjusts the relative position between the mold and the substrate, and the control unit has the history information. When it is determined from the above that the coating state of the mold release agent in the pattern portion of the mold is poor, in the shot regions in which the processing order is a predetermined number from the beginning among the plurality of shot regions of the substrate, the drive mechanism is used. Provided is an imprint apparatus characterized in that the imprint process is performed at a speed of a mold release operation for pulling the mold away from the imprint material, which is slower than when the coating state is not determined to be defective. ..

According to the present invention, for example, it is possible to provide an imprinting apparatus which is advantageous in terms of productivity.

The figure which shows the structure of the imprinting apparatus in embodiment. The flowchart explaining the imprint process in Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure which includes a plurality of imprinting apparatus in an embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the history information of the type in an embodiment. The flowchart which shows the imprint processing for a plurality of substrates in a lot in an embodiment. The figure which illustrates the layout of the shot area on a substrate. The figure explaining the article manufacturing method in embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments merely show specific examples of the embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are essential for solving the problems of the present invention.

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

As the imprint material, a curable composition (sometimes referred to as an uncured resin) that cures when energy for curing is applied is used. Electromagnetic waves, heat, etc. can be used as the energy for curing. 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, for example, infrared rays, visible rays, ultraviolet rays, and the like. The curable composition can be a composition that is cured by irradiation with light or by heating. Of these, the photocurable composition that is cured by irradiation with light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may further contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent, if necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group of sensitizers, hydrogen donors, internal release mold release agents, surfactants, antioxidants, polymer components and the like. The imprint material can be arranged on the substrate in the form of droplets or islands or films formed by connecting a plurality of droplets by an imprint material supply device (not shown). The viscosity of the imprint material (viscosity at 25 ° C.) can be, for example, 1 mPa · s or more and 100 mPa · s or less. As the material of the substrate, for example, glass, ceramics, metal, semiconductor, resin and the like can be used. If necessary, a member made of a material different from 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 is a diagram showing a configuration of an imprint processing unit 100 (imprint device) which is a transfer unit in the present embodiment. As a realistic embodiment, a plurality of imprint processing units 100 may be housed in one chamber and operated, and such an embodiment will be described later with reference to FIG.

The imprint processing unit 100 cures the imprint material in a state where the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate, and pulls the mold away from the cured imprint material (release) to obtain the imprint material. Performs imprint processing to form a pattern. Here, the imprint processing unit 100 adopts a photocuring method for curing the imprint material by irradiating the imprint material with ultraviolet rays (UV light) as a curing method for the imprint material. However, a thermosetting method in which the imprint material is cured by heat may be adopted. Further, in the drawing, the direction parallel to the optical axis of the ultraviolet rays irradiating the imprint material on the substrate is defined as the Z axis, and the directions orthogonal to each other in the plane perpendicular to the Z axis are defined as the X axis and the Y axis.

In the imprint processing unit 100, the mold head 16 includes a mold chuck 17 that holds the mold 18 having the pattern portion P. The pattern portion P of the mold 18 is formed with a concavo-convex pattern corresponding to the pattern to be formed on the substrate 1.

The detection unit 26 is composed of, for example, a CCD camera, and acquires an image of the mold 18 and its surroundings. Based on this acquired image, the contact state of the mold 18 with the imprint material on the substrate 1, the filling state of the imprint material on the substrate 1 into the mold, and the mold release state of the mold 18 from the imprint material on the substrate 1. Can be observed.

The mold chuck 17 holds the mold 18 by, for example, vacuum suction. The mold chuck 17 is firmly coupled to the mold head 16. The mold head 16 has a mold drive mechanism capable of driving at least in three axial directions of Z, ωX, and ωY with reference to the bridge structure 8. The mold head 16 is connected to the bridge structure 8 via the connecting member 15 and is supported by the bridge structure 8. The alignment measurement unit 12 is also supported by the bridge structure 8.

