KR20190058300A - Imprint apparatus, imprint method, and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an imprinting apparatus advantageous in terms of both the antistatic performance of a mold and the throughput of the apparatus. An imprinting material on a substrate is cured while the mold is in contact with the imprint material, and an imprinting process for forming a pattern on the substrate by separating the mold from the cured imprinting material. The imprinting apparatus comprises: an antistatic unit for performing an antistatic process of the mold; a processing unit for determining a timing for performing the antistatic process of the mold by the antistatic unit based on electrification characteristics indicating the relationship between the number of the imprinting process and the surface potential of the mold.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus, an imprint method, and a method of manufacturing an article,

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

An imprint apparatus forms a pattern on a substrate by curing the imprint material while separating the imprint material from the imprint material on the substrate and separating the mold from the cured imprint material.

When the mold is separated from the cured imprint material, peeling electrification in which the mold is electrified may occur. This is a phenomenon in which static electricity is generated in the mold. Since the material of the mold is a dielectric material that transmits ultraviolet rays such as quartz glass, the static electricity generated when the object is once charged does not disappear and the charged state is maintained.

When this peeling electrification occurs, foreign particles (particles) around the periphery are attracted to the mold and attached. If the mold is brought into contact with the imprint material on the substrate in the state that the foreign object is attached to the mold, defects may be generated in the formed pattern or the mold may be damaged.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of measuring the surface potential of a mold and performing a charge discharge in accordance with the surface potential of the measured mold. In this case, the discharge is not performed for each shot, and if the surface potential of the measured mold exceeds a value that is considered to have a high possibility that the foreign matter is attached to the mold, the discharge of the mold is carried out to suppress the decrease in throughput .

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-286085

However, in the technique of the cited document 1, it is still necessary to measure the surface potential of each type of shot, which is a cause of lowering the throughput in pattern transfer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an imprint apparatus which is advantageous for, for example, the discharge performance of a mold and the throughput of the apparatus.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imprint apparatus for performing imprint processing for forming a pattern on a substrate by curing the imprint material while the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate and separating the mold from the cured imprint material, And a processing unit for determining a timing for performing the erasure of the mold by the erasing unit based on the charging characteristics indicating the relationship between the number of times of the imprinting process and the surface potential of the mold, The imprint apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising:

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imprint apparatus advantageous for, for example, both eliminating performance of a mold and throughput of the apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a view showing a configuration of an imprint apparatus in the embodiment; Fig.
Fig. 2 is a flow chart of the imprint process and the mold erasure process for the first substrate in the embodiment; Fig.
Fig. 3 is a flow chart of the imprint process and the mold erasure process for the second substrate in the embodiment; Fig.
4 is a flowchart of a process for determining a discharge timing in the embodiment;
Fig. 5 is a flow chart of the imprint process and the mold erasure process for the first substrate in the embodiment; Fig.
6 is a flowchart of a process for determining discharge elimination timing in the embodiment;
7 is a view for explaining a process of estimating the number of shots until the surface potential of the mold exceeds a predetermined value.
Fig. 8 is a flow chart of the imprint process and the mold erasure process for the first substrate in the embodiment; Fig.
Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a process for determining the erasing timing in the embodiment; Fig.
10 is a view for explaining a process of estimating the number of shots until the surface potential of the mold exceeds a predetermined value.
11 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of an erasing timing table in the embodiment;
12 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing an article in the embodiment;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are merely illustrative of embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, all of the combinations of the features described in the following embodiments are not necessarily essential for solving the problems of the present invention. In the drawings, the same members and the same processing blocks are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

≪ First Embodiment >

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

As the imprint material, a curable composition (also referred to as a resin in an uncured state) which is cured by imparting curing energy is used. As the curing energy, electromagnetic wave, heat, or the like can 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, for example, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, or the like. The curable composition may be a composition which is cured by irradiation of light or by heating. Among them, the photocurable composition which is cured by irradiation of light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may optionally further contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent. The non-polymer compound is at least one member selected from the group consisting of a sensitizer, a hydrogen donor, an internal release agent, a surfactant, an antioxidant, and a polymer component. The imprint material can be arranged on the substrate in a droplet shape or in a island shape or a film shape formed by connecting a plurality of droplets by the imprint re-supply device. The viscosity (viscosity at 25 캜) 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, metal, semiconductor, resin, or the like can be used. If necessary, a member including 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.

