KR20070094149A - Method for forming pattern on substrate by using mold of trapezoid - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for forming a pattern on a substrate by using a trapezoid-shaped mold is provided to enhance stability of a patterning material for filling an intaglio pattern and to obtain a low aspect ratio by using a trapezoid-shaped intaglio pattern. A mold(108) includes a pattern surface which is formed with a trapezoid-shaped intaglio pattern and a trapezoid-shaped engraving pattern. The trapezoid-shaped intaglio pattern is selectively filled with a patterning material. The pattern surface of the mold is aligned on a desired position of a substrate(112). The patterning material of the trapezoid-shaped intaglio pattern of the mold is printed on the substrate by performing a high-temperature press process. An inverse trapezoid-shaped pattern(104) is formed on the substrate by printing the trapezoid-shaped intaglio pattern of the mold on the substrate.

Description

Pattern forming method using trapezoidal mold {METHOD FOR FORMING PATTERN ON SUBSTRATE BY USING MOLD OF TRAPEZOID}

1A to 1D are process flowcharts illustrating a process of forming a pattern on a substrate using a mold having a trapezoidal structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2A is an optical micrograph of an experimental result of filling a patterning material in an intaglio pattern portion by using a mold having a rectangular structure according to a conventional method;

2b is an optical micrograph of an experimental result of filling a patterning material in an intaglio pattern portion using a mold having a trapezoidal structure according to the present invention;

3A and 3B are optical micrographs of the result of filling a patterning material in a pattern portion (a trapezoidal intaglio pattern portion) of a mold having a relatively low aspect ratio (aspect ratio) to form a pattern according to the present invention;

Figure 4a is an electron micrograph of the experimental results of the pattern formed on the glass substrate using a mold of trapezoidal structure according to the present invention,

Figure 4b is an electron micrograph of the results of the experiment to form a pattern of various sizes on the substrate using a mold having a trapezoidal intaglio pattern of different sizes in accordance with the present invention.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

102: tank 104: pattern

104a: patterning material 106: support

108: mold 108a: embossed pattern

108b: engraved pattern 110: heat sink

112: substrate

The present invention relates to a technique for forming a pattern on a substrate using a mold, and more particularly, to a trapezoid suitable for forming a target pattern on a substrate using a mold having a pattern surface of an embossed pattern and an intaglio pattern. A pattern forming method using a mold of a structure.

As is well known, a pattern forming method used to manufacture a display panel is a general method of exposure using a photo mask, and the pattern formed by a general pattern forming method using a photolithography process is used to etch a metal film or an inorganic layer. It can be used as an etch resistant film in a process or as a shadow mask in a lift off process and then removed or left on the device to form a structure.

Therefore, the conventional conventional method of forming a pattern using a photolithography process is easy to apply to the implementation of a general two-dimensional pattern, but the investment cost also increases significantly as the substrate becomes larger and the three-dimensional non-two-dimensional In order to implement a dimensional pattern or to form a multi-layered structure having different heights, there is a problem that a complicated process must be performed, and a technical problem is that it is not easy to realize.

Non-traditional methods, such as nano-imprint lithography method and soft lithography method, have been proposed as an alternative to solve the problems of the typical conventional photolithography method as described above.

Herein, the nanoimprint lithography method prepares a hard mold (mold) such as silicon (Si), in which a desired pattern is prepared, faces a substrate coated with a thermoplastic polymer thin film, and is placed between press plates at high temperature and high pressure. After the treatment, the pattern of the mold is transferred to the polymer thin film of the substrate by separating the mold from the substrate.

Therefore, the nanoimprint lithography method as described above has the advantage of easily realizing ultra-fine patterns because it uses a rigid mold such as Si, while it is difficult to separate the mold from the substrate after performing a high temperature and high pressure process. There is a problem, and there is a problem that mold and substrate may be damaged due to high process pressure, and patterning is performed by using fluidity of a polymer material heated to a high temperature. There is a problem that becomes very large, that is, the process time is long, and there is a problem that the application to the unit repeat process is impossible.

