US20090004319A1 - Template Having a Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide or Silicon Oxynitride Film - Google Patents
Template Having a Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide or Silicon Oxynitride Film Download PDFInfo
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- US20090004319A1 US20090004319A1 US12/130,259 US13025908A US2009004319A1 US 20090004319 A1 US20090004319 A1 US 20090004319A1 US 13025908 A US13025908 A US 13025908A US 2009004319 A1 US2009004319 A1 US 2009004319A1
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
- G03F7/0002—Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C59/00—Surface shaping of articles, e.g. embossing; Apparatus therefor
- B29C59/02—Surface shaping of articles, e.g. embossing; Apparatus therefor by mechanical means, e.g. pressing
- B29C59/022—Surface shaping of articles, e.g. embossing; Apparatus therefor by mechanical means, e.g. pressing characterised by the disposition or the configuration, e.g. dimensions, of the embossments or the shaping tools therefor
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
- B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
- B82Y10/00—Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
- B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
- B82Y40/00—Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
Definitions
- Nano-fabrication involves the fabrication of very small structures, e.g., having features on the order of nanometers or smaller.
- One area in which nano-fabrication has had a sizeable impact is in the processing of integrated circuits.
- nano-fabrication becomes increasingly important. Nano-fabrication provides greater process control while allowing increased reduction of the minimum feature dimension of the structures formed.
- Other areas of development in which nano-fabrication has been employed include biotechnology, optical technology, mechanical systems and the like.
- An exemplary nano-fabrication technique is commonly referred to as imprint lithography.
- Exemplary imprint lithography processes are described in detail in numerous publications, such as United States patent application publication 2004/0065976 filed as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/264,960, entitled “Method and a Mold to Arrange Features on a Substrate to Replicate Features having Minimal Dimensional Variability”; United States patent application publication 2004/0065252 filed as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/264,926, entitled “Method of Forming a Layer on a Substrate to Facilitate Fabrication of Metrology Standards”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,936,194, entitled “Functional Patterning Material for Imprint Lithography Processes,” all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
- the imprint lithography technique disclosed in each of the aforementioned United States patent application publications and United States patent includes formation of a relief pattern in a polymerizable layer and transferring a pattern corresponding to the relief pattern into an underlying substrate.
- the substrate may be positioned upon a stage to obtain a desired position to facilitate patterning thereof.
- a patterning device is employed spaced-apart from the substrate with a formable liquid present between the patterning device and the substrate.
- the liquid is solidified to form a patterned layer that has a pattern recorded therein that is conforming to a shape of the surface of the patterning device in contact with the liquid.
- the patterning device is then separated from the patterned layer such that the patterning device and the substrate are spaced-apart.
- the substrate and the patterned layer are then subjected to processes to transfer, into the substrate, a relief image that corresponds to the pattern in the patterned layer.
- both the patterning device and the substrate may include alignment marks.
- Previous methods of facilitating alignment between the patterning device and the substrate including positioning a moat around the alignment marks to create an air (or gas) gap with a different index of refraction than the patterning device which causes an interface that can be sensed with optical techniques.
- moats may be undesirable.
- moated alignment marks are not transferred into the pattern on the substrate; moats may consume a large area; moats affect fluid flow and thus cannot be arbitrarily placed within a patterned area; and for flexible patterning devices, moats do not effectively hold the alignment mark region of the patterning device in superimposition with the formable liquid, causing pattern distortions.
- FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of a lithographic system having a patterning device spaced-apart from a substrate;
- FIG. 2 is a side view of the patterning device shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a side view of the patterning device contacting a polymeric material positioned on the substrate, all shown in FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 4 is a simplified elevation view of the patterning device in superimposition with the substrate, both shown in FIG. 1 , showing misalignment along one direction;
- FIG. 5 is a top down view of the patterning device in superimposition with the substrate, both shown in FIG. 1 , showing misalignment along two transverse directions;
- FIG. 6 is a top down view of the patterning device in superimposition with the substrate, both shown in FIG. 1 , showing angular misalignment;
- FIG. 7 is a simplified side view of the substrate shown in FIG. 1 , having a patterned layer thereon;
- FIG. 8 is a side view of the patterning device shown in FIG. 1 , having a thin film
- FIG. 9 is a side view of the patterning device shown in FIG. 1 , having a thick film;
- FIGS. 10 a and 10 b are a first example of a distortion plot
- FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are a second example of a distortion plot
- FIG. 12 is a side view of the patterning device shown in FIG. 1 , having a layer positioned thereon.