1 is a view showing a configuration of an imprint apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. Here, an imprint apparatus employing a photo-curing method is exemplified, but a thermosetting method may be employed. In the following drawings, the imprint material on the substrate is taken as the Z axis in the XYZ coordinate system in the direction parallel to the optical axis of the illumination system for irradiating ultraviolet rays, and the X axis in the plane perpendicular to the Z axis And a Y-axis.

In Fig. 1, the substrate chuck 2 holds the substrate 1. The substrate chuck 2, as shown in Fig. The substrate stage including the? stage 3 and the XY stage 4 holds and moves the substrate 1 by supporting the substrate chuck 2. Here, the? Stage 3 is disposed on the XY stage 4 by correcting the position with respect to the? Direction (rotation about the Z axis) of the substrate 1. The XY stage 4 is for performing positioning with respect to the position of the substrate 1 in the XY directions and is driven by the linear motor 19. [ The XY stage 4 is mounted on the base table 5. The linear encoder 6 is mounted on the base table 5 in the X direction and the Y direction, respectively, and measures the position of the XY stage 4. The column 8 rises above the base table 5 to support the top plate 9. [

The mold chuck 11 for holding the mold 10 is held by the imprint head 12. The imprint head 12 has a function of adjusting the Z position of the mold chuck 11 (that is, mold 10) and a tilt function for correcting the inclination of mold 10. The actuator 15 drives the mold 10 held by the mold chuck 11 in the Z axis direction to bring the pattern portion of the mold 10 into contact with the imprint material 60 on the substrate 1, . The actuator 15 may be, for example, an air cylinder or a linear motor.

The measuring unit 70 measures the surface potential in the pattern portion of the die 10. [ The measuring section 70 may be, for example, a surface potential sensor provided on the XY stage 4. [ The surface potential sensor may be mounted at another place. For example, it may be mounted on the ceiling plate 9 through an arm or a stay.

The light source 16 irradiates ultraviolet light for exposing the imprint material 60 through the collimator lens 17. [ The dispenser 18, which is an imprint re-supply device, supplies the imprint material 60 to the surface of the substrate 1. The beam splitter 20 is disposed in the optical path of the light source 16 and guides a part of the light from the light source 16 to the imaging system 21. [ The imaging system 21 is used to observe the contact state of the imprint material 60 of the mold 10. [ The mold chuck 11 and the imprint head 12 each have an opening (not shown) for passing light irradiated from the light source 16 through the mold 10.

The deelectrifying unit (30) discharges the die (10). The de-energizing unit 30 may include, for example, a gas supply nozzle provided in the imprint head 12 for supplying a deoxidizing gas. The degassing gas needs to include a gas whose average free process for electrons is longer than air. Specifically, helium (He) having the longest average free process among the rare gases is preferable. The electrons present in the electric field are transported to the anode side by the electric field, and collide with the gas molecules in the middle. At this time, if the electrons are sufficiently accelerated to collide with gas molecules having energy above the ionization potential of the gas, ionization occurs and an electron-cation pair is generated. The electrons generated here are also accelerated by the electric field to ionize the gas molecules. The phenomenon that a large amount of electron-cation pairs are generated by successive ionization in this way is called an electronic avalanche. The mean free process for the electrons is accelerated to a high energy state, with electrons in acceleration not colliding with gas molecules on the way. Therefore, a long, average free process for electrons is likely to cause electronic avalanche even during a low electric field compared with air, and can be discharged before a large voltage is accumulated in the mold 10. [

The control unit 80 controls the operation of the imprint apparatus 100 in a general manner. The control unit 80 may be constituted by, for example, a computer including a CPU 81 and a memory 82. [ As described below, the control unit 80 can function as a processing unit that determines the timing for discharging the die 10 by the charge removing unit 30. [

The discharger 30 is not limited to supplying helium, and other types of dischargers may be used. For example, the deelectrifier 30 may be a so-called ionizer that irradiates the mold 10 with a soft X-ray. Alternatively, the charge removing unit 30 may be a charge removing apparatus that irradiates? 1, the electrification unit 30 is mounted on the imprint head 12, but it may be provided in another place, for example, the ceiling board 9 or the XY stage 4. In this case,

2 is a flow chart of the imprint process for the substrate 1 as the first substrate and the erasure process for the mold 10 by the imprint apparatus 100. Fig. In this specification, the term "first substrate" means a substrate that is first processed in a predetermined processing unit, such as a substrate that is first processed in a lot, or a substrate that is first processed at the time of starting the apparatus. The " second substrate " means a substrate different from the first substrate.

