JP7057719B2 - Molding equipment, molding method and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

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

With the increasing demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices and MEMS, attention is being paid to imprint technology that forms an imprint material pattern on a substrate by molding the imprint material (composition) on the substrate with a mold. Has been done. Imprint technology can form fine patterns (structures) on the order of nanometers on a substrate.

In the imprint technique, there is a photocuring method as one of the curing methods of the imprint material. In the imprint apparatus adopting the photocuring method, first, an uncured imprint material is supplied onto the substrate, and the imprint material on the substrate is brought into contact with the mold. Next, the imprint material is irradiated with light (ultraviolet rays) in a state where the imprint material on the substrate is in contact with the mold, and the imprint material is cured. Form a pattern.

In the imprint device, the device performance is evaluated by indexes such as alignment accuracy, throughput (processing speed), and pattern defect, and a technique for improving these indexes has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 describes a technique for improving the alignment accuracy by irradiating the imprint material with light having a weak intensity at a wavelength at which the imprint material is cured to increase the viscoelasticity of the imprint material and dampening the vibration of the device. Is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-058735

However, Patent Document 1 does not describe the control of the amount of light applied to the imprint material on the substrate, that is, the integrated irradiation amount (exposure amount) given to the imprint material. The optimum integrated irradiation amount given to the imprint material is determined by the characteristics of the imprint material, the amount of the imprint material supplied to the substrate, the thickness of the imprint material remaining on the substrate, and the like. By giving the imprint material the optimum integrated irradiation dose, the imprint material can undergo the desired curing process. On the other hand, if the imprint material is excessively irradiated with light exceeding the optimum integrated irradiation amount even with weak intensity light, the number of defects of the pattern formed on the substrate is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and it is an exemplary object to provide a molding apparatus advantageous for controlling an integrated irradiation amount of light irradiating a composition on a substrate.

In order to achieve the above object, the molding apparatus as one aspect of the present invention is a molding apparatus for molding a composition on a substrate using a mold, and is irradiated with light for curing the composition. In a state where the portion, the composition and the mold are in contact with each other, the composition is cured after the first treatment of irradiating the composition with light so as to increase the viscosity of the composition and the first treatment. It has a second treatment for irradiating the composition with the light so as to cause the composition, and a control unit for controlling the irradiation unit so as to perform the first treatment. The distribution of the integrated irradiation amount of the light generated on the composition by both the first treatment and the second treatment is closer to uniform than the distribution of the integrated irradiation amount of the light generated above. , The irradiation unit is controlled.

Further objects or other aspects of the invention will be manifested in the preferred embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, for example, it is possible to provide a molding apparatus advantageous for controlling the integrated irradiation amount of light irradiating the composition on the substrate.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus as one aspect of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the job including the imprint process in the imprint apparatus shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the imprint process of S2-4 shown in FIG. 2 in detail. It is a figure for demonstrating the 1st mode and the 2nd mode in the alignment process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the imprint apparatus as one aspect of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the pre-irradiation treatment and hardening treatment in this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of an article. It is a figure explaining the case where the imprint apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is used as a flattening apparatus.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same reference number is given to the same member, and duplicate description is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the configuration of an imprint device 100 as one aspect of the present invention. The imprint device 100 is a lithography device used in a lithography process, which is a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display element, to form a pattern on a substrate. The imprint device 100 functions as a molding device that performs a molding process for molding a composition on a substrate using a mold (mold, template). In the present embodiment, the imprint device 100 brings the imprint material supplied on the substrate into contact with the mold, and applies energy for curing to the imprint material to transfer the uneven pattern of the mold to the cured product. Form a pattern of.

As the imprint material, a curable composition (sometimes referred to as an uncured resin) that cures when energy for curing is applied is used. Electromagnetic waves or the like are used as energy for curing. As the electromagnetic wave, for example, light such as infrared rays, visible rays, and ultraviolet rays whose wavelength is selected from the range of 10 nm or more and 1 mm or less is used.

The curable composition is a composition that is cured by irradiation with light. The photocurable composition that is cured by irradiation with light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent, if necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group of sensitizers, hydrogen donors, internal release mold release agents, surfactants, antioxidants, polymer components and the like.