- Substrate 12 may be coupled to a substrate chuck 14 .
- Substrate chuck 14 may be any chuck including, but not limited to, vacuum, pin-type, groove-type, or electromagnetic, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,087 entitled “High-Precision Orientation Alignment and Gap Control Stages for Imprint Lithography Processes,” which is incorporated herein by reference.
- Substrate 12 and substrate chuck 14 may be supported upon a stage 16 . Further, stage 16 , substrate 12 , and substrate chuck 14 may be positioned on a base (not shown). Stage 16 may provide motion about the x and y axes.
- Patterning device 18 spaced-apart from substrate 12 is a patterning device 18 .
- Patterning device 18 may comprise a body 20 and a patterning layer 22 .
- Patterning layer 22 maybe have a plurality of features 24 defined therein, with features 24 including protrusions 26 and recessions 28 .
- patterning layer 22 may be substantially smooth and/or planar. Patterning layer 22 may define an original pattern that forms the basis of a pattern to be formed on substrate 12 , described further below.
- Body 20 may comprise fused-silica, however, in a further embodiment, body 20 may be formed from such materials including, but not limited to, quartz, silicon, organic polymers, siloxane polymers, borosilicate glass, fluorocarbon polymers, metal, and hardened sapphire.
- Patterning layer 22 may be formed from such materials including, but not limited to, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon carbide.
- Body 20 may have a thickness t 1
- patterning layer 22 may have a thickness t 2
- features 24 may have a thickness t 3 .
- patterning device 18 may be coupled to a chuck 30 , chuck 30 being any chuck including, but not limited to, vacuum, pin-type, groove-type, or electromagnetic, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,087 entitled “High-Precision Orientation Alignment and Gap Control Stages for Imprint Lithography Processes.” Further, chuck 30 may be coupled to an imprint head 32 to facilitate movement of patterning device 18 .
- System 10 further comprises a fluid dispense system 34 .
- Fluid dispense system 34 may be in fluid communication with substrate 12 so as to deposit polymeric material 36 thereon.
- System 10 may comprise any number of fluid dispensers, and fluid dispense system 34 may comprise a plurality of dispensing units therein.
- Polymeric material 36 may be positioned upon substrate 12 using any known technique, e.g., drop dispense, spin-coating, dip coating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), thin film deposition, thick film deposition, and the like.
- CVD chemical vapor deposition
- PVD physical vapor deposition
- thin film deposition thick film deposition
- thick film deposition and the like.
- polymeric material 36 is disposed upon substrate 12 before the desired volume is defined between patterning device 18 and substrate 12 . However, polymeric material 36 may fill the volume after the desired volume has been obtained.
- System 10 further comprises a source 38 of energy 40 coupled to direct energy 40 along a path 42 .
- Source 38 may produce ultraviolet energy. However, other energy sources may be employed, such as thermal, electromagnetic, visible light and the like.
- the selection of energy employed to initiate polymerization of polymeric material 36 is known to one skilled in the art and typically depends on the specific application which is desired.
- Imprint head 30 and stage 16 are configured to arrange patterning device 18 and substrate 12 , respectively, to be in superimposition and disposed in path 42 . Either imprint head 30 , stage 16 , or both vary a distance between patterning device 18 and substrate 12 to define a desired volume therebetween that is filled by polymeric material 36 , as shown in FIG. 3 .
- an alignment between patterning device 18 and substrate 12 may be desired. Ascertaining a desired alignment between patterning device 18 and substrate 12 facilitates pattern transfer between patterning device 18 and substrate 12 .