First, the control unit 80 controls the XY stage 4 to transport the substrate 1 so that the shot area of the substrate 1 is positioned at the position where the imprint material is supplied by the dispenser 18 (S1) . Next, the control unit 80 controls the dispenser 18 to supply the imprint material to the shot area of the substrate 1 (S2). Next, the control unit 80 controls the XY stage 4 to transport the substrate 1 so that the shot area of the substrate 1 is located below the pattern part of the mold 10. [ Thereafter, the control unit 80 controls the imprint head 12 (actuator 15) to adjust the height and tilt of the mold chuck 11 in the Z direction, 1) is aligned (S3).

Subsequently, the control unit 80 controls the imprint head 12 (actuator 15) to lower the mold 10 to make contact with the imprint material 60 on the shot area of the substrate 1 (S4) . By this contact, the imprint material 60 is filled in the groove formed in the pattern portion of the mold 10. A plurality of load cells (not shown) are mounted on the mold chuck 11 or the imprint head 12 and the controller 80 controls the imprint material 60 of the mold 10 based on the values of these load cells. The imprint head 12 is controlled so that the pressing force on the imprint head 12 becomes a predetermined value. By this control, the pressing force of the die 10 is adjusted (S5, S6).

After the pressing force of the mold 10 is adjusted, the control unit 80 causes the light source 16 to generate ultraviolet light (S7). The ultraviolet light from the light source 16 passes through the mold 10 through the collimator lens 17 and the beam splitter 20 and is incident on the imprint material 60. The imprint material 60 irradiated with ultraviolet rays is cured. In the cured imprint material 60, an inverted pattern of the pattern of the mold 10 is formed.

The control unit 80 controls the imprint head 12 to raise the mold 10 so that the cured imprint material 60 is cured after the irradiation of ultraviolet light is started, (Release) the mold 10 from the mold 60 (S8).

Up to this point, although the imprint process (shot) is performed for one shot area, peeling electrification in which the mold 10 is charged at the time of this release can occur. By removing the mold 10 by the discharger 30, peeling electrification can be eliminated. However, when erasing by the discharging unit 30 is performed every imprinting process, the throughput is lowered. Further, when the erasing discharge by the discharging unit 30 is performed every imprinting process, the consumption of He is also increased. Measurement of the surface potential of the mold 10 by the measuring unit 70 may also cause a decrease in the throughput. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the number of times of measurement by the electrification section 30 and the measurement section 70 is reduced within a range where the electrification performance of the mold can be maintained. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is necessary to set the erasing timing appropriately. Static electricity to be charged to the mold 10 varies depending on the process conditions such as the imprint material and the mold release speed to be used and therefore it is necessary to find the charge removal timing suitable for the process conditions. In the present embodiment, the erasure discharge timing is determined as follows.

After the mold release in S8, the control unit 80 controls the XY stage 4 to move the measuring unit 70 below the pattern unit of the mold 10 to measure the surface potential of the pattern unit of the mold 10 (S9). The control unit 80 writes the measured value of the surface potential in association with the shot number or the like in the erasure timing table 83 stored in the memory 82 (S10). 11 shows an example of the data structure of the erasing timing table 83. As shown in Fig. 11, the erasure timing table 83 includes a lot ID for identifying the lot, a substrate ID for identifying the substrate, a shot number indicating the order of the shot area processed in one substrate, The surface potential, and the erase flag. Here, the elimination flag is a flag indicating whether or not to erase the mold 10 in the shot. For example, if the erasing flag is 0, no erasing is performed on the shot, and if the erasing flag is 1, the erasing is to be performed on the shot. At this point, the erase flags are all initialized to zero.

