TWI290665B - Fluid dispensing and drop-on-demand dispensing for nano-scale manufacturing - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method for dispensing a total volume of liquid on a substrate, the method including, inter alia, disposing a plurality of spaced-apart droplets on a region of the substrate, each having an unit volume associated therewith, with an aggregate volume of the droplets in the region being a function of a volume of a pattern to be formed thereat.

Description

1290665 IX. Description of invention:

C FIELD OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The field of the invention relates to imprint lithography. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for dispensing a certain amount of liquid on a substrate in an imprint lithography process to reduce the time required to fill a template. t prior art 3 invention background

10 15 Microfabrication consists of the manufacture of very fine structures, for example, fine structures of micrometers or smaller. An area that was heavily influenced by microfabrication was processed in integrated circuits. Micro-manufacturing is becoming more and more important as the semiconductor manufacturing industry continues to focus on greater capacity while increasing the number of circuits per unit area on the substrate. Microfabrication provides greater process control and greatly reduces the minimum feature size of the resulting structure. Micro-manufacturing Cao is responsible for (4) other areas of development including biotechnology, optical technology, mechanical systems and so on.

▼▼UUUll Inch eight No 633 side US special wealth. · _ et al. reveals the method of forming a two-way image in a structure. The method includes providing a substrate having a

Transfer layer. The transfer layer will be sighed by the frost #A --polymerizable fluid component. - The mold t will be in mechanical contact with the polymerizable fluid. The mold contains a texture and the 4 polymerizable fluid component fills the texture. The polymerizable = minute (five) will be aggregated by the county and aggregated to form a solid on the layer, which will contain a texture complementary to the pattern of the mold 20 129 665 665. The mold will be copied from the solid polymeric material 'n:: one of the structures. The second, the polymeric material will be placed in the environment to etch the transfer layer in addition to the polymerization. The image of the texture is formed in the transfer; The minimum feature size and time required by this technique, θ, depends primarily on the composition of the polymerizable material. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a technique to reduce the time required to fill the features of an embossed lithography template. Λ~fruit

10 t SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for dispensing a total amount of liquid onto a substrate, the method comprising: arranging a plurality of spaced apart droplets on a region of the substrate, Each droplet has a unit volume and the total volume of the droplets in the region is a function of the volume of a pattern to be formed. These and other embodiments will be more fully described below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lithography system according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a simplified plan view of the lithography system shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view of Fig. 2 A simplified schematic of the embossed layer material prior to being polymerized and cross-linked 20; Figure 4 is a simplified schematic diagram of the transition of the cross-linked polymeric material after the material shown in Figure 3 is illuminated; Figure 5 is a first A simplified plan view of the mold shown in the mold after the imprinting layer is separated from the imprinted layer; 6 1290665 FIG. 6 is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention showing an array of imprints The material droplets are disposed on a region of the substrate shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing a method of dispensing droplets on a region of a substrate according to the design of a template. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A first embodiment of a lithography system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a pair of spaced apart bridges 12 with a bridge 14 and a pedestal 16 extending therebetween. . The bridge 14 is spaced apart from the pedestal 16 by a distance. A print head 18 is attached to the bridge 14, 10 and will be extended by the bridge 14 toward the pedestal 16 to be movable along its z-axis. A mobile station 20 is disposed on the pedestal 16 to face the print head 18. The mobile station 20 is movable relative to the pedestal 16 along the X and Y axes. It should be noted that the print head 18 can be moved along the X, Y axis and Z axis, and the mobile table 20 can also move along the Z axis and X, Y. An example of a mobile station device was disclosed in the US Patent Application No. 15 ι〇/194414 filed on July 11, 2002, entitled "Step-by-Step Repetitive Imprinting Micro-Shadow System", and was transferred to The assignee of the present invention, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. A radiation source 22 is coupled to the system 10 to illuminate the actinic light radiation on the moving lift 20. The wheel source 22 is coupled to the bridge 14 and includes an energy generator 23 coupled to the radiation source 22. The operation of the system is typically controlled by a processor 25 that can transmit data. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a template 26 is attached to the print head μ, which has a die 28. The mold 28 contains a plurality of features that are formed by a plurality of spaced apart recesses 28 & and convex portions 28b. The textures form an original pattern that will be transferred to a substrate 3 that is placed on the mobile station 20. 1290665 Where the head 18 and/or the mobile station _ can change the distance between the lion and the substrate 3 “ "d". In this way, the fine structure on the mold 28 will be able to be printed - a flowable tissue, as described. The source of the source 22 is - and / / is placed between the source 22 and the New 3G. Therefore, the mold 28 is made of a light-transmitting material that can be supplied to the radiation source 22. Therefore, the mold 28 can be made of the following materials, such as quartz, condensed dioxophone, sapphire, sapphire, organic polymer, money burned polymer,