The alignment measurement unit 12 performs alignment measurement for alignment between the mold 18 and the substrate 1. In the present embodiment, the alignment measurement unit 12 includes an alignment detection system that detects the marks arranged on the mold 18 and the marks arranged on the substrate stage 7 and the substrate 1 and generates an alignment signal.

A half mirror 13 is arranged above the connecting member 15. The light from the curing light source 11 is reflected by the half mirror 13 and passes through the mold 18 to irradiate the imprint material on the substrate 1. The imprint material on the substrate 1 is cured by irradiation with light from the curing light source 11.

The bridge structure 8 is supported by the base surface plate 20 via an air spring 19 for insulating vibration from the floor. The air spring 19 may have a structure generally adopted in an exposure apparatus or the like as an active vibration isolation function. The bridge structure 8 is attached with an imprint material supply unit 23 that supplies the imprint material to the substrate 1 via the holder 22. The imprint material supply unit 23 is also provided with a mold release agent supply unit 32 that supplies (coats or sprays) a mold release agent to the substrate 1 via a holder 31 in the bridge structure 8. The mold release agent is a composition for facilitating the mold release operation of pulling the mold away from the cured imprint material. As described above, the release agent can be contained in the imprint material, but in the present embodiment, the release agent supply unit 32 additionally supplies the release agent to the substrate 1 in addition to the imprint material. I am trying to do it. In the present embodiment, the release agent supply unit 32 is configured to supply (coat or spray) the release agent on the substrate 1, but supply (coat) the release agent to the pattern portion P of the mold 1. It may be configured to be used.

The substrate stage 7 has a substrate chuck (not shown), and the substrate is held by the substrate chuck. The substrate stage 7 has a substrate drive mechanism capable of moving in the six-axis directions of X, Y, Z, ωX, ωY and ωZ. In the present embodiment, the substrate stage 7 is supported by the bridge structure 8 via an X slider 3 including a moving mechanism in the X direction and a Y slider 5 including a moving mechanism in the Y direction. The X slider 3 is provided with a measuring instrument 4 that measures the relative position between the X slider 3 and the Y slider 5. Further, the Y slider 5 is provided with a measuring instrument 6 for measuring the relative position between the Y slider 5 and the bridge structure 8. Therefore, the measuring instrument 4 and the measuring instrument 6 measure the position of the substrate stage 7 with reference to the bridge structure 8. Each of the measuring instrument 4 and the measuring instrument 6 may be composed of an encoder (linear encoder).

The measuring instrument 9 is provided in the bridge structure 8 and is composed of, for example, an interferometer. The measuring instrument 9 irradiates the measurement light 10 toward the substrate stage 7 and detects the measurement light 10 reflected by the mirror for the interferometer provided on the end surface of the substrate stage 7 to determine the position of the substrate stage 7. measure.

The gas supply unit 21 fills the space near the mold 18, specifically, the space between the mold 18 and the substrate 1 in order to improve the filling property of the imprint material into the pattern portion P of the mold 18. Supply. The filling gas is a permeable gas and a condensing gas to rapidly reduce the filling gas between the mold 18 and the imprint material and facilitate the filling of the imprint material into the pattern of the mold 18. Includes at least one. Here, the permeable gas is a gas that has high permeability to the mold 18 and permeates the mold 18 when the mold 18 is brought into contact with the imprint material on the substrate 1. The condensable gas is a gas that liquefies (that is, condenses) when the mold 18 is brought into contact with the imprint material on the substrate 1. The filling gas supplied between the mold 18 and the substrate 1 is sucked from the upper part of the mold head 16 through the exhaust duct 14 and discharged to the outside of the apparatus. Further, the filling gas supplied between the mold 18 and the substrate 1 may be recovered by a gas recovery mechanism (not shown) instead of being discharged to the outside.

The off-axis scope 24 detects the reference mark and the alignment mark provided on the reference plate arranged on the substrate stage 7 without going through the mold 18. The off-axis scope 24 can also detect alignment marks arranged for each shot region of the substrate.