The control unit 80 determines whether or not the measured surface potential is lower than a predetermined value (S11). The predetermined value is set to a value of an upper limit allowed by the preliminary test that the probability of foreign matter adhering to the mold 10 is low when the surface potential of the mold 10 is below this. When the measured surface potential is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the control unit 80 controls the XY stage 4 and conveys the substrate so that the next shot area is located at a position where supply of the imprint material by the dispenser 18 is performed ( S12). On the other hand, if the measured surface potential exceeds the predetermined value, the control unit 80 controls the power-saving unit 30 before S12 to perform the erasure of the mold 10 (S13). In this embodiment, a method of supplying He as a discharging method of the mold 10 is used. In S13, the discharger 30 supplies He toward the mold 10 as shown in Fig. 1 . Whereby the static electricity charged in the mold 10 can be removed.

Thereafter, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the imprint processing for all the shot areas is completed (S14). If the imprint process for all the shot areas has not been completed, the process returns to S2 and the process for the next shot area is performed. The control unit 80 controls the XY stage 4 to move the substrate 1 to a predetermined position (S15), and the pattern on the substrate 1 Transcription is terminated. The erasing timing table 83 produced by the above processing shows at least charging characteristics indicating the relationship between the number of times of the imprinting process and the surface potential of the mold while the imprint process is performed for the first substrate a plurality of times.

In this way, the control unit 80 measures the surface potential of the mold 10 by the measuring unit 70 every time the imprinting process is performed, and when the measured surface potential exceeds the predetermined value, To perform the erasing of the mold 10 is repeated in the plurality of shot regions of the first substrate. Thus, the charging characteristics of the mold 10 are obtained.

Thereafter, the control unit 80 determines the timing of performing the erasing based on the measurement result of the surface potential of the mold 10 described in the erasing timing table 83, and updates the erasing timing table 83 S16). Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a process for determining the erasing timing at S16. This process includes a process of sequentially specifying the values of the surface potentials of the shots in the erasing timing table 83 to specify the shots to be erased. More specifically, the control unit 80 judges whether or not the surface potential of the mold 10 corresponding to the shot number currently being observed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value from the erasing timing table 83 (S201). Here, when the surface potential of the mold 10 is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, S201 is repeated with the shot number of interest as the next shot number. When the surface potential of the mold 10 exceeds a predetermined value, the control unit 80 sets the erasure flag of the shot number currently being observed to "1" (S202) in S202. Thereafter, the control unit 80 determines whether the shot number currently under consideration is the last. If the current shot number is not the last, the target shot number is set as the next shot number, and the process returns to S201 to repeat the process.

Thus, in the process of S16, the erasing timing table 83 is updated so that the erasing flag of the shot number whose surface potential exceeds the predetermined value is set to 1, based on the charging characteristics. The elimination timing table 83 can also be created through a console screen (not shown) of the imprint apparatus 100. [ It is also possible to transfer (output) the created erasure discharge timing table 83 to another imprint apparatus. For this reason, for example, the control unit 80 may include an output unit for outputting the discharge timing table 83, which is the information of the charging characteristics.

The control unit 80 can determine the erasure timing at the time of performing the imprint processing on the second substrate based on the shot number and the erase flag described in this erasure timing table 83. [ That is, the control unit 80 performs the imprint process on the shot area when the surface potential of the mold 10 on the first substrate exceeds the predetermined value and the shot area on the second substrate at the same position in the shot layout Can be determined as the timing at which erasing is to be performed. This process will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The imprinting process for the second substrate and the erasing process for the mold 10 will be described. As described above, the surface potential of the mold 10 is measured for each shot with respect to the first substrate, and the surface potential of the mold 10 is measured with respect to the second substrate on the basis of the erasure discharge timing table 83 produced in the process of the first substrate 10 without performing the measurement of the surface potential. First, the elimination timing table 83 is inputted to the imprint apparatus 100 in response to an operation of the console screen or the like. The elimination timing table 83 may be generated in the imprint apparatus 100 by the above process or may be generated in a separate imprint apparatus. Further, it may be not manually produced by the imprint apparatus 100, but manually generated by an experiment or the like.