10 15

Acid carbonate glass, secret polymer, or a combination thereof. Further, the template % can also be made of the aforementioned materials as well as metals. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, a flowable region, such as the embossed layer 34, will be formed on the - portion of the flat surface 32 ... an example of a movable region constituting the embossed layer %, The upper Wei sets more _ separate material droplets 36, as will be detailed later. - The wire configuration droplet private case has been disclosed in the fiber #月9日申请 Νο·view 91749 US patent application, the name is the secret method for dispensing liquids, and was transferred to the invention The contents are hereby incorporated by reference. The embossed layer 34 is formed of a __shirt, which can be selectively polymerized and crosslinked to reproduce the original pattern to form a -traning pattern. The composition of the 36a component (4) was disclosed in the Ng. 1 () / 789319 U.S. Patent Application, & "The component used for the side cover of the cut (4), and the contents are also attached. reference. In Fig. 4, the material 36a is shown to be interlaced at each point, and the polymer material 36c which forms a bond is also referred to in Figures 2, 3 and 5, and is transcribed in the embossed layer 34. The mold 28 is mechanically contacted to form a pattern portion, wherein the distance "d" is reduced by 20 1290665 = the pressure drops are squirted, and the frequency is extended (four) drops 36 to form a layer 34 with a continuous material shirt Covering the surface 仏 In an embodiment, the series "d" will be called by each of the money rides (four): the undercuts can be embedded and filled with the recesses 28a. 5 10 15 ... To facilitate filling of the σ recess 28a, the sheet of material will have the desired properties 真 true full recess 28a while simultaneously covering the surface 32 with _ continuous material. In this embodiment, the embossed layer 34 is interposed between the protrusions 34b and the like, when the required distance "d," (usually the minimum distance will be retained, leaving a thickness The sub-ground and thickness of & is (10) sub-portion 34b. The thickness t々t2 can be any desired thickness, depending on the application. It is usually chosen to be t-mail 3u, as shown in Figure 5. The second part of the typical system is called the residual layer. Shot 2: After reading the 2nd, 3'4 picture 'after the required distance d', the body source 22 will produce actinic radiation, The material 36a can be polymerized and crosslinked to form a crosslinked (tetra) material. As a result, the % of the imprinted layer = the transition, the polymerization_6c, which is a polymeric material 36 (; Will be cured to make the embossed layer 34: in the wide, there is a surface 28 corresponding to the miscellaneous 28 (: the shape ' as shown in Figure 5 (4) 36e (as in the latter 'the printing see (4)) will move to increase The distance d mold 28 is spaced apart from the embossed layer 34. Please refer to Fig. 5, and other additional processes will be used for the patterning of 3 。. For example, the substrate 3 embossing layer: printing layer 34 Figure (four) turn Substrate 3 (d) to form a patterned surface 34c with [r'. 20 1290665 For ease of etching, the material from which the imprinting layer 34 is made can be changed as needed to create a relative relative to the substrate 30. Etching rate. Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 6, for droplets having very dense textures (e.g., nanometer-sized recesses 28a and protrusions 28b, etc.), droplets 36 are dispersed 5 on substrate 30 and It takes a long time for the region 40 between the molds 28 to fill the recesses 28a, etc., so that the output of the imprint process is slowed down. To facilitate the productivity of the imprint process, the droplets 36 must be matched. The cloth can minimize the time required to spread over the substrate 30 and fill the recesses 28a. This can be achieved by arranging the droplets 36 into a two-dimensional matrix 42 and spacing between adjacent droplets The interval 10 (as shown in & and S2) is achieved by miniaturization. As shown, the droplets of the matrix 々a are arranged in 6 straight rows η: ~~ and 6 rows m 〗 〖m0 However, in fact, the droplets 36 can also be arranged on the substrate 3 in any two-dimensional arrangement. What is needed is to enable the number of droplets 36 in the matrix 42. Maximizing, and making the total volume % of material 36a sufficient to form the embossed