- patterning device 18 may include alignment marks 44
- substrate 12 may include alignment marks 46 .
- desired alignment between patterning device 18 and substrate 12 occurs upon alignment mark 44 being in superimposition with alignment mark 46 .
- desired alignment between pattering device 18 and substrate 12 has not occurred, shown by the two marks being offset a distance O.
- offset O is shown as being a linear offset in one direction, it should be understood that the offset may be linear along two directions shown as O 1 and O 2 , as shown in FIG. 5 .
- the offset between patterning device 18 and substrate 12 may also consist of an angular offset, shown in FIG. 6 as angle ⁇ .
- Multiple alignment masks may also have other offsets in combination (e.g., magnification, skew, and trapezoidal distortions).
- source 38 produces energy 40 , e.g., broadband ultraviolet radiation that causes polymeric material 36 to solidify and/or cross-link conforming to the shape of a surface 48 of substrate 12 and patterning device 18 , defining a patterned layer 50 on substrate 12 .
- Patterned layer 50 may comprise a residual layer 52 and protrusions 54 and recessions 56 .
- the pattern of patterned layer 50 may be transferred into substrate 12 or an underlying layer (not shown) or used as a functional material.
- System 10 may be regulated by a processor 58 that is in data communication with stage 16 , imprint head 30 , fluid dispense system 34 , and source 38 , operating on a computer readable program stored in memory 60 .
- an alignment between substrate 12 and patterning device 18 may be desired.
- it may be desired to increase a contrast between patterning device 18 and polymeric material 36 positioned on substrate 12 and, as a result, in-liquid alignment between substrate 12 and patterning device 18 may be achieved.
- patterning layer 22 of patterning device 18 may be formed from such materials including, but not limited to, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon carbide, as mentioned above.
- thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 may be selected to minimize, if not prevent, distortions within patterning layer 22 , described further below.
- a magnitude of thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 may result in thin film distortions of patterning layer 22 . More specifically, during formation of patterning layer 22 , patterning layer 22 may be subjected to an etching process to remove portions thereof to define features 24 therein. However, when thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 has a magnitude within a range of ⁇ 20 of thickness t 3 of features 24 , stress relief may be induced within patterning layer 22 resulting in thin film stress distortion of patterning layer 22 , which is undesirable. This is a result of removing portions of patterning layer 22 during etching to define features 24 having a significant size compared to thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 (i.e. thickness t 3 of features 24 ). Further, as a result of thickness t 1 of body 20 being substantially greater than thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 , thermal distortions may be small.
- a magnitude of thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 may result in thermal distortions of patterning layer 22 . More specifically, when thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 has a magnitude within a range of > 1/350 of thickness t 1 of body 20 , a far field distortion of patterning device 18 may result as a result of thermal expansion differences of the materials comprising body 20 and patterning layer 22 . The aforementioned thermal distortion may cause a tension or a compression effect at an interface of body 20 and patterning layer 22 with nonlinear distribution over features 24 , with a maximum distortion at a perimeter 61 of patterned layer 22 .
- the aforementioned thermal distortions may cause an out-of-plane bending effect of patterning device 18 that may further increase an in-plane distortion prior to patterning device 18 is in full contact with polymeric material 36 on substrate 12 , such as during proximity alignment.
- thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 being substantially greater than thickness t 3 of features 24 , localized distortions from etching patterns may be small.
- thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 may be defined as:
- c 1 and c 2 are defined to result in greater stability to etch-based stress relief distortion and thermal distortions of patterning layer 22 , wherein c 1 may be greater than 20 and c 2 may be greater than 350.
- thickness t 2 of patterning layer 22 may be 2 ⁇ m.
- thickness t 2 of pattering layer 102 may have a range of 100 nm-5 ⁇ m, depending on thin film stresses during deposition of patterning layer 22 and the relative thermal expansion coefficient of the specific composition of patterning layer 22 compared to the composition of body 20 .