3 is a flow chart of the imprinting process for the substrate 1 as the second substrate and the erasing process for the mold 10 by the imprint apparatus 100. As shown in Fig. In the flowchart of Fig. 3, S9, S10, and S16 are omitted, and S111 is provided instead of S11, as compared with the flowchart of Fig. In S111, the control unit 80 determines, based on the erasing timing table 83, whether the erasure timing has arrived. Specifically, when the erasure flag of the shot number of the shot area to be processed is 1 in the erasure timing table 83, the control section 80 determines that erasure is to be erased. Here, when the control unit 80 judges the erasing timing, the erasing unit 30 discharges the eraser 10. Otherwise, there is no discharge. In this way, the control section 80 controls the discharger section 30 so as to discharge the molds based on, for example, the relationship between the number of times of the imprint process and the timing at which the discharge of the mold is to be performed. Thus, in the second substrate, measurement by the measuring unit 70 need not be performed every time as in the case of the first substrate. Thus, the throughput is improved. In addition, since erasing is performed only once each time the imprinting process is performed a predetermined number of times, the throughput is improved and the consumption of He can be reduced as compared with the case where the erasing is performed every imprinting process as in the conventional case.

In addition, there may be a case where the erasing timing exceeds one substrate or one lot (hoop). In such a case, the number of times of imprint processing from the previous meeting elimination may be successively received on the next board. Alternatively, the number of times of imprint processing may be reset for each substrate or one lot (hoop). In this case, however, it is also necessary to erase the mold 10 at a predetermined shot area (for example, a final shot area of one substrate or a final shot area of the last substrate of a lot).

By the way, in the imprint apparatus, for example, a purge gas is supplied to a space between the mold 10 and the imprint material 60 on the substrate in order to promote the filling of the imprint material 60 to the pattern portion of the mold 10 A configuration may be separately provided. Helium may also be used for purge gas at this time. If the helium as the purge gas remains in the pattern portion of the mold 10 and the space around the pattern portion, it may be considered that the erasing timing is affected and the erasing timing is not appropriate at certain time intervals. In other words, the elimination frequency of the mold with respect to the number of times of imprint processing can be changed according to the cumulative number of imprint processing. For example, the relationship between the number of times of imprint processing and the timing of erasing of the mold may be such that, when the cumulative number of times of imprint processing is increased, the frequency of elimination of the type with respect to the number of times of imprint processing is increased. In the above-described embodiment, the charging characteristics relating to all of the plurality of shot areas formed on the first substrate are acquired, and the erasure flags are set for all the shot areas. Therefore, this is particularly effective when the elimination timing does not reach a certain period due to the influence of the purge gas or the like.

≪ Second Embodiment >

In the example shown in Fig. 2, the surface potential of the mold 10 is measured in all of the plurality of shot regions of the first substrate, and the charging characteristics concerning the entire shot region are acquired. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, in order to improve the throughput of the entire substrate, the charging characteristics of a part of the shot regions of the plurality of shot regions of the first substrate are acquired. For example, the charging characteristics are acquired for a predetermined number of shot regions from the beginning in a predetermined imprint processing sequence for a plurality of shot regions. The control unit 80 estimates the increasing tendency of the surface potential based on the charging characteristics and determines the erasing timing. Specific examples are shown below.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of the imprint processing and the type elimination processing for the first substrate in the present embodiment. The flowchart of Fig. 5 is compared with the flowchart of Fig. 2, and S114 is provided between S8 and S9. In S114, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the imprint processing of the predetermined number of shots has been completed. If the imprint process of the predetermined number of shots has not been completed, the process proceeds to S9, and if the imprint process of the predetermined number of shots is completed, the process proceeds to S12. In Fig. 5, S116 is provided instead of S16. Step S116 is a step of generating the erasing timing from the erasing timing table 83 up to the predetermined number of shots.

6 is a flowchart of a process for determining the discharge timing at S116. Here, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the imprinting process is to be performed on the second substrate 10 when the imprint process is performed on the second substrate, based on the charging characteristics when the imprint process is performed on the predetermined number of shot areas from the beginning in the imprint processing order ) Exceeds a predetermined value. Then, the control unit 80 determines when the imprint process is to be performed on the estimated shot area as the timing to perform the erasure of the mold 10. For example, based on the erasing timing table 83 describing the charging characteristics with respect to the predetermined number of shots, the control unit 80 calculates the number of shots (the number of shots until the surface potential of the mold 10 exceeds the predetermined value (Step S301). For example, as shown in Fig. 7, a change in the surface potential of the mold up to a predetermined shot area is approximated to a linear approximation or a polynomial, and the number of shots in which the surface potential of the mold 10 exceeds a predetermined value . Subsequently, the elimination flag of the elimination timing table 83 is set to " 1 " every estimated number of shots (S302). Thereby, the elimination timing table 83 can be generated without measuring the surface potential of the mold in the entire shot, and the throughput can be improved.