layer 34. This will minimize the spacing center between the adjacent droplets 36 and 1. Again, it will preferably be in the array. Each of the droplets 36 has substantially the same amount of material 36 & and forms a unit volume vu. According to these criteria, the total number of droplets η in the matrix 42 can be determined as follows: (1) n = Vt /Vu where vt*vu is defined as above. Assuming a square array of droplets 36, the total number η of droplets 36 can be defined as follows: (2) η = ηιΧη2 where ~ is a liquid along a first direction The number of drops, and the number of drops along the second direction. The distance between adjacent droplets 36 in a first direction (i.e., one dimension) 1290665 can be determined as follows. (3) Si = Lj / ii] direction spacing S2 "where L1 is the length of the region 40 along the first direction. Similarly, the adjacent droplets 36 along a transverse line extending in the first direction may be as follows It is determined that: (4) S2 = L2/n2 where L2 is the length of the region 40 along the second direction. Since the material 36a of each droplet 36 is provided by the unit body _ depends on the (four) cloth device, it is obvious that the spacing S 々s2 will depend on the operation of the droplet dispensing device (not shown) that forms each droplet 36. It is preferred that the dispensing device (not shown) can cause each droplet to collapse. There is a minimum amount of material 36a that can be precisely controlled. In this manner, the area of material 36a in each droplet 36 that must be spread over the area 40 will be minimized. Filling each of the recesses 28a and covering the substrate with a continuous layer of material. The dispensing of the droplets may be performed on the entire substrate 3, or one This is a zone-by-zone distribution technique that has been disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/194,414, which is incorporated herein by reference. The subject matter of 2004/0008334 is hereby incorporated. In this regard, the distribution system for 20 can be a piezoelectric ink jet type or a micro solenoid type technology. Therefore, the distribution system can be a single unit. Nozzles, a linear array of nozzles, or a matrix of nozzles that can be used to dispense the material 36a, and the linear and rectangular array of nozzles will contain more than 100 individual nozzles. The nozzles in the array of nozzles Can be sprayed at frequencies up to 4 kHz. Nozzle array spray 11 1290665 head system can be used with on-off volume control or gray mark volume control capability, where the gray mark volume control capability can be dispensed with 1 to 42 picoliters Volume of (pL). When using a zone-by-zone dispensing technique, each nozzle of the nozzle array can be sprayed with the same composition of material 36a; but in another embodiment, each of the nozzles of the nozzle array is Different materials 36a can be sprayed. Examples of inkjets include 〇mnid〇t, available from the head office of Xaar Corporation of Cambridge, UK, and inkjets available from Spectra, which is based in Lebanon. Dimatix of New Hampshire A nozzle array is a multi-nozzle spray system that contains 10 126 nozzles and is sold by xaar in the XJ126 model. In addition, an ultrasonic nozzle is used to dispense droplets 36. An atomizing spray method can also be used. Further, for material 36a having a high viscosity (e.g., 20 centipoise (cps) or higher), Leopard from Xaar Corporation can be used, wherein the material 36a can be heated. The viscosity is reduced to the range that can be sprayed. 15 In order to obtain a thin and uniform residual layer and minimize the time required to imprint an area, several methods can be implemented in accordance with the present invention. Referring to Figures 1 through 3 and 7, for example, the droplets 36 can be configured as a function of the design of the template 26 and a suitable ambient gas (e.g., He) is used to attenuate the embossed layer 34. Gas trapped. An embodiment in which the 20 cloth material 36a is designed in accordance with the design of the template 26 will be described later. The droplets 36 may comprise a small volume Vs, for example around 1 to 1 〇〇〇pL. First, consider the situation in which the template 26 has no feature detailing. In order to achieve a specified residual layer thickness on the substrate 3, at step 100, it is assumed that the template 26 can confine all of the material 36a within one of the regions of the template 26 to calculate the required material. 12 1290665