The pressure sensor 25 is provided on the substrate stage 7 and detects the pressure acting on the substrate stage 7 by bringing the mold 18 into contact with the imprint material on the substrate 1. The pressure sensor 25 may be provided on the mold head 16.

The control unit 400 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like, and comprehensively controls the operation of the imprint processing unit 100. The control unit 400 controls the imprint process and related processes.

Next, the flow of imprint processing by the imprint processing unit 100 will be described. The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows the flow of imprint processing on a single substrate 1 held on the substrate stage 7. A plurality of shot regions, each of which is a region in which a pattern is formed by one imprint process, are formed on the substrate 1.
In S101, the control unit 400 moves the substrate stage 7 so that the target shot region, which is the shot region to be imprinted on the substrate 1, is located below the imprint material supply unit 23. After that, the control unit 400 controls the gas supply unit 21 to supply the filling gas to the space between the mold 18 and the substrate 1.

In S102, the control unit 400 controls the imprint material supply unit 23 to supply the imprint material to the target shot region of the substrate 1. After that, the control unit 400 moves the substrate stage 7 so that the target shot region is located below the pattern unit P of the mold 18.

In S103, the control unit 400 lowers and drives the mold head 16 to perform a contact operation in which the pattern portion P of the mold 18 and the imprint material on the substrate are brought into contact with each other. After that, the control unit 400 aligns the mold 18 with the target shot region of the substrate 1 based on the result of the alignment measurement by the alignment measurement unit 12 in a state where the pattern portion P of the mold 18 and the imprint material on the substrate are in contact with each other. I do. Since such alignment is performed for each shot region (die) of the substrate 1, it is called "die-by-die alignment".

In S104, the control unit 400 transfers the light from the curing light source 11 to the imprint material on the substrate in a state where the pattern portion P of the mold and the imprint material on the substrate are in contact with each other (that is, via the mold 18). Irradiate and cure the imprint material.

In S105, the control unit 400 raises and drives the mold head 16 to perform a mold release operation of pulling the mold 18 away from the imprint material cured on the substrate. As a result, the pattern of the imprint material corresponding to the pattern portion P of the mold 18 remains in the target shot region of the substrate 1. That is, a pattern corresponding to the pattern portion P of the mold 18 is formed in the target shot region of the substrate 1. During the mold release operation, the mold head 16 is set so that the shearing force applied to the pattern portion P of the mold 18 is equal to or less than the breaking stress of the imprint material pattern so that the pattern of the imprint material is not broken. It is important to control the ascending drive of.

In S106, the control unit 400 determines whether or not the pattern formation on all the shot regions of the substrate 1 is completed. If the pattern formation in all the shot areas has not been completed yet, the process returns to S103 in order to perform the pattern formation in the next target shot area. When the pattern formation on all the shot regions is completed, the imprinting process on the substrate 1 is completed.

In the above description, it has been explained that the contact operation is performed by the downward drive of the mold head 16 and the mold release operation is performed by the upward drive of the mold head 16. However, in the contact operation and the mold release operation, at least one of the mold 18 and the substrate 1 may be driven so that the relative positions of the mold 18 and the substrate 1 are adjusted. Therefore, instead of driving the mold head 16, the contact operation and the mold release operation may be performed by driving the substrate stage 7. Alternatively, the contact operation and the mold release operation may be performed by driving both the mold head 16 and the substrate stage 7.

The present invention can also be applied to a configuration including a plurality of imprint processing units 100. As an example, FIG. 3 shows a configuration example in which two imprint processing units 100 are housed in a chamber 200 for maintaining an imprint environment at a constant temperature and humidity and eliminating the intrusion of foreign substances. In this case, the control unit 400 can be shared by each imprint processing unit. The control unit 400 controls the supply of the substrate so that, for example, the substrate in the same lot is processed by the same imprint processing unit 100 among the plurality of imprint processing units 100.