≪ Third Embodiment >

The present embodiment is a second implementation for estimating a shot area whose surface potential exceeds a predetermined value when performing imprint processing on a second substrate from the charging characteristics of a part of the shot areas of the plurality of shot areas of the first substrate .

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the imprint processing and the type erasure processing for the first substrate in this embodiment. The flow chart of Fig. 8 is the same as the flowchart of Fig. 2 except that the process of S200 is added before S9. In S200, the control unit 80 determines whether the shot currently being viewed is a shot of a predetermined measurement target. Only in the case where it is determined that a shot to be measured is a target to be measured, the processes of S9, S10, S11, and S13 are performed. Thus, in this example, the measurement of the surface potential of the mold is not performed in the entire shot area, but on a set of shot areas at a predetermined number of intervals in a predetermined imprint processing sequence. In Fig. 5, S216 is provided instead of S16.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a process for determining the erasing timing in S216. Here, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the mold 10 is to be used when the imprint process is performed on the second substrate, based on the charging characteristics when the imprint process is performed on the set of shot areas at a predetermined number of intervals in the imprint process order, The surface potential of the shot area exceeds a predetermined value. Then, the control unit 80 determines when the imprint process is to be performed on the estimated shot area as the timing to perform the erasure of the mold 10. For example, based on the erasure timing table 83 describing the charging characteristics relating to the imprint process for the set of the shot areas at the predetermined number of intervals, the controller 80 determines whether the surface potential of the mold 10 is a predetermined value Is estimated (S401). For example, as shown in Fig. 10, a change in the measured surface potential when the imprint process is performed on the set of shot areas at the predetermined number of intervals is linear approximated or polynomial approximated, Quot;) exceeds a predetermined value. Subsequently, the elimination flag of the erasing timing table 83 is set to " 1 " for each estimated number of shots (S402). This makes it possible to generate the erasing timing table 83 without measuring the surface potential every time the entire shot is formed, and the throughput can be improved.

The generation timing of the erasing timing table 83 is not limited to the above-described automatic generation method using the imprint apparatus 100, but also by using experimental results by manual, prediction by simulation, There is also a way to do it.

≪ Embodiment of Product Manufacturing Method >

The pattern of the cured product formed by using the imprint apparatus is temporarily used in at least part of various articles, either permanently or when producing various articles. An 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 a volatile or nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a flash memory, and an MRAM, and a semiconductor element such as an LSI, a CCD, an image sensor, and an FPGA. Examples of the mold include an imprint mold and the like.

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

Next, with reference to Fig. 12, a method of manufacturing an article will be described. In the process SA, a substrate 1z such as a silicon substrate on which a material to be processed 2z such as an insulator is formed is prepared and then an imprint material 3z is applied to the surface of the material to be processed 2z by an inkjet method or the like . Here, a plurality of droplet-shaped imprint materials 3z are provided on the substrate.

In the process SB, the imprint mold 4z faces the side on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed toward the imprint material 3z on the substrate. In the process SC, 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 material to be processed 2z. When light is irradiated through the mold 4z as curing energy in this state, the imprint material 3z is cured.

In step SD, when the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated after the imprint material 3z is cured, a pattern of the cured material of the imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z. In this pattern of the cured product, the concave portion of the mold has a shape corresponding to the convex portion of the cured product and the convex portion of the mold corresponding to the concave portion of the cured product, that is, the convex and concave pattern of the mold 4z is transferred to the imprint material 3z do.

In the process SE, when the pattern of the cured product is etched as an etch-resistant type, the portion of the surface of the material to be processed 2z free or thinly remaining is removed to form the groove 5z. In the process SF, when the pattern of the cured product is removed, an article in which the groove 5z is formed on the surface of the material to be processed 2z can be obtained. Although the pattern of the cured product is removed here, it may be used as a constituent member of an interlayer insulating film, that is, an article included in a semiconductor device or the like, without being removed after processing.