- a layer 62 may be positioned upon patterned layer 22 .
- Layer 62 may facilitate separation from polymeric material 36 and/or wetting of polymeric material 36 .
- layer 62 may comprise an oxide.
Abstract
An imprint lithography template including, inter alia, a body having a first thickness associated therewith; a patterning layer, having a second thickness associated therewith, comprising a plurality of features, having a third thickness associated therewith, wherein said second thickness is defined by: c1×d<t<a/c2; wherein d is said first thickness, t is said second thickness, a is said third thickness, c1 has a value greater than 20, and c2 has a value greater than 350.
Description
- Nano-fabrication involves the fabrication of very small structures, e.g., having features on the order of nanometers or smaller. One area in which nano-fabrication has had a sizeable impact is in the processing of integrated circuits. As the semiconductor processing industry continues to strive for larger production yields while increasing the circuits per unit area formed on a substrate, nano-fabrication becomes increasingly important. Nano-fabrication provides greater process control while allowing increased reduction of the minimum feature dimension of the structures formed. Other areas of development in which nano-fabrication has been employed include biotechnology, optical technology, mechanical systems and the like.
- An exemplary nano-fabrication technique is commonly referred to as imprint lithography. Exemplary imprint lithography processes are described in detail in numerous publications, such as United States patent application publication 2004/0065976 filed as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/264,960, entitled “Method and a Mold to Arrange Features on a Substrate to Replicate Features having Minimal Dimensional Variability”; United States patent application publication 2004/0065252 filed as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/264,926, entitled “Method of Forming a Layer on a Substrate to Facilitate Fabrication of Metrology Standards”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,936,194, entitled “Functional Patterning Material for Imprint Lithography Processes,” all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
- The imprint lithography technique disclosed in each of the aforementioned United States patent application publications and United States patent includes formation of a relief pattern in a polymerizable layer and transferring a pattern corresponding to the relief pattern into an underlying substrate. The substrate may be positioned upon a stage to obtain a desired position to facilitate patterning thereof. To that end, a patterning device is employed spaced-apart from the substrate with a formable liquid present between the patterning device and the substrate. The liquid is solidified to form a patterned layer that has a pattern recorded therein that is conforming to a shape of the surface of the patterning device in contact with the liquid. The patterning device is then separated from the patterned layer such that the patterning device and the substrate are spaced-apart. The substrate and the patterned layer are then subjected to processes to transfer, into the substrate, a relief image that corresponds to the pattern in the patterned layer.
- It may be desirable to properly align the patterning device with the substrate so that a proper orientation between the substrate and the patterning device may be obtained. To that end, both the patterning device and the substrate may include alignment marks. Previous methods of facilitating alignment between the patterning device and the substrate including positioning a moat around the alignment marks to create an air (or gas) gap with a different index of refraction than the patterning device which causes an interface that can be sensed with optical techniques. However, moats may be undesirable. More specifically, moated alignment marks are not transferred into the pattern on the substrate; moats may consume a large area; moats affect fluid flow and thus cannot be arbitrarily placed within a patterned area; and for flexible patterning devices, moats do not effectively hold the alignment mark region of the patterning device in superimposition with the formable liquid, causing pattern distortions.