10 15

20 36a total volume. Assuming an array of m columns xn rows, m and η are calculated at step 1 〇 2 to make mxnxVs^^Vi. When m and η are selected, at step 104, a polygonal area around each of the lattice points representing the control area Ac is confirmed, which has an area which is approximately equal to the total area of the active area of the template 26 divided by (mxn). At step 106, a droplet of volume = vs is placed at each of the grid locations, wherein the template 26 has no recess (detail) located on the control zone Ac. At step 108, a droplet of volume = (Vs + AcXd) is dispensed at a grid point corresponding to the control zone Ac of the completely recessed portion of the template 26, which is the etch depth of the template 26. At step 110, a droplet of volume = (Vs + AeXdxJ/100) is dispensed at a grid point corresponding to a portion of the template (eg, J%) depressed, where d is template 26 Etching depth. Referring to Figures 2 and 7, the operation of the print head 18 and the dispensing of the liquid droplets 6 can be controlled by a processor 21 which is capable of transmitting data. A memory 23 communicates with the processor 21 for data. The memory 23 includes a computer readable medium and a computer accumulable program disposed therein. The computer readable program 3 has ‘Ub performing the operations shown in Fig. 7, or can perform some similar procedures to dissipate the volume to be dispensed at each defect. These software programs can handle = sheet material as GDS (4), which is used to make template %. Fig. J 2 3, 7 'The volume w to be distributed at each control zone Ac has a fixed volume by the droplet 36, then the pattern of the droplet 36 in each control zone is changed; or if there is a fixed droplet pattern Then, change the volume of each droplet = 36; or a combination of the two, 4 μ is achieved. Moreover, the experience of a droplet pattern and/or each droplet volume can also be used to obtain the desired characteristics of the transition region 13 1290665 formed between the adjacent control regions. The above method provides the desired material 36a' in one of the regions of the substrate 30 and minimizes the distance that a droplet of material 36a needs to spread before it merges with the adjacent droplet material 36, thereby reducing droplets. 36 fills each recess plus the 5 required. When two or more droplets 36 are combined, there may be an air pocket created in the embossed layer 34 near the boundary of each of the combined materials 36a. It is preferable to minimize the time during which the liquid droplet 36 fills the concave portion 28a (this is the filling of the Japanese rabbit plate 26 between the temples) and causes almost no air gap_print layer ^. In order to reduce the filling time of the template 26, the time required for the material 36a to replace the air bag between the combined materials 10 36a needs to be minimized. In this regard, if each droplet 36 contains the same volume, the average volume and volume difference of the pockets will be minimized. As a result, the air bags can be excluded from the combined material at a faster rate. An example of a pattern of droplets 36 that reduces the average volume and volume difference of the air pockets may include, but is not limited to, hexagonal and triangular! Again, it has been found that for a residue having a thickness of 3 Å to 4 〇 nm or less: the filling time of the template 26 is acceptable.鼸A outside 'to reduce the above--the distance that the droplet material must be spread before the adjacent droplets are merged, also reduces the viscous retardation of the droplet 36a, resulting in a larger material 36a speed and strength. Excluding these air bags, the filling time of the template 26 can be reduced by 20 more. Moreover, if the air pockets are only small volumetric regions, i.e., laterally on the order of a few microns and the thickness is in the submicron size, the airbags can be quickly removed for rapid imprinting. ", in order to further reduce the filling time, the elimination rate of these air bags can be improved and the combined materials can be used to replace the gas 14.1290665 clothes at a faster rate. Among them, the removal rate of the air bags will be proportional to the hydraulic pressure applied thereto. The sputum is a function of a capillary force and any force applied to the droplet 36. To increase the hydraulic pressure, the capillary force can be increased, and the capillary force can be maximized by reducing the thickness t2 as shown in Fig. 5. 5 It should be noted that the volume of the distribution in the % of the droplets will also change as a function of temperature. For example, the viscosity of the material 36a, as well as the size of the material used to actuate the pump to eject the material 36a from the nozzle, can be varied, both of which can change the volume of a given droplet 36. The piezoelectric micro-spray can include a built-in temperature-sensing sensor, as in the X(10)r, s I26 linear array, which continuously controls the temperature of the pump. A calibration curve for temperature and voltage can be set to maintain a specific throughput output. This calibration curve can be used for instantaneous real-time, and the voltage level can be adjusted when the temperature change is known. In addition, in order to avoid sporadic failures that lead to droplet errors, a dispensing technique can be used in which one or each of the droplets 36 can be dispensed multiple times by a sneeze at the same location. Each droplet 36 is capable of having a desired volume under accumulation. In other words, the volume of a particular drop 36 will be the sum of the volumes of the nozzle sprayed multiple times at the same location. Further, in a specific region on the substrate 30, a large number of droplets will be combined to make the local film thickness of the droplet an average of the total N droplet %, so if there is a droplet If the 36 is not sprayed, the local film thickness (required film thickness / N) will be different from the ideal one. Therefore, as long as the number of N is high enough (such as 〇〇), the effect of the drop of a drop of droplet 36 will be negligible. For example, in a XmmxXnm^ field region, to establish a residual layer of _1 〇〇 nm, the minimum volume required is (〇.lxX2)nL, which means that there is no concave 0 in the template 26 15 1290665 Fine structure. If the template 26 is finely structured, more material 36a is required, so the number of N is increased. Therefore, the condition that the template 26 is not detailed will be the worst case. These piezoelectric nozzles are capable of providing volumes as low as lpL. If 80pL is assumed to be the basic droplet unit, the RLT error in nm will be inversely proportional to the square of the characteristic length If of the field size of 5 in nm (defined as the area of the field including the polygon field in mm2). Square root). This is as follows:

5 10 15 20 25 Characteristic length of the field size in _ (range of 1 to 25 mm) If the allowable film thickness difference of a missed droplet 36 is 5 nm, then 1 is about 4 mn, which is not dry. The resulting thickness of the embossed layer 34. 1〇 It should be noted that if the volume of the droplet 36 is reduced, the effect of evaporation will increase. By adjusting the degree of evaporation of the droplets 36, the volume dispensed will be increased to compensate for evaporation. For example, in each of the regions of the substrate 3, the region where the droplets 36 are first dispensed will require more material 36a than the region where the droplets 36 are last dispensed. The droplets 36 that are first dispensed will evaporate more because they will wait for a longer period of time before the template 26 and substrate 30 are filled with liquid therebetween. Referring to Figures 3 and 5, in another embodiment, the droplet % may comprise a surfactant pretreatment solution. The surfactant pretreatment solvent can be used, and when the droplet 36 contacts the template 26, a portion of the surface pretreatment solution can adhere thereto. The droplets 36 containing the surfactant pretreatment solution can be disposed on the substrate 30 in a pattern using the method described above to reduce the filling time of the template 26. However, in other embodiments, the droplets 36 may also be disposed in a pattern on the substrate 3 to eliminate the accumulation of surfactants that can occur at the junction of adjacent droplets 36. The droplets 36 are promoted to fill the respective recesses 28a. In still another embodiment, it is preferred to provide a bottom layer (not shown) between the substrate 3 and the droplets 36. The bottom layer can comprise a component having a low surface energy to react with the template 26 and a surface energy to react with the droplets 36. The composition of the bottom 10 layer may have a minimum evaporation rate and a viscosity of about 10 to 10 cp cps to facilitate spin coating deposition. The bottom layer is miscible with the droplets 36, and the bottom layer can also be a solvent for the droplets 36. The various embodiments of the invention described above are by way of example. Many modifications can also be implemented in the above, while still remaining within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the description of the invention, but the scope of BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lithography system according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a simplified plan view of the lithography system shown in Fig. 1; 20 Fig. 3 is a view of Fig. 2 A simplified schematic diagram of the non-dusting layer material before being polymerized and crosslinked; Figure 4 is a simplified schematic diagram of the transformation of the material of the transaction chain after the irradiation of the material in Figure 3; Figure 5 is the first The pattern shown in the figure is a simplified plan view after the imprinting layer is patterned, and 17 1290665 - the imprinting layer is separated; FIG. 6 is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing an array The embossed material droplets are disposed on a region of the substrate shown in FIG. 2; and FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the arrangement of droplets on a region of a substrate 5 according to a template design. method. [Description of main component symbols] 10... lithography system 12...bridge 14...bridge 16...seat 18...printer 20...mobile station 22...radiation source 23...energy generator 25...processor 26...template 28...modulo 28a· ··recess 28b...convex

28c, 32, 34c... surface 30... 34: embossed layer 34a, b... sub-portion 36... droplet 36a... material 36b" cross-linking point 36c... polymeric material 40... distribution area 42... droplet matrix 100~ 110···Steps Si, S2... Spacing 18

Claims (1)

1290665 X. Patent Application Range: 1. A method for dispensing a total amount of liquid onto a substrate, comprising: arranging a plurality of spaced apart droplets on a region of the substrate, the droplets having One unit volume, and the total volume of all of the droplets in the region varies with the volume of the pattern to be formed there. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the volume of the pattern depends on the thickness of a residual layer to be disposed on the area. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the volume of the pattern is 10 depending on the size of the feature to be provided in one of the regions. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the volume of the pattern depends on a thickness of a residual layer to be disposed on the region, and a size of a feature to be disposed in the region. . 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the volume of the pattern is further determined by a percentage of the area containing the fine structure of the feature. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of configuring further comprises > dispensing a quantity of material a plurality of times to form a droplet. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of disposing further comprises dispensing the equally spaced droplets to compensate for evaporation losses of the droplets during the patterning process. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of configuring further comprises minimizing an interval between the droplet and an adjacent droplet. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the spaced apart droplets have a pattern selected from the group consisting of a group of 19 1290665 comprising primarily hexagons and triangles. 1 〇. A method for dispensing a total amount of a liquid onto a substrate, comprising: arranging a first set of spaced apart droplets on a first region of the substrate, the droplets having One unit volume, and the total volume of the first set of droplets in the first zone varies with the volume of a first pattern to be formed at one of the locations; and a second set of intervals is configured Separate droplets are on a second region of the substrate, each droplet has a unit volume, and in the second region, the total volume of the second group of droplets is The size of the second pattern formed at 10 is different from the first pattern. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the volume of the first pattern is dependent on a thickness of a residual layer to be formed on the first region. 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the volume of the second pattern is dependent on a thickness of a residual layer to be formed on the second region, and a feature 15 to be formed in the region size of. 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the volume of the first and second patterns > is dependent on a thickness of a residual layer to be formed on the first and second regions, and the second The pattern is more dependent on the size of the features to be formed in the second zone. The method of claim 13, wherein the volume of the second pattern is more dependent on the percentage of the second region comprising the fine structure of the feature. 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of configuring further comprises dispensing a quantity of material a plurality of times to form a droplet. 16. A method for dispensing a total amount of liquid onto a substrate, comprising: 20 1290665 arranging a plurality of spaced apart droplets on a region of the substrate, each droplet having a unit volume, The total volume of all droplets in the region varies with the thickness of a residual layer to be formed on the region and the volume of a pattern to be formed on the residual layer. The method of claim 16, wherein the volume of the pattern depends on a size of a feature to be formed in the region. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the volume of the pattern is more dependent on the percentage of the area comprising the feature. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of arranging further comprises 10 times a certain amount of material to form a droplet. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of configuring further comprises dispensing the equally spaced droplets to compensate for evaporation losses of the droplets during the patterning process. 21. A method of dispensing a liquid on a substrate, comprising: 15 arranging a pattern of a plurality of spaced apart droplets on the substrate, the droplets forming between adjacent droplets Most airbags, and I. The pattern is constructed to minimize the volume of the airbags. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the pattern is further constructed to minimize the average volume of the air pockets. The method of claim 21, wherein the pattern is further constructed to minimize the average and difference in volume of the respective air pockets. 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the patterning further comprises positioning the equally spaced droplets in a pattern selected from the group consisting essentially of hexagons and triangles. The method of claim 21, wherein the separately separated droplets substantially contain the same volume. 26. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of disposing further comprises dispensing a quantity of the material a plurality of times to form a droplet. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of disposing further comprises dispensing the equally spaced droplets to compensate for evaporation losses of the droplets during the patterning process. 28. The method of claim 21, wherein the configuring step further comprises minimizing an interval between the droplet and an adjacent droplet. twenty two