The imprint material may be applied in a film form on the substrate by a spin coater or a slit coater. Further, the imprint material may be applied onto the substrate in the form of droplets or in the form of islands or films formed by connecting a plurality of droplets by a liquid injection head. The viscosity of the imprint material (viscosity at 25 ° C.) is, for example, 1 mPa · s or more and 100 mPa · s or less.

Glass, ceramics, metal, semiconductors, resins and the like are used for the substrate, and a member made of a material different from the substrate may be formed on the surface thereof, if necessary. Specifically, the substrate includes a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, quartz glass and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the imprint device 100 includes a surface plate 1, a frame 2, a damper 3, a stage drive unit 4, a substrate stage 5, an imprint head 7, an irradiation unit 9, and a control unit. It has 11, a scope 15, and a user interface 20. Further, in the present embodiment, the direction is indicated by using the XYZ coordinate system in which the direction parallel to the surface of the substrate 6 is the XY plane. The directions parallel to the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis in the XYZ coordinate system are the X-direction, Y-direction, and Z-direction, and the rotation around the X-axis, the rotation around the Y-axis, and the rotation around the Z-axis are θX. , ΘY and θZ.

The surface plate 1 is provided with a frame 2 via a damper 3 that cancels vibration from the floor. Further, the surface plate 1 is also provided with a substrate stage 5 via a stage drive unit 4 including a linear motor and the like. The board stage 5 holds the board 6 and is configured to be movable. The stage drive unit 4 drives (moves) the substrate stage 5 in the X direction and the Y direction along the upper surface of the surface plate 1. The position of the board stage 5 is measured by a measuring instrument including an interferometer, an encoder, and the like, and is fed back to the stage drive unit 4 via the control unit 11.

The imprint head 7 is provided on the frame 2 and is driven (moved) in the Z direction by a head driving unit (not shown). The imprint head 7 holds the mold 8 so as to face the substrate 6.

The irradiation unit 9 irradiates light for curing the imprint material on the substrate. In the present embodiment, the irradiation unit 9 includes a light source 12, a reflection unit 13 that reflects light from the light source 12, and a shutter 14 for controlling irradiation and non-irradiation of the imprint material on the substrate. include. The light from the light source 12 is applied to the imprint material on the substrate via the shutter 14, the reflection unit 13, the imprint head 7, and the mold 8. When the process of irradiating the imprint material with light is performed a plurality of times in order to cure the imprint material on the substrate, the irradiation unit 9 includes a plurality of light sources 12 capable of controlling the wavelength and power according to the purpose. You may be.

The mold 8 has an uneven pattern to be transferred to the imprint material on the substrate on the surface facing the substrate 6. The mold 8 is pressed against the imprint material on the substrate or pulled away from the imprint material on the substrate via the imprint head 7 (head drive unit).

The scope 15 measures the relative position between the mold 8 and the substrate 6 when the mold 8 is pressed against the imprint material on the substrate or when the imprint material on the substrate and the mold 8 are in contact with each other. In the imprint device 100, a die-by-die alignment method is generally used for alignment between the mold 8 and the substrate 6. In the die-by-die alignment method, by detecting a plurality of alignment marks provided in each of a plurality of shot regions on the substrate and a plurality of alignment marks provided in the mold 8, the mold 8 and the substrate 6 are relative to each other. Measure the position. The scope 15 includes, for example, a sensor that detects an image of the alignment mark and an optical system that forms an image of the alignment mark on the sensor.

The imprint material supplied to the substrate 6 carried into the imprint device 100 may be supplied before being carried into the imprint device 100, or may be supplied after being carried into the imprint device 100. When the imprint material is supplied after the substrate 6 is carried into the imprint device 100, the imprint device 100 has a dispenser for discharging the imprint material, and the imprint device 100 has a dispenser for discharging the imprint material through the dispenser before performing the imprint process. , The imprint material is supplied on the substrate.

The control unit 11 is composed of, for example, a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like, and controls the entire imprint device 100 (operation) according to a program stored in the storage unit. The control unit 11 comprehensively controls each part of the imprint device 100 to cure the imprint material in a state where the imprint material on the substrate and the mold 8 are in contact with each other, and the cured imprint material is used as the mold 8. Is imprinted to form a pattern on the substrate by pulling them apart.