(Other Embodiments)

The present invention can be realized by supplying a program or a program for realizing one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and by causing one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus to read and execute the program It can also be realized by processing. It is also possible to realize a circuit (for example, an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

1: substrate
10: Type
30: All in all
70:
80:
100: Imprint device

Claims (13)

There is provided an imprint apparatus for performing an imprint process for forming a pattern on a substrate by curing the imprint material while the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate and separating the cured imprint material from the mold,
A discharger for discharging the mold,
A processing section for determining a timing of performing the erasure of the mold by the discharger section based on the charging characteristic indicating the relationship between the number of times of the imprint process and the surface potential of the mold,
And an imprinting unit that conveys the imprinted image. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring section for measuring a surface potential of the mold,
Wherein the processing section is configured to measure the surface potential of the mold by the metering section every time the imprinting process is performed and if the measured surface potential exceeds a predetermined value, Is repeated in a plurality of shot regions of the first substrate to acquire the charging characteristics
And the imprint apparatus. 3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing section determines, based on the obtained charging characteristics, a difference between the shot area when the surface potential of the first substrate exceeds the predetermined value, Wherein the timing when the imprinting process is performed on the shot area of the second substrate different from the one substrate is determined as the timing to perform the erasure of the mold. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring section for measuring a surface potential of the mold,
Wherein the processing section is configured to measure the surface potential of the mold by the metering section every time the imprinting process is performed and if the measured surface potential exceeds a predetermined value, Is obtained in a shot area of a part of a plurality of shot areas of the first substrate to acquire the charging characteristics of the part of the shot area
And the imprint apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the part of the shot area is a predetermined number of shot areas from the beginning in the order of the predetermined imprint processing for the plurality of shot areas,
Wherein the processing unit is configured to determine whether or not the surface potential is higher than the surface potential when the imprint process is performed on the second substrate different from the first substrate based on the charging property when the imprint process is performed on the predetermined number of shot regions A shot area exceeding a predetermined value is estimated, and when the imprint process is performed on the estimated shot area, it is determined as a timing to perform the erasure of the type
And the imprint apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the part of the shot area is a set of shot areas at a predetermined number of intervals in the order of predetermined imprint processing for the plurality of shot areas,
Wherein the processing section is configured to perform the imprint processing on the second substrate different from the first substrate based on the charging characteristics when the imprint processing is performed on the set of shot areas at the predetermined number of intervals, A shot region in which the potential exceeds the predetermined value is estimated and the timing when the imprint process is performed on the estimated shot region is determined as the timing to perform the erasure of the type
And the imprint apparatus. The imprint apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an output section for outputting information of the obtained charging characteristics. There is provided an imprint apparatus for performing an imprint process for forming a pattern on a substrate by curing the imprint material while the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate and separating the cured imprint material from the mold,
A discharger for discharging the mold,
A control unit for controlling the discharging unit to discharge the mold on the basis of the relationship between the number of times of the imprinting process and the timing of discharging the mold,
And an imprinting unit that conveys the imprinted image. The imprint apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the frequency of erasure of the type with respect to the number of times of the imprint processing changes according to the cumulative number of the imprint processing. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the relationship between the number of times of imprinting processing and the timing of erasing the type is such that, when the cumulative number of times of the imprint processing increases, the frequency of erasure of the type increases with respect to the number of times of the imprint processing Characterized by an imprint device. A contact step of bringing the mold into contact with the imprint material on the substrate,
A curing step of curing the imprint material while the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate by the contact step;
A mold releasing step of separating the cured imprint material from the mold,
Based on the charging characteristics indicating the relationship between the number of times of the mold-releasing process and the surface potential of the mold,
Wherein the imprinting method comprises: A contact step of bringing the mold into contact with the imprint material on the substrate,
A curing step of curing the imprint material while the mold is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate by the contact step;
A mold releasing step of separating the cured imprint material from the mold,
Based on the relationship between the number of times of the above-mentioned mold-releasing process and the timing of carrying out the above-described type of erasing,
Wherein the imprinting method comprises: A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: forming a pattern on a substrate using the imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10;
A step of processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed
Wherein the article is manufactured from the processed substrate.

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