-
FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of a lithographic system having a patterning device spaced-apart from a substrate; -
FIG. 2 is a side view of the patterning device shown inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a side view of the patterning device contacting a polymeric material positioned on the substrate, all shown inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 4 is a simplified elevation view of the patterning device in superimposition with the substrate, both shown inFIG. 1 , showing misalignment along one direction; -
FIG. 5 is a top down view of the patterning device in superimposition with the substrate, both shown inFIG. 1 , showing misalignment along two transverse directions; -
FIG. 6 is a top down view of the patterning device in superimposition with the substrate, both shown inFIG. 1 , showing angular misalignment; -
FIG. 7 is a simplified side view of the substrate shown inFIG. 1 , having a patterned layer thereon; -
FIG. 8 is a side view of the patterning device shown inFIG. 1 , having a thin film; -
FIG. 9 is a side view of the patterning device shown inFIG. 1 , having a thick film; -
FIGS. 10 a and 10 b are a first example of a distortion plot; -
FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are a second example of a distortion plot; and -
FIG. 12 is a side view of the patterning device shown inFIG. 1 , having a layer positioned thereon. - Referring to
FIG. 1 , asystem 10 to form a relief pattern on asubstrate 12 is shown.Substrate 12 may be coupled to asubstrate chuck 14.Substrate chuck 14 may be any chuck including, but not limited to, vacuum, pin-type, groove-type, or electromagnetic, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,087 entitled “High-Precision Orientation Alignment and Gap Control Stages for Imprint Lithography Processes,” which is incorporated herein by reference.Substrate 12 andsubstrate chuck 14 may be supported upon astage 16. Further,stage 16,substrate 12, andsubstrate chuck 14 may be positioned on a base (not shown).Stage 16 may provide motion about the x and y axes. - Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2 , spaced-apart fromsubstrate 12 is apatterning device 18.Patterning device 18 may comprise abody 20 and apatterning layer 22.Patterning layer 22 maybe have a plurality offeatures 24 defined therein, withfeatures 24 includingprotrusions 26 and recessions 28. In a further embodiment,patterning layer 22 may be substantially smooth and/or planar.Patterning layer 22 may define an original pattern that forms the basis of a pattern to be formed onsubstrate 12, described further below.Body 20 may comprise fused-silica, however, in a further embodiment,body 20 may be formed from such materials including, but not limited to, quartz, silicon, organic polymers, siloxane polymers, borosilicate glass, fluorocarbon polymers, metal, and hardened sapphire.Patterning layer 22 may be formed from such materials including, but not limited to, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon carbide.Body 20 may have a thickness t1,patterning layer 22 may have a thickness t2, andfeatures 24 may have a thickness t3. - Referring to
FIG. 1 ,patterning device 18 may be coupled to achuck 30,chuck 30 being any chuck including, but not limited to, vacuum, pin-type, groove-type, or electromagnetic, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,087 entitled “High-Precision Orientation Alignment and Gap Control Stages for Imprint Lithography Processes.” Further,chuck 30 may be coupled to animprint head 32 to facilitate movement ofpatterning device 18. -
System 10 further comprises afluid dispense system 34.Fluid dispense system 34 may be in fluid communication withsubstrate 12 so as to depositpolymeric material 36 thereon.System 10 may comprise any number of fluid dispensers, andfluid dispense system 34 may comprise a plurality of dispensing units therein.Polymeric material 36 may be positioned uponsubstrate 12 using any known technique, e.g., drop dispense, spin-coating, dip coating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), thin film deposition, thick film deposition, and the like. Typically,polymeric material 36 is disposed uponsubstrate 12 before the desired volume is defined betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12. However,polymeric material 36 may fill the volume after the desired volume has been obtained. -
System 10 further comprises asource 38 ofenergy 40 coupled todirect energy 40 along apath 42.Source 38 may produce ultraviolet energy. However, other energy sources may be employed, such as thermal, electromagnetic, visible light and the like. The selection of energy employed to initiate polymerization ofpolymeric material 36 is known to one skilled in the art and typically depends on the specific application which is desired.Imprint head 30 andstage 16 are configured to arrangepatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12, respectively, to be in superimposition and disposed inpath 42. Eitherimprint head 30,stage 16, or both vary a distance betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12 to define a desired volume therebetween that is filled bypolymeric material 36, as shown inFIG. 3 . Furthermore, an alignment betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12 may be desired. Ascertaining a desired alignment betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12 facilitates pattern transfer betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12. - Referring to