In the imprint process, the optimum integrated irradiation amount (exposure amount) of the light to be applied to the imprint material in order to cure the imprint material is the characteristics of the imprint material, the supply amount of the imprint material on the substrate, and the substrate. It is determined by the thickness of the imprint material remaining on the top. The characteristics of the imprint material include, for example, reactivity to light of a natural wavelength, curability, absorption coefficient, and the like.

The parameters that determine such an optimal integrated dose depend on the user's process. Therefore, in the imprint device 100 of the present embodiment, the optimum integrated irradiation amount is set by the user via the user interface 20. In this way, the user interface 20 functions as a setting unit for the user to set the optimum integrated irradiation amount. However, instead of setting the optimum integrated irradiation amount, the user may set a parameter for determining the optimum integrated irradiation amount as described above. The user interface 20 is an interface for sharing information between the imprint device 100 (control unit 11) and the user. The user interface 20 includes, for example, an input device including a switch, a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch panel, and the like, and an output device including a display, a printer, a speaker, and the like.

With reference to FIG. 2, a job flow including an imprint process in the imprint device 100 will be described. When the job is started, in S2-1, the control unit 11 sets the optimum integrated irradiation amount of light to be applied to the imprint material in order to cure the imprint material, which is set via the user interface 20. get.

Next, in S2-2, the material is carried into the imprint device 100. Specifically, the substrate 6 is conveyed and held by the substrate stage 5, and the mold 8 is conveyed and held by the imprint head 7.

After the material is carried into the imprint device 100, a correction value (alignment correction value) for aligning the mold 8 and the substrate 6 is obtained in S2-3. Specifically, the imprint device 100 measures the position error of the substrate 6 with respect to the substrate stage 5, the position error of the mold 8 with respect to the imprint head 7, the design error of the substrate 6 and the mold 8, and the measurement results are aligned and corrected. Use as a value.

Next, in S2-4, an imprint process for forming a pattern of the imprint material on the substrate is performed. The imprint process in this embodiment will be described in detail later.

After performing the imprint process, the material is carried out (recovered) from the imprint device 100 in S2-5. Specifically, the substrate 6 is transported from the substrate stage 5 to the outside of the imprint device, and the mold 8 is transported from the imprint head 7 to the outside of the imprint device.

The imprint process (S2-4) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. When the imprint process is started, the imprint process is started in S3-1. In the imprinting process, the imprint material on the substrate and the mold 8 are brought into contact with each other (that is, the mold 8 is pressed against the substrate 6 via the imprint material), and the imprint material on the substrate is pressed against the mold 8 (pattern). This is the process of filling the recesses).

Further, in parallel with the stamping process, the alignment process is started in S3-2. In the alignment process, the relative position between the mold 8 and the substrate 6 is measured by the scope 15, and based on the measurement result, the imprint head 7 and the substrate stage 5 are driven to position the mold 8 and the substrate 6. It is a process of matching. In the present embodiment, the substrate stage 5, the imprint head 7, and the scope 15 function as an alignment unit for aligning the mold 8 and the substrate 6.

Further, in parallel with the imprinting process and the alignment process, the pre-irradiation process is started in S3-3. The pre-irradiation treatment is a state in which the imprint material on the substrate and the mold 8 are in contact with each other, and the viscosity (hardness) of the imprint material on the substrate is adjusted without completely curing the imprint material on the substrate. This is a process (first process) of irradiating the imprint material with light from the irradiation unit 9 so as to enhance it. In the pre-irradiation process, the wavelength of the light that cures the imprint material is irradiated for a short time (slight amount) to increase the viscosity of the imprint material, absorb the vibration of the substrate stage 5, etc., and position the mold 8 and the substrate 6. The purpose is to improve the alignment accuracy.

The imprint material contains a photopolymerization initiator, as described above. The photopolymerization initiator is activated when the energy of the irradiated light (integrated irradiation amount) reaches a certain amount, causing polymerization or reaction of other compositions. The pre-irradiation process utilizes the state of the gelation point (boundary changing from liquid to solid) when the integrated irradiation amount of light irradiating the imprint material reaches a certain amount.