The mold stocker 28 stores a plurality of molds. The mold transfer unit 29 uses a hand to take out a new mold from the mold stocker 28, convey it to the mold chuck 17 which is the mold holding position of the imprint processing unit 100, and collect the old mold from the mold chuck 17. Can be done. The mold transfer unit 29 also has a function of moving the mold in and out of the device via a mold pod (not shown). The mold transfer unit 29 may have a rotation mechanism, a vertical movement mechanism, a horizontal movement function, a hand expansion / contraction function, and the like.

The control unit 400 may include, for example, a notification unit 401, a mold management unit 402, and a board management unit 403. The notification unit 401 can notify the control computer 500 and the display unit 30 of warning information and the like via the network. In response to this, the display unit 30 can display the device status. The mold management unit 402 manages the mold information stored in the mold stocker 28. The mold information can include the number of uses, the number of washes, and the number of times the release agent is applied. In addition to this, the type information may include information on the drawing error of the pattern drawn on the mold, information on the alignment mark for aligning the mold head 16 and the mold, and the like. The board management unit 403 manages the information of the board stored in the board storage unit (not shown).

In the apparatus of FIG. 3, a plurality of molds on which the same pattern capable of processing the same lot is drawn are stored in the mold stocker 28. The type management unit 402 holds the processing history information for each type stored in the type stocker 28. FIG. 4 shows an example of the history information held by the type management unit 402. An ID that identifies the type is set for each of the types. The history information has items of cumulative number of processes and history for each type. The cumulative number of processes may be the number of times the cumulative imprint process is executed (the number of contacts and mold release), or the cumulative number of substrates on which the imprint process has been performed. Here, the cumulative number of processed substrates is defined as the cumulative number of substrates on which imprint processing has been performed. In the history column, the time when a specific process is performed and the process type are described. The treatment type may include application of a release agent and implementation of cleaning. When the release agent is applied by the release agent supply unit 32, the history is updated. Further, the mold is cleaned by removing the mold from the imprint processing unit and carrying it into a cleaning device (not shown). The cleaning device selectively selects, for example, wet cleaning that uses a liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water to clean dust and dirt adhering to the mold, and dry cleaning that uses excimer UV, atmospheric pressure plasma, or the like. Alternatively, it can be performed in combination. When cleaning is complete, the history is updated.

Hereinafter, the imprint process on a plurality of substrates in the lot in the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When a job is submitted, the control unit 400 acquires information on the types that can be used in the lot from the control computer 500. In S201, the control unit 400 controls the mold transfer unit 29, takes out the mold 18 from the mold stocker 28 based on the acquired mold information, and carries it into the imprint processing unit 100 corresponding to the lot. The carried-in mold 18 is held by the mold chuck 17 on the mold head 16. In S202, the control unit 400 controls a substrate feeding unit (not shown) to carry in the substrate 1 in the lot. The carried-in substrate 1 is held on the substrate stage 7 by a substrate chuck (not shown).

In S203, the control unit 400 acquires the history information held in the type management unit 402. At this time, the control unit 400 reads the IC tag arranged on the mold 18. The IC tag includes the ID of the type 18, and the control unit 400 can specify the reference item of the acquired history information by the ID. The history information may be included in the IC tag instead of being held in the type management unit 402.

Next, the control unit 400 determines whether or not to change the imprint processing method in a specific shot area of the substrate 1 based on the acquired history information. The control unit 400 determines, for example, that the application state of the release agent in the pattern unit P of the mold 18 is poor when any of the following conditions is satisfied.
(1) When there is no history of the release agent being supplied by the release agent supply unit 32 (YES in S204)
(2) When the elapsed time since the last supply of the release agent by the release agent supply unit 32 exceeds the predetermined time T1 (YES in S205).
(3) When the elapsed time since the last cleaning of the mold did not exceed the predetermined time T2 (YES in S206)

In the case of (1), where there is no history of the release agent being supplied by the release agent supply unit 32, for example, in FIG. 4, a new type that has not been used in the past, such as the type with ID M003, is used. It is a case of use, and it is necessary to supply a mold release agent first. Further, in (2), when the elapsed time from the last supply of the release agent exceeds the predetermined time T1, it may be determined that the function of the release agent has been lost. , An additional supply of mold release agent is required. Further, in (3), the case where the elapsed time from the last washing of the mold does not exceed the predetermined time T2 is the case where the mold release agent is not supplied immediately after the washing, and the mold is released. Mold supply is required. As described above, when the mold cleaning includes dry cleaning and wet cleaning, only wet cleaning may be targeted in (3). That is, it may be determined that the function of the release agent is not lost only by performing dry cleaning.

When none of the above conditions are satisfied, it is determined that the mold release agent is applied to the pattern portion P of the mold 18 in a good state, and in S207, the control unit 400 controls the control unit 400 in all shot regions of the substrate 1 in FIG. Perform the imprint process (normal imprint process) shown in. On the other hand, if any of the above conditions is satisfied, it is determined that the release agent is poorly applied to the pattern portion P of the mold 18, and the process proceeds to S208. In S208, the control unit 400 controls the release agent supply unit 32, and the shot regions (first to Nth shot regions) in which the processing order is a predetermined number from the beginning among the plurality of shot regions of the substrate 1 (for example, the first to Nth shot regions). In each of N = 3), the following temporary imprint processing is performed.
(1) First, the control unit 400 controls the imprint material supply unit 23 to supply the imprint material to the shot region.
(2) Next, the control unit 400 controls the release agent supply unit 32 to supply the release agent to the shot region. At this time, the control unit 400 adds the history of the release agent supply to the history information held in the mold management unit 402. After supplying the mold release agent, the control unit 400 controls the mold head 16 and repeats the contact operation and the mold release operation between the mold release agent and the imprint material supplied to the shot region and the mold 18 a predetermined number of times. (For example, 5 times). This is a acclimation operation for acclimating the release agent to the pattern portion P of the mold 18.
(3) After that, the control unit 400 performs an imprint process including a contact operation, a curing of the imprint material, and a mold release operation in the shot region.

By performing such a temporary imprinting process, the application state of the release agent in the pattern portion P of the mold 18 can be improved. After that, in S209, the control unit 400 normally performs an imprint process on the remaining shot area.

In S210, the control unit 400 controls a substrate transport unit (not shown) to carry out the substrate 1 that has been imprinted in the entire shot region. After that, in S211 the control unit 400 determines whether the processing of all the substrates in the lot has been completed, and if there is a remaining substrate, returns to S202 and repeats the processing for the next substrate. When the processing of all the substrates in the lot is completed, the processing proceeds to S212.

In S212, the control unit 400 determines whether or not cleaning of the mold is necessary. For example, when the cumulative number of processes in the history information exceeds a predetermined number, it is determined that cleaning is necessary. It is also possible to determine whether to apply dry cleaning or wet cleaning according to the cumulative number of treatments. If it is determined that the mold does not need to be cleaned, the process is terminated as it is. When it is determined that the mold needs to be cleaned, the control unit 400 controls the mold transport unit 29 in S213 to carry the mold 18 out of the imprint processing unit 100 and carry it into the cleaning device. In S214, the cleaning device is used to clean the mold. At this time, the control unit 400 adds the cleaning history to the history information held in the mold management unit 402.

According to the above embodiment, it is possible to control the application state of the release agent to the mold and supply the release agent in a timely manner, thereby providing an imprinting apparatus advantageous in terms of productivity. be able to.

<Second Embodiment>
In the temporary imprint processing in the first embodiment, the operation is performed by acclimatizing in each of a predetermined number of shot regions where the imprint processing is first performed on the substrate 1. However, a temporary imprint process that does not include such a familiarization operation is also conceivable. For example, in S208, the control unit 400 controls the release agent supply unit 32, and the shot regions (first to Nth shot regions) in which the processing order is a predetermined number from the beginning among the plurality of shot regions of the substrate 1 (1st to Nth shot regions). For example, in each of N = 3), the following temporary imprint processing is performed.
(1) First, the control unit 400 controls the imprint material supply unit 23 to supply the imprint material to the shot region.
(2) Next, the control unit 400 controls the release agent supply unit 32 to supply the release agent to the shot region. At this time, the control unit 400 adds the history of the release agent supply to the history information held in the mold management unit 402. After that, the imprint process is performed as usual instead of the familiar operation. However, the mold release operation at this time is performed at a slower speed than the mold release operation in the normal imprint processing.

By making the mold release operation slower than usual in this way, it is possible to reduce the damage given to the cured imprint material, and it is possible to prevent the pattern from collapsing and the mold or the substrate from peeling off from the holding portion.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the layout of the shot region on the substrate 1. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of shot regions are arranged in a matrix on the substrate 1. In the present embodiment, in order to maximize the effective area of the substrate 1 (the area of the region where the pattern is formed), not only the shot region 61 inside the substrate 1 but also the peripheral shot region including the outer peripheral 1R of the substrate 1 Imprint processing is performed. The peripheral shot region is a shot region in which a part of the substrate 1 protrudes from the outer peripheral 1R of the substrate 1 and only a part of the pattern portion of the mold is transferred on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate, and is also called a “missing shot region”. Further, in the following, the shot area 61 inside the peripheral shot area 62 will be referred to as a “full shot area”.

In the present embodiment, when it is determined that the release agent is applied to the pattern portion P of the mold 18 in a good state, an imprint process is normally performed on all the shot regions of the substrate 1 in S207. At this time, the order in which the imprint processing is performed on the plurality of shot areas follows the order described in the recipe. For example, the moving distance of the substrate stage 7 is the largest regardless of whether it is the full shot area or the peripheral shot area. The order is smaller.

On the other hand, when the condition is satisfied in any of S204, S205, and S206 and it is determined that the application state of the release agent in the pattern portion P of the mold 18 is poor, instead of the above-mentioned S208 and S209, the following Imprint processing such as.
(1) First, the imprint process is executed in order in the full shot area. At this time, for example, the control unit 400 controls the release agent supply unit 32 to supply the release agent only in the first shot region (first shot region). At this time, the control unit 400 adds the history of the release agent supply to the history information held in the mold management unit 402.
(2) After finishing the imprint processing on all the full shot areas, the imprint processing is executed in order on the peripheral shot area 62.

In the peripheral shot region 62, the filling speed of the imprint material into the pattern portion P of the mold 18 when the mold 18 is brought into contact with the imprint material is slower than that in the full shot region, and unfilled defects are likely to occur, and the release is likely to occur. There is a high possibility that the pattern portion will be damaged during mold operation. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when it is determined that the application state of the release agent is poor, the imprint process is performed with priority given to the full shot area as described in (2) above. The imprint process in the full shot area is unlikely to cause defects, and while the imprint process in the full shot area is repeated, the release agent supplied in (1) is applied to the pattern portion P of the mold 18. This is because you will become familiar with it.

In this way, when the control unit 400 determines from the history information that the application state of the mold release agent in the pattern unit P of the mold 18 is poor, the control unit 400 is placed in the shot area other than the peripheral shot area before the peripheral shot area. Perform imprint processing. As a result, the occurrence of pattern defects can be suppressed.

<Embodiment of Article Manufacturing Method>
The pattern of the cured product formed by using the imprint device is used permanently for at least a part of various articles or temporarily in manufacturing various articles. The article is an electric circuit element, an optical element, a MEMS, a recording element, a sensor, a mold, or the like. Examples of the electric circuit element include volatile or non-volatile 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 a mold for imprinting.

The pattern of the cured product is used as it is as a constituent member of at least a part of the above-mentioned article, or is temporarily used as a resist mask. The resist mask is removed after etching, ion implantation, or the like in the substrate processing process.

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

In step SB of FIG. 7, the imprint mold 4z is opposed to the imprint material 3z on the substrate with the side on which the uneven pattern is formed facing. 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 work material 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, when the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated from each other after the imprint material 3z is cured, a pattern of the cured product of the imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z. This pattern of cured product, the convex portion of the concave portion is a cured product of the mold, and a shape in which the convex portion of the mold is corresponding to the concave portion of the cured product, i.e., the uneven pattern of the mold 4z to imprint material 3z It has been transferred.

In step SE of FIG. 7, when the pattern of the cured product is used as an etching resistant type and etching is performed, the portion of the surface of the work material 2z that has no cured product 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, an article in which the groove 5z is formed on the surface of the work material 2z can be obtained. Here, the pattern of the cured product is removed, but it may not be removed even after processing, and may be used, for example, as a film for interlayer insulation contained in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a constituent member of an article.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

100: Imprint device, 1: Substrate, 7: Substrate stage, 16: Mold head, 18: Mold, 23: Imprint material supply unit, 32: Mold release agent supply unit, 400: Control unit

Claims (7)

An imprint process for forming a pattern of the imprint material by curing the imprint material in a state where the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate and pulling the mold away from the cured imprint material. It is an imprinting device to perform
A supply unit that supplies a mold release agent on the imprint material or on the pattern portion of the mold,
A control unit that controls the imprint process based on the history information of the mold including the history of supply of the release agent by the supply unit.
Anda drive mechanism for adjusting the relative position between the mold and the substrate,
When the control unit determines from the history information that the application state of the release agent in the pattern unit of the mold is poor, the processing order is a predetermined number from the beginning among the plurality of shot regions of the substrate. The shot region is characterized in that the imprinting process is performed by making the speed of the mold release operation of pulling the mold away from the imprint material by the driving mechanism slower than when the coating state is not determined to be defective. Lee emissions printing device to. An imprint process for forming a pattern of the imprint material by curing the imprint material in a state where the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate and pulling the mold away from the cured imprint material. It is an imprinting device to perform
A supply unit that supplies a mold release agent on the imprint material or on the pattern portion of the mold,
It has a control unit that controls the imprint process based on the history information of the mold including the history of supply of the release agent by the supply unit.
The substrate has a peripheral shot region on the outer periphery of the substrate to which only a part of the pattern of the mold is transferred.
When the control unit determines from the history information that the application state of the mold release agent in the pattern unit of the mold is poor, the control unit applies the release agent to a shot region other than the peripheral shot region before the peripheral shot region. Lee emissions printing apparatus and performs the imprint process. When the history information does not include the history of the release agent being supplied by the supply unit, the control unit determines that the application state of the release agent in the pattern unit of the mold is poor. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The history information includes a time when the release agent is supplied by the supply unit.
When the elapsed time from the last supply of the release agent exceeds a predetermined time, the control unit determines that the application state of the release agent in the pattern portion of the mold is poor. The imprint device according to claim 3 , wherein the determination is made. The history information includes the time when the mold was washed.
When the elapsed time from the last cleaning of the mold does not exceed a predetermined time, the control unit determines that the application state of the release agent in the pattern portion of the mold is poor. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 3 or 4. The history information includes the time when the dry cleaning of the mold was performed and the time when the wet cleaning of the mold was performed.
When the elapsed time from the last wet cleaning of the mold does not exceed the predetermined time, the control unit has a poor application state of the release agent in the pattern portion of the mold. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the imprinting apparatus is determined to be. It is an article manufacturing method that manufactures an article.
A step of forming a pattern on a substrate using the imprinting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The process of processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed and
The article manufacturing method, wherein the article is manufactured from the processed substrate.

Images