FIG. 4 , to facilitate the above-mentioned alignment ofpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12,patterning device 18 may include alignment marks 44, andsubstrate 12 may include alignment marks 46. In the present example, it is assumed that desired alignment betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12 occurs uponalignment mark 44 being in superimposition withalignment mark 46. As shown inFIG. 4 , desired alignment betweenpattering device 18 andsubstrate 12 has not occurred, shown by the two marks being offset a distance O. Further, although offset O is shown as being a linear offset in one direction, it should be understood that the offset may be linear along two directions shown as O1 and O2, as shown inFIG. 5 . In addition to, or instead of, the aforementioned linear offset in one or two directions, the offset betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12 may also consist of an angular offset, shown inFIG. 6 as angle Θ. Multiple alignment masks may also have other offsets in combination (e.g., magnification, skew, and trapezoidal distortions). - Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 7 , after the desired volume is filled withpolymeric material 36 and a desired alignment betweenpatterning device 18 andsubstrate 12 is obtained,source 38 producesenergy 40, e.g., broadband ultraviolet radiation that causespolymeric material 36 to solidify and/or cross-link conforming to the shape of asurface 48 ofsubstrate 12 andpatterning device 18, defining apatterned layer 50 onsubstrate 12.Patterned layer 50 may comprise aresidual layer 52 andprotrusions 54 andrecessions 56. In a further embodiment, after forming patternedlayer 50, the pattern of patternedlayer 50 may be transferred intosubstrate 12 or an underlying layer (not shown) or used as a functional material. -
System 10 may be regulated by aprocessor 58 that is in data communication withstage 16,imprint head 30, fluid dispensesystem 34, andsource 38, operating on a computer readable program stored inmemory 60. - Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2 , to that end, as mentioned above, an alignment betweensubstrate 12 andpatterning device 18 may be desired. To facilitate the alignment, it may be desired to increase a contrast betweenpatterning device 18 andpolymeric material 36 positioned onsubstrate 12 and, as a result, in-liquid alignment betweensubstrate 12 andpatterning device 18 may be achieved. To increase the contrast betweenpatterning device 18 andpolymeric material 36,patterning layer 22 ofpatterning device 18 may be formed from such materials including, but not limited to, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon carbide, as mentioned above. However, thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 may be selected to minimize, if not prevent, distortions withinpatterning layer 22, described further below. - Referring to
FIG. 8 , a magnitude of thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 may result in thin film distortions ofpatterning layer 22. More specifically, during formation ofpatterning layer 22,patterning layer 22 may be subjected to an etching process to remove portions thereof to definefeatures 24 therein. However, when thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 has a magnitude within a range of <20 of thickness t3 offeatures 24, stress relief may be induced withinpatterning layer 22 resulting in thin film stress distortion ofpatterning layer 22, which is undesirable. This is a result of removing portions ofpatterning layer 22 during etching to definefeatures 24 having a significant size compared to thickness t2 of patterning layer 22 (i.e. thickness t3 of features 24). Further, as a result of thickness t1 ofbody 20 being substantially greater than thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22, thermal distortions may be small. - Referring to
FIG. 9 , furthermore, a magnitude of thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 may result in thermal distortions ofpatterning layer 22. More specifically, when thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 has a magnitude within a range of > 1/350 of thickness t1 ofbody 20, a far field distortion ofpatterning device 18 may result as a result of thermal expansion differences of thematerials comprising body 20 andpatterning layer 22. The aforementioned thermal distortion may cause a tension or a compression effect at an interface ofbody 20 andpatterning layer 22 with nonlinear distribution over features 24, with a maximum distortion at aperimeter 61 of patternedlayer 22. Furthermore, the aforementioned thermal distortions may cause an out-of-plane bending effect ofpatterning device 18 that may further increase an in-plane distortion prior topatterning device 18 is in full contact withpolymeric material 36 onsubstrate 12, such as during proximity alignment. However, as a result of thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 being substantially greater than thickness t3 offeatures 24, localized distortions from etching patterns may be small. - Referring to