When the imprinting process, the alignment process and the pre-irradiation process are completed, the curing process is started in S3-4. The curing treatment is a state in which the imprint material on the substrate and the mold 8 are in contact with each other after the pre-irradiation treatment, and light is applied from the irradiation unit 9 to the imprint material so as to cure the imprint material on the substrate. It is a process of irradiating (second process). In the present embodiment, the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the imprint material in the curing treatment is obtained by subtracting the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the imprint material in the pre-irradiation treatment from the optimum integrated irradiation amount acquired in S2-1. The irradiation unit 9 is controlled so that the value becomes the same. Specifically, the optimum integrated irradiation amount acquired in S2-1 is distributed into the integrated irradiation amount given to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation treatment and the integrated irradiation amount given to the imprint material in the curing treatment. As a result, the sum of the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiated to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation treatment and the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiated to the imprint material in the curing treatment becomes the optimum integrated irradiation amount, and is obtained on the substrate. The optimum integrated irradiation amount can be given to the imprint material.

Here, unlike the present embodiment, the integrated irradiation amount of the light to be irradiated to the imprint material in the curing treatment without subtracting the integrated irradiation amount of the light to be irradiated to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation treatment from the optimum integrated irradiation amount. However, consider a case where the irradiation unit 9 is controlled so as to obtain the optimum integrated irradiation amount. In this case, the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiated to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation process is excessively irradiated with respect to the optimum integrated irradiation amount set by the user. When light is excessively irradiated to the imprint material on the substrate in excess of the optimum integrated irradiation amount, the number of defects in the pattern formed on the substrate increases according to the excessive irradiation amount. It ends up. This is because the hardness of the imprint material becomes higher than the desired hardness by irradiating the imprint material on the substrate with excessive light. As a result, the surface of the pattern formed on the substrate may be deteriorated, or the mold 8 may not be smoothly separated from the hardened imprint material on the substrate, and the pattern formed on the substrate may be broken. do.

When the curing treatment is completed, the mold release treatment is started in S3-5. The mold release process is a process of separating the mold 8 from the cured imprint material on the substrate. In this way, a pattern of the imprint material is formed on the substrate through the imprinting process, the alignment process, the pre-irradiation process, the curing process, and the mold release process.

In the present embodiment, by performing the pre-irradiation treatment (S3-3), the first mode which is advantageous for the throughput of the imprint device 100 and the second mode which is advantageous for the alignment accuracy between the mold 8 and the substrate 6 On the other hand, the alignment process (S3-2) can be performed. Here, the first mode is a mode for aligning the mold 8 and the substrate 6 at a preset set time, and the second mode is a time for performing the pre-irradiation process at the set time. This is a mode in which alignment is performed at the time obtained by adding.

The first mode and the second mode in the alignment process will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a case where the integrated irradiation amount of light irradiating the imprint material on the substrate is controlled by changing the opening time of the shutter 14 will be described as an example. FIG. 4 also shows the start timing and the end timing of the alignment process and the curing process, which are set by default in the imprint device 100. With reference to FIG. 4, the first mode is a mode for accelerating the end timing of the curing process set by default, and the second mode is a mode for delaying the end timing of the alignment process set by default. I can say.

In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis indicates the time in the imprint process. The time allowed to perform the imprint process is set in advance by the user, and the alignment process and the curing process are performed within the time. In the present embodiment, the first mode and the second mode will be described by taking the case where the pre-irradiation process is performed in parallel with the alignment process, but the timing of performing the pre-irradiation process is not limited to this, and the alignment process is performed. It should be done by the end of.

In the first mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the alignment time is set by default (a preset time set for alignment), and the start timing of the curing process is set to the pre-irradiation process. It is advanced by the amount of time to do. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time required for the imprint processing while securing the time for the alignment processing. Therefore, it is possible to improve the throughput (processing performance per unit time) of the imprint apparatus 100 while giving the optimum integrated irradiation amount to the imprint material on the substrate.

On the other hand, in the second mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the time from the alignment process to the end of the curing process is set to the time set by default, and the time of the alignment process is set to the time set by default. The time obtained by adding the time for performing the pre-irradiation process is used.

Here, the relationship between the alignment process and time will be described. In the alignment process, the relative position (displacement amount) between the mold 8 and the substrate 6 is measured by the scope 15, and the imprint head 7 and the substrate stage 5 are set so that the deviation amount between the mold 8 and the substrate 6 becomes zero. It is driven to adjust the relative position between the mold 8 and the substrate 6. Such a process is repeated within a time that allows the alignment process.