In addition, in the case of the soft lithography method, it is possible to implement a three-dimensional pattern, but due to the characteristics of the process using the fluidity of the residual solvent, the process time is limited, and there are problems such as large area application difficulty and residues, which is extremely limited. It has a limitation that can only be applied to.

On the other hand, as an alternative to solve the problems in the non-traditional methods as described above, the general right angle using the dewetting caused by the energy difference between the surface tension of the coating solution and the surface energy of the mold A new method of filling a patterning material in a mold with a negative pattern in shape and transferring it to a substrate has been proposed.

This new transfer method, i.e., using a mold having an intaglio pattern of right angles, uses a dewetting phenomenon caused by the difference between the surface tension of the coating solution and the surface energy of the mold. A pattern is formed on the substrate by filling the mold with the patterning material and transferring it to the substrate.

However, a conventional method using a mold having an intaglio pattern of right angles has a solution having a specific energy value and a pattern having a relatively high aspect ratio (a aspect ratio) so that the solution filled in the intaglio pattern does not break and maintain stability. Only in this case can be limited.

Therefore, the conventional method using a mold having an intaglio pattern of right angles is difficult to form a pattern having various shapes and aspect ratios, so that the practical applicability (universality) is notably degraded, and the pattern is formed. There is a fundamental problem that the choice of the material will be greatly limited.

In addition, the conventional method using a mold having a right-angled intaglio pattern has a problem that repeated use of the mold is difficult because the mold of the elastic body is wetted for several minutes in a solution, and a solution diffused from the mold during UV curing. This causes a problem that residues remain on the substrate.

The present invention is to solve the above problems of the prior art, by using a mold having a trapezoidal engraved pattern, it is possible to form a target pattern on the substrate without being concerned with the aspect ratio and size of the pattern It is an object of the present invention to provide a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure capable of diversifying a selection width of a patterning material to be formed on a substrate by using a mold having a trapezoidal intaglio pattern.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pattern forming method using a trapezoidal mold that can be easily applied to a large area and realize repeated use of the mold by using a mold having a trapezoidal engraved pattern.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for forming a target pattern on a substrate through a transfer technique using a mold, the process of preparing a mold having a pattern surface of a trapezoidal intaglio pattern and an embossed pattern, Selectively filling a patterning material in the intaglio pattern region, aligning the pattern surface of the mold to a target position on the substrate, and transferring the patterning material filled in the intaglio pattern region of the mold to the substrate; The present invention provides a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure, which includes forming a trapezoidal pattern on the substrate.

The above and other objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the present invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by those skilled in the art.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the core technical idea of the present invention is a mold having an intaglio pattern of trapezoidal form (structure), unlike the above-described conventional method of forming a pattern on a substrate using a mold having an intaglio pattern of right angles (structure). By preparing a patterning material in the trapezoidal intaglio pattern of the mold, and then transferring the cured material onto the substrate to form a target pattern on the substrate, thereby easily achieving the object of the present invention. Can be achieved.

1A to 1D are process flowcharts illustrating a process of forming a pattern on a substrate using a mold having a trapezoidal structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, the present invention uses a mold having a pattern surface of a trapezoidal intaglio pattern and an embossed pattern, unlike the above-described conventional method using a mold having an intaglio pattern and an embossed pattern. Has the greatest technical characteristics, such a mold can be used an elastomer mold or a hard mold. At this time, as the elastomer mold, for example, PDMS, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PU (urethane), SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), Polyester (polyester), Polyamide (Polyamide) resins can be used, and as the hard mold, for example, PDMS, Epoxy (epoxy), PU (urethane), Alkyd (alkyd), Phenol (phenol), Melamine (melamine), Urea (urea) resin Etc. can be used.

Here, a mold having a trapezoidal intaglio pattern can be made, for example, using a conventional negative photoresist and photolithography method, which generates an undercut by selectively adjusting the curing time and the etching time, thereby trapping the trapezoid. It is easy to produce intaglio patterns and relief patterns. At this time, the angle range of the trapezoidal internal angle θ (the internal angle of the intaglio pattern shown in FIG. 1A) may be 0 ° C. <θ <90 ° C., and the smaller the angle of the internal angle θ acts on the inside. Since the force is increased, it will be desirable to determine the internal angle in consideration of the size and the like of the pattern.

On the other hand, as a material of the mold, for example, PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane, Sylgard 184, Dow corning) having a low surface tension and relatively easy molding is mixed with a curing agent in a ratio of 10: 1, poured onto the master, and cured at a temperature of about 60 ° C. for about 24 hours. Then, it can be used after being separated from the master and cured for several hours at a temperature of approximately 130 ° C.

In addition, as the material of the mold, an ultraviolet curable MINS (trade name, MINUTA) material can be used. In this case, the MINS material is dropped on a few drops of the master, a PET film is placed on it, and the foam is slightly rubbed to remove bubbles. When cured off, a pattern having an intaglio trapezoidal structure is formed on the PET film, which may be used as a mold after UV curing for a long time.

Referring to FIG. 1A, first, a mold 108 having a pattern surface consisting of a trapezoidal intaglio pattern 108b and an embossed pattern 108a is prepared (manufactured), and the mold 108 is driven through a driving means not shown. Using the vertically movable support body 106, the tank 102 is filled with a predetermined amount of the patterning material 104a, and then pulled up at an appropriate speed. That is, in the present invention, the patterning material 104a is filled in the intaglio pattern 108b of the mold 108 through a dip coating method.

At this time, when the mold 108 is taken out of the patterning material 104a of the water tank 102 and taken out, the patterning material 104a is peeled off the mold surface (surface such as an embossed pattern) by the surface energy difference with the mold 108. On the other hand, the intaglio pattern 108b is filled with the patterning material 104a by capillary force. In the present invention, since the intaglio pattern 108b has a trapezoidal structure (shape), It is filled with a relatively stronger force.

In other words, in the present invention, the intaglio pattern formed on the pattern surface of the mold to fill the patterning material has a trapezoidal structure (shape), whereby the patterning material can be filled in the intaglio pattern 108b region with a stronger force (capillary force). In addition, through such a strong force can be restrained to the aspect ratio of the pattern as much as possible to realize the application of various patterns and large areas.

On the other hand, if the surface tension of the patterning material is too large compared to the mold, the patterning material is peeled off from the mold surface very quickly, leaving no residue on the mold surface, but part of the patterning material filled inside the intaglio pattern is removed, When the patterning material is transferred onto the substrate, a part of the pattern may be broken due to instability of the patterning material remaining inside the intaglio pattern.

Contrary to the above, when the surface tension of the patterning material becomes similar to the mold, the patterning material does not completely peel off from the surface of the mold, so that the residue on the substrate due to the patterning material remaining on the mold surface when transferring the patterning material on the substrate There is a problem that occurs.

Thus, in view of the above, it is very important to properly adjust the energy difference between the mold and the patterning material so that the patterning material filled in the intaglio pattern is stable while leaving no residue on the mold surface.

On the other hand, while the above-described method is possible in the conventional method using the intaglio pattern of the right angle, the area in which the patterning material can have stability without leaving a residue on the surface of the mold when using the right angle mold Due to the narrowness, many constraints are imposed on the pattern that can be realized, and the choice of the pattern forming material is limited.

However, in the present invention, by using the engraved pattern of the trapezoidal structure, it is possible to give much higher stability to the patterning material filled in the intaglio pattern, and thus have a wide area working window, thereby having a pattern having various aspect ratios. It is possible to implement and to use a patterning material of a variety of materials, it is possible to greatly expand the scope of application.

On the other hand, as the patterning material 104a, an acrylic oligomer solution, a photoresist, a polymer, a sol-gel, a nanoparticle, a semiconductor material, a biomaterial, a silicon particle, or the like may be used, and at least two energy sources for controlling surface tension may be used. More than one substance (poltstyrene, phenol, polymethylmethacrtlate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylacetate, polyester, epoxy, urathane, etc.), UV-curable acrylate-based material, photoresist, SOG material (Si, Ti-based sol-gel material), You can use a mixture of solvents (toluene, tetraethly, orthosilicate, alcohols, polyethylene glycol mono-ethyl ether acetate), or mix 0.1-1.0% of the silane-based additives that can control the surface tension of the above materials. have.

Next, after selectively filling the patterning material 104a only in the intaglio pattern 108b of the mold 108 through the dip coating method as described above, as shown in FIG. The patterning material 104a filled in the intaglio pattern 108b region of the mold 108 is soft-cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays (power 80 W, wavelength 250-400 nm) on the pattern surface of the mold 108. Here, of course, it is possible to soft-cure the patterned material filled through a thermal curing process rather than ultraviolet curing.

Subsequently, the pattern surface of the mold 108 is aligned to the target position with the substrate 112 facing, and then, as an example, as shown in FIG. 1C, a hot pressing process, such as a pressure of about 10 kg or less, and approximately The hot press process is performed at a temperature of 80 ° C. To this end, the heat sink 110 is attached to the lower portion of the substrate 112 (the surface facing the mold).

Meanwhile, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the patterning material filled in the intaglio pattern of the mold is transferred (transferred) to the substrate through the hot pressing process, but the present invention is necessarily limited thereto, that is, the patterning material Or it can be performed by a low temperature press or a low temperature process instead of a hot press according to process conditions.

Subsequently, when the mold 108 is separated from the substrate 112, when the patterning material 104a in the intaglio pattern 108b region of the mold 108 is transferred to the substrate 112, the UV ray curing may be performed again. Hard curing) and an annealing process, for example, to complete the target pattern 104 on the substrate 112, as shown in FIG. 1D. Here, the post-ultraviolet curing (hard curing) and the annealing process are performed in order to have complete curing of the patterning material and adhesion to the substrate.

On the other hand, the present invention to form a target pattern by a transfer method using a series of processes and a trapezoidal pattern as described above in the electronic device, optical device, display device (black matrix, color filter, etc.), biosensor, etc. Of course, it is widely applicable.

On the other hand, the inventors of the present invention did a lot of experiments to prove the superiority of the present invention, the experimental results are as shown in Figs.

Experimental Example 1

2A is an optical micrograph of an experimental result of filling a patterning material in an intaglio pattern portion by using a mold having a right angle structure according to a conventional method, and FIG. 2B is a portion of the intaglio pattern portion using a mold having a trapezoidal structure according to the present invention. Optical micrographs of the results of experiments filled with patterning material.

In this experiment, the same patterning material was used, and the same patterning material was used. In the conventional method using a pattern having a right angle structure (negative pattern), as can be seen from Figure 2a, it can be seen that the difference in the height of the patterning material filled in the pattern for each line, the color appears different, and also some lines In, it can be seen that the patterning material filled in the pattern is broken due to the small volume.

However, as can be seen from Figure 2b, when using the pattern of the trapezoidal structure according to the present invention it can be seen that the patterning material filled in the pattern (engraved pattern) is uniform in volume, so that the colors of all the lines appear the same. It was clear that the meniscus of the patterning material filled with the intaglio pattern was weak, so that there was little difference in color from the surface.

That is, the inventors of the present invention have found that the present invention using the trapezoidal structure has a very excellent pattern characteristic compared to the above-described conventional method using the right angle structure through the comparative experiment as described above.

Experimental Example 2

3a and 3b are filled with patterning material in the pattern portion (trapezoidal intaglio pattern portion) of the mold having a relatively low aspect ratio (500 μm, aspect ratio 0.04) for the formation of a pattern according to the invention. As an optical micrograph of the result, 3a is a photograph of a cross section and 3b is a photograph taken from above.

The inventors of the present invention clearly showed that the patterning material can be sufficiently filled even in a pattern having a low aspect ratio.

Experimental Example 3

Figure 4a is an electron micrograph of the results of the experiment to form a pattern on a glass substrate using a trapezoidal structure mold according to the present invention, Figure 4b has a trapezoidal intaglio pattern of different sizes in accordance with the present invention An electron micrograph of the results of experiments in which patterns of various sizes were formed on a substrate using a mold.

The inventors of the present invention, as shown in Figure 4a, because it uses a pattern of trapezoidal structure was found that the pattern transferred on the substrate becomes inverted trapezoidal shape, as shown in Figure 4b, on one substrate It can be clearly seen that patterns having various sizes can be transferred to a large area without residue.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by using the intaglio pattern of the trapezoidal structure, it is possible to impart a much higher stability to the patterning material filled in the inside of the intaglio pattern and thus have a wider working window, so that various aspect ratios, that is, The above-described conventional method using a pattern having a right angle structure can easily implement a pattern having a low aspect ratio, which is difficult to implement, and the application range can be diversified by widening the selection of available patterning materials.

In the foregoing description, the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It will be readily appreciated that branch substitutions, modifications and variations are possible.

As described above, according to the present invention, unlike the above-described conventional method of forming a pattern on a substrate using a mold having an intaglio pattern having a right angle structure, a mold having an intaglio pattern having a trapezoidal structure is prepared, and the trapezoid of the mold is prepared. By filling the patterning material in the intaglio pattern and transferring it onto the substrate to form a target pattern on the substrate, it gives a high stability to the patterning material filled in the inside of the intaglio pattern and thereby a large area By having a working window of, it is possible to easily implement a pattern having a low aspect ratio, which is difficult to implement in the above-described conventional method using various aspect ratios, that is, a rectangular structure pattern, and by expanding the selection of available patterning materials. The scope of application can be diversified.

Claims (16)

A method of forming a target pattern on a substrate through a transfer technique using a mold, Preparing a mold having a pattern surface of trapezoidal and embossed patterns; Selectively filling a patterning material in the intaglio pattern region; Aligning the pattern surface of the mold to a target position on the substrate; A process of forming a trapezoidal pattern on the substrate by performing a hot pressing process to transfer the patterning material filled in the intaglio pattern region of the mold to the substrate. Pattern formation method using a mold of a trapezoidal structure comprising a. The method of claim 1, The pattern forming method further comprises the step of soft curing the patterning material filled in the intaglio pattern region before alignment to the target position. The method of claim 2, The soft curing is a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure, characterized in that carried out through ultraviolet curing or thermal curing. The method of claim 1, The pattern forming method further comprises the step of hardening a hard trapezoidal pattern formed on the substrate, the pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure. The method of claim 4, wherein The hard curing is a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure, characterized in that carried out through ultraviolet curing and annealing process. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The mold is a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure, characterized in that the elastic mold or a hard mold. The method of claim 6, The elastomer mold is PDMS, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PU (urethane), SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), Polyester (polyester), Polyamide (polyamide) resin The hard mold may be any one of PDMS, Epoxy, PU (urethane), Alkyd (alkyd), Phenol (phenol), Melamine (melamine), and Urea (urea) resin. Pattern formation method using the trapezoidal mold characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 6, The hard mold is a trapezoidal structure mold, characterized in that any one of PDMS, Epoxy (epoxy), PU (urethane), Alkyd (alkyd), Phenol (phenol), Melamine (melamine), Urea (urea) resin. Pattern formation method using. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The internal angle θ of the trapezoid of the intaglio pattern has a angular range of 0 ° C. <θ <90 ° C., wherein the pattern has a trapezoidal structure. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The patterning material is a pattern forming method using a trapezoidal mold, characterized in that the intaglio pattern is filled by a dip coating method. The method of claim 10, The patterning material is a pattern forming method using a trapezoidal mold, characterized in that any one of an acrylic oligomer solution, photoresist, polymer, sol-gel, nanoparticles, semiconductor material, biomaterial, silicon particles. The method of claim 10, The patterning material is a pattern formation method using a trapezoidal mold, characterized in that the mixture of at least two or more materials with different energy for controlling the surface tension. The method of claim 10, The patterning material is a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure, characterized in that the material is mixed with a silane-based additive that can adjust the surface tension. The method of claim 13, The addition range of the said silane additive is 0.1 to 1.0%, The pattern formation method using the mold of trapezoidal structure characterized by the above-mentioned. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The patterning method using a trapezoidal mold, characterized in that the transfer of the patterning material is carried out under hot pressing process conditions. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The substrate is a pattern forming method using a mold having a trapezoidal structure, characterized in that the substrate used for any one of electronic devices, optical devices, display devices, biosensors.

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