FIG. 2 , to that end, it may be desired to have thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 have a thickness or a range of layer thicknesses to minimize, if not prevent, both thin film distortions and thermal distortions ofpatterning layer 22, mentioned above. More specifically, thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 may be defined as: -
c 1 ×t 3 <t 2 <t 1 /c 2 (1) - wherein c1 and c2 are defined to result in greater stability to etch-based stress relief distortion and thermal distortions of
patterning layer 22, wherein c1 may be greater than 20 and c2 may be greater than 350. In an example of patteringdevice 18, forbody 20 having thickness t1 of 700 μm and features 24 having thickness t3 of 100 nm, thickness t2 ofpatterning layer 22 may be 2 μm. In a further example ofpatterning device 18, forbody 20 having thickness t1 of 0.7 mm to 6.35 mm and features 24 having thickness t3 of 100 nm, thickness t2 of pattering layer 102 may have a range of 100 nm-5 μm, depending on thin film stresses during deposition ofpatterning layer 22 and the relative thermal expansion coefficient of the specific composition ofpatterning layer 22 compared to the composition ofbody 20. - Exemplary x-direction distortion plots for patterning
layer 22 having thickness t2 of 2 μm and a composition of silicon nitride are shown inFIGS. 10 a, 10 b, 11 a, and 11 b.FIGS. 10 a and 10 b are 2 micron film distortion onbody 20 where thickness t1 is 6.35 mm for 1° C., EFilm=300 GPa, and CTEFilm=3.5 ppm/° C., withFIG. 10 a being free to bend and δx max=0.23 nm andFIG. 10 b being held flat and δx max=0.11 nm. FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are 2 micron film distortion onbody 20 where thickness t1 is 0.700 micron for 1° C., EFilm=300 GPa, and CTEFilm=3.5 ppm/° C., withFIG. 6 a being free to bend and δx max=1.1 nm andFIG. 6 b being held flat and δx max=0.39 nm. - Referring to
FIG. 12 , in a further embodiment, alayer 62 may be positioned upon patternedlayer 22.Layer 62 may facilitate separation frompolymeric material 36 and/or wetting ofpolymeric material 36. In still a further embodiment,layer 62 may comprise an oxide. - The embodiments of the present invention described above are exemplary. Many changes and modifications may be made to the disclosure recited above, while remaining within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.
Claims (13)
1. An imprint lithography template comprising:
an imprint lithography template body having a first thickness associated therewith;
an imprint lithography template patterning layer, having a second thickness associated therewith, comprising a plurality of features, having a third thickness associated therewith, wherein said second thickness is defined by:
c 1 ×d<t<a/c 2
c 1 ×d<t<a/c 2
wherein d is said first thickness, t is said second thickness, a is said third thickness, c1 has a value greater than 20, and c2 has a value greater than 350.
2. The template as recited in claim 1 said plurality of features comprises a plurality of protrusions and recessions.
3. The template as recited in claim 1 further including an over-coat layer, with said imprint lithography template patterning layer being positioned between said imprint lithography template body and said over-coat layer, with said over-coat layer facilitating separation from a material in contact with said imprint lithography template.
4. The template as recited in claim 1 further including an over-coat layer, with said imprint lithography template patterning layer being positioned between said imprint lithography template body and said over-coat layer, with said over-coat layer facilitating wetting of a material in contact with said imprint lithography template.
5. An imprint lithography template comprising:
an imprint lithography template body having a first thickness associated therewith;
an imprint lithography template patterning layer, having a second thickness associated therewith, comprising a plurality of features, having a third thickness associated therewith, wherein said second thickness is defined by:
c 1 ×d<t<a/c 2
c 1 ×d<t<a/c 2
wherein d is said first thickness, t is said second thickness, a is said third thickness, c1 has a value greater than 20, and c2 has a value greater than 350, with said imprint lithography template patterning layer comprising a material selected from a set of materials consisting of silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon carbide.
6. The template as recited in claim 5 wherein said second thickness has a magnitude such that stress and thermal distortions thereof are minimized.
7. The template as recited in claim 5 said plurality of features comprising a plurality of protrusions and recessions.
8. The template as recited in claim 5 further including an over-coat layer, with said imprint lithography template patterning layer being positioned between said body and said over-coat layer, with said over-coat layer facilitating separation from a material in contact with said template.