Since the alignment processing time affects the throughput of the imprint device 100, it is desirable to set it to a short time from the viewpoint of throughput. However, depending on the combination of the mold 8 and the substrate 6, the alignment process may take a long time. For example, there is a case where the relative positions of the mold 8 held by the imprint head 7 and the substrate 6 held by the substrate stage 5 are significantly deviated from each other. In such a case, driving time is required in the imprint head 7 and the substrate stage 5 in order to align the mold 8 and the substrate 6. Further, depending on the process film formed on the substrate, the transmittance and the reflectance may be low with respect to the wavelength of the light from the scope 15, and it may take time to measure the position of the substrate 6.

Therefore, increasing the alignment processing time by the time for performing the pre-irradiation processing as in the second mode is advantageous when the alignment between the mold 8 and the substrate 6 is difficult. Therefore, in the second mode, stable alignment accuracy can be ensured while giving the optimum integrated irradiation amount to the imprint material on the substrate.

In the imprint device 100 of the present embodiment, whether or not the alignment process is performed in the first mode or the second mode is selected by the user via the user interface 20. In this way, the user interface 20 also functions as a selection unit for the user to select the first mode or the second mode. By allowing the user to select whether to perform the alignment process in the first mode or the second mode, it is possible to make settings according to the product. For example, it is possible to select the first mode for a product that wants to perform imprint processing at high speed and in a large amount, and to select the second mode for a product that emphasizes alignment.

Further, it is also possible to control the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the imprint material on the substrate by changing the output of the light source 12 instead of the opening time of the shutter 14. For example, when the light source 12 is a UV lamp that irradiates ultraviolet rays (UV), the output of the UV lamp, that is, the UV illuminance (intensity) can be adjusted by changing the load applied to the UV lamp (lamp load). can. Therefore, it is possible to change to a predetermined UV illuminance by acquiring data indicating the relationship between the lamp load and the UV illuminance at that time in advance. When the integrated irradiation amount to irradiate the imprint material on the substrate is changed in each of the pre-irradiation treatment and the curing treatment, the lamp load is changed based on the above data to correspond to each integrated irradiation amount. can do.

Further, in the imprint device 100, the irradiation unit 9 may further include an irradiation pattern forming unit 16 as shown in FIG. The light from the light source 12 is applied to the imprint material on the substrate via the shutter 14, the reflection unit 13, the irradiation pattern forming unit 16, the imprint head 7, and the mold 8.

In the present embodiment, the irradiation pattern forming unit 16 includes a spatial light modulation element such as a digital mirror device. The irradiation pattern forming unit 16 includes a plurality of mirror elements arranged two-dimensionally (lattice), and under the control of the control unit 11, the light reflected by each of the plurality of mirror elements is selectively transmitted onto the substrate. Irradiate the imprint material of No. 1 to form an arbitrary irradiation pattern (illuminance distribution). When the irradiation unit 9 includes a plurality of light sources 12, the irradiation pattern forming unit 16 may include the same number of irradiation pattern forming units 16 as the light source 12, or a plurality of light sources 12 for a single irradiation pattern forming unit 16. The optical path may be shared.

In the imprint device 100 shown in FIG. 5, in the pre-irradiation treatment (S3-3) and the curing treatment (S3-4), the irradiation pattern forming unit 16 irradiates the imprint material on the substrate with a predetermined illuminance pattern. Can be done. In other words, the irradiation pattern forming unit 16 (irradiation unit 9) can be controlled so that the light is irradiated only to a part of the contact area of the imprint material in contact with the mold 8. ..

Here, the purpose of the pre-irradiation treatment and the purpose of irradiating the imprint material with light having an illuminance distribution in the pre-irradiation treatment will be described. As described above, the purpose of the pre-irradiation treatment is to suppress vibration during the alignment treatment by increasing the imprint material to a certain viscosity. Further, for another purpose, when the mold 8 is pressed against the imprint material by curing only a part of the contact region of the imprint material in contact with the mold 8 before the alignment treatment. The pressure may prevent the imprint material from leaking to the outside of the mold 8.

However, inconvenience also occurs by performing the pre-irradiation treatment. In the imprint apparatus 100, the imprint material is formed into the shape of the pattern of the mold 8 by bringing the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material on the substrate. Therefore, if the pre-irradiation treatment is performed during the stamping treatment, the viscosity of the imprint material on the substrate increases, so that the spreadability of the imprint material in the stamping treatment decreases. This is a factor that prevents the imprint material on the substrate from being formed into the shape of the pattern of the mold 8 in the imprinting process.

In the pre-irradiation process, when the entire area of the contact area of the imprint material in contact with the mold 8 is irradiated with light, the spreadability of the imprint material decreases as described above, and the imprint material with respect to the mold 8 The curing process is performed with insufficient filling. In this case, a defect will occur in the pattern formed on the substrate. Therefore, in the pre-irradiation process, light is irradiated only to a part of the contact area of the imprint material in contact with the mold 8, or the imprint material on the substrate is irradiated with a predetermined illuminance pattern (plane). It is advisable to irradiate with light that has an illuminance distribution inside. Then, in the curing treatment, the illuminance distribution of the light irradiated to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation treatment is taken into consideration, and the light to be irradiated to the imprint material is given so as to give the optimum integrated irradiation amount to the imprint material. Control the illuminance distribution.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, in the pre-irradiation treatment, light is applied to a part of the contact region CN of the imprint material in contact with the mold 8, specifically, the outer peripheral region PR of the contact region CN. Consider the case of irradiating. Further, the optimum integrated irradiation amount of light to be applied to the imprint material on the substrate is set to 60 mJ / cm ² .

As described above, the integrated irradiation amount and the illuminance distribution of the light irradiating the imprint material on the substrate in the pre-irradiation process vary depending on the purpose. In this embodiment, it is premised that the light irradiating the imprint material in the pre-irradiation process has an illuminance distribution. Therefore, the explanation of the method of determining the integrated exposure amount and the illuminance distribution of the light to be applied to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation process is omitted, and the illuminance, the illuminance distribution and the irradiation time of the light to be applied to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation process are specified. The case where it is done will be described as an example.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the pre-irradiation process, of the contact region CN of the imprint material in contact with the mold 8, the outer peripheral region PR is irradiated with the light of the first illuminance, and the center excluding the outer peripheral region PR. The region CR is irradiated with light having a second illuminance. In the present embodiment, the irradiation time for irradiating the imprint material with light in the pre-irradiation process is 0.2 seconds, the first illuminance is 10 mW / cm ² , and the second illuminance is 50 mW / cm ² .

Since the integrated irradiation amount is obtained by the product of the illuminance and the irradiation time, the integrated irradiation amount applied to the imprint material on the substrate, that is, the contact region CN in the pre-exposure process is the outer peripheral region PR and the central region CR. Each is as follows.
Cumulative irradiation amount of light irradiated to the outer peripheral region PR by the pre-irradiation process:
10 (mW / cm ² ) x 0.2 (seconds) = 2 (mJ / cm ² )
Cumulative irradiation amount of light irradiated to the central region CR by pre-irradiation processing:
50 (mW / cm ² ) x 0.2 (seconds) = 10 (mJ / cm ² )
As described above, in the pre-irradiation process, the outer peripheral region PR is given an integrated irradiation amount of 2 mJ / cm ² , and the central region CR is given an integrated irradiation dose of 10 mJ / cm ² .

Therefore, the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiated to each of the outer peripheral region PR and the central region CR in the curing treatment is set as follows. In the present embodiment, the irradiation time for irradiating the imprint material with light in the curing treatment is 0.4 seconds.
Cumulative irradiation amount of light to irradiate the outer peripheral region PR in the curing process:
(60 (mJ / cm ² ) -2 (mJ / cm ² )) /0.4 (seconds) = 145 (mW / cm ² )
Cumulative irradiation amount of light irradiating the central region CR in the curing process:
(60 (mJ / cm ² ) -10 (mJ / cm ² )) /0.4 (seconds) = 125 (mW / cm ² )
As described above, in the curing process, the irradiation unit 9 is controlled so that the outer peripheral region PR is given an integrated irradiation amount of 145 mW / cm ² and the central region CR is given an integrated irradiation amount of 125 mW / cm ² . .. Thereby, 60 mJ / cm ² , which is the optimum integrated irradiation amount set by the user, can be given to the imprint material on the substrate, that is, the contact region CN.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case of irradiating each of the outer peripheral region PR and the central region CR with light in the pre-irradiation treatment has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the pre-irradiation process, only the outer peripheral region RP may be irradiated with light, and the central region CR may not be irradiated with light. In this case, in the curing treatment, the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the outer peripheral region PR is a value obtained by subtracting the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the imprint material in the pre-irradiation treatment from the optimum integrated irradiation amount, and the central region. The integrated irradiation amount of the light to irradiate the CR is set to the optimum integrated irradiation amount.