9. The template as recited in claim 5 further including an over-coat layer, with said imprint lithography template patterning layer being positioned between said body and said over-coat layer, with said over-coat layer facilitating wetting of a material in contact with said template.
10. An imprint lithography template comprising:
an imprint lithography template body having a first thickness associated therewith;
an imprint lithography template patterning layer, having a second thickness associated therewith, comprising a plurality of features, having a third thickness associated therewith, wherein said second thickness is defined by:
c 1 ×d<t<a/c 2
c 1 ×d<t<a/c 2
wherein d is said first thickness, t is said second thickness, a is said third thickness, c1 has a value greater than 20, and c2 has a value greater than 350, with said second thickness having a magnitude such that stress and thermal distortions thereof are minimized.
11. The template as recited in claim 10 said plurality of features comprises a plurality of protrusions and recessions.
12. The template as recited in claim 10 further including an over-coat layer, with said imprint lithography template patterning layer being positioned between said body and said over-coat layer, with said over-coat layer facilitating separation from a material in contact with said template.
13. The template as recited in claim 10 further including an over-coat layer, with said imprint lithography template patterning layer being positioned between said body and said over-coat layer, with said over-coat layer facilitating wetting of a material in contact with said template.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/130,259 US20090004319A1 (en) | 2007-05-30 | 2008-05-30 | Template Having a Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide or Silicon Oxynitride Film |
US12/605,848 US7874831B2 (en) | 2007-05-30 | 2009-10-26 | Template having a silicon nitride, silicon carbide or silicon oxynitride film |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US94073707P | 2007-05-30 | 2007-05-30 | |
US12/130,259 US20090004319A1 (en) | 2007-05-30 | 2008-05-30 | Template Having a Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide or Silicon Oxynitride Film |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/605,848 Continuation US7874831B2 (en) | 2007-05-30 | 2009-10-26 | Template having a silicon nitride, silicon carbide or silicon oxynitride film |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20090004319A1 true US20090004319A1 (en) | 2009-01-01 |
Family
ID=40094021
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/130,259 Abandoned US20090004319A1 (en) | 2007-05-30 | 2008-05-30 | Template Having a Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide or Silicon Oxynitride Film |
US12/605,848 Active US7874831B2 (en) | 2007-05-30 | 2009-10-26 | Template having a silicon nitride, silicon carbide or silicon oxynitride film |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US12/605,848 Active US7874831B2 (en) | 2007-05-30 | 2009-10-26 | Template having a silicon nitride, silicon carbide or silicon oxynitride film |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US20090004319A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2010537395A (en) |
KR (1) | KR20100031570A (en) |
TW (1) | TW200907562A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2008150499A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
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US20130064036A1 (en) * | 2006-12-07 | 2013-03-14 | Doo Sik LEE | Ultrasound system and signal processing unit configured for time gain and lateral gain compensation |
Families Citing this family (3)
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CN102438841A (en) * | 2009-03-23 | 2012-05-02 | 因特瓦克公司 | A process for optimization of island to trench ratio in patterned media |
CN101629663B (en) * | 2009-08-18 | 2011-01-05 | 河北亚大汽车塑料制品有限公司 | Directly-inserted quick connector |
JP6400074B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2018-10-03 | キャノン・ナノテクノロジーズ・インコーポレーテッド | Nanoimprinting with reusable polymer templates with metal or oxide coatings |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US7874831B2 (en) | 2011-01-25 |
JP2010537395A (en) | 2010-12-02 |
WO2008150499A1 (en) | 2008-12-11 |
KR20100031570A (en) | 2010-03-23 |
US20100040718A1 (en) | 2010-02-18 |
TW200907562A (en) | 2009-02-16 |
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Owner name: MOLECULAR IMPRINTS, INC., TEXAS Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:RESNICK, DOUGLAS J., DR.;MEISSL, MARIO J.;SELINIDIS, KOSTA S.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:021414/0137;SIGNING DATES FROM 20080710 TO 20080711 |
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