Until now, the irradiation unit is such that the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiated to the imprint material in the curing process is the value obtained by subtracting the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiated to the imprint material in the pre-irradiation process from the optimum integrated irradiation amount. The case of controlling 9 has been described. Such control is the integration of the light generated on the imprint material by both the pre-irradiation treatment and the curing treatment, rather than the distribution of the integrated irradiation amount of the light generated on the imprint material (on the composition) only by the pre-irradiation treatment. It can be said that the distribution of the irradiation amount is made closer to uniform.

In this case, the control unit 11 that controls the irradiation unit 9 may control the light emission amount of the light source 12, or may control a light amount adjusting device such as a diaphragm on the optical path from the light source 12 to the substrate 6. , The irradiation time of the light from the light source 12 to the substrate 6 may be controlled. Moreover, you may combine these. The state in which the distribution of the integrated irradiation amount is uniform means that the light of the same integrated irradiation amount is irradiated at any place in the shot region on the substrate. In particular, it is desirable that a defined integrated irradiation amount, that is, an amount of light suitable for forming (solidifying) the composition, is irradiated at any place in the shot region on the substrate. However, in the region of 90% (preferably 95%) or more of the shot region, if the light of the integrated irradiation amount of 85% (preferably 90%) or more of the maximum integrated irradiation amount is irradiated, the present embodiment. It is considered that the same effect as is obtained.

The pattern of the cured product formed by using the imprint device 100 is used permanently for at least a part of various articles or temporarily when manufacturing various articles. The article is an electric circuit element, an optical element, a MEMS, a recording element, a sensor, a mold, or the like. Examples of the electric circuit element include volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memory such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, and MRAM, and semiconductor elements such as LSI, CCD, image sensor, and FPGA. Examples of the mold include a mold for imprinting.

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

Next, a specific manufacturing method of the article will be described. As shown in FIG. 7A, a substrate 6 such as a silicon wafer on which a work material such as an insulator is formed on the surface is prepared, and subsequently, an imprint material is imprinted on the surface of the work material by an inkjet method or the like. Is given. Here, a state in which a plurality of droplet-shaped imprint materials are applied onto the substrate is shown.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the imprint mold 8 is opposed to the imprint material on the substrate with the side on which the uneven pattern is formed facing. As shown in FIG. 7 (c), the substrate 6 to which the imprint material is applied is brought into contact with the mold 8 to apply pressure. The imprint material is filled in the gap between the mold 8 and the material to be processed. When the energy for curing is irradiated through the mold 8 in this state, the imprint material is cured.

As shown in FIG. 7D, when the mold 8 and the substrate 6 are separated from each other after the imprint material is cured, a pattern of the cured product of the imprint material is formed on the substrate. The pattern of the cured product has a shape in which the concave pattern of the mold 8 corresponds to the convex portion of the cured product and the convex pattern of the mold 8 corresponds to the concave portion of the cured product. Is transcribed.

As shown in FIG. 7 (e), when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured product as an etching resistant mask, the portion of the surface of the material to be processed that has no cured product or remains thin is removed to form a groove. .. As shown in FIG. 7 (f), when the pattern of the cured product is removed, an article having grooves formed on the surface of the work material can be obtained. Here, the pattern of the cured product is removed, but it may not be removed even after processing, and may be used, for example, as a film for interlayer insulation contained in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a constituent member of an article.

In the present embodiment, as the mold 8, a mold for transferring a circuit pattern provided with a concave-convex pattern has been described, but the mold 8 may be a mold (planar template) having a flat surface portion without a concave-convex pattern. The flat surface template is used in a flattening device (molding device) that performs a flattening process (molding process) in which a composition on a substrate is flattened by a flat surface portion. The flattening treatment includes a step of curing the curable composition by irradiation with light or by heating in a state where the flat surface portion of the flat surface template is in contact with the curable composition supplied on the substrate. As described above, this embodiment can be applied to a molding apparatus for molding a composition on a substrate by using a plane template.

The base pattern on the substrate has an uneven profile due to the pattern formed in the previous step, and in particular, the substrate (process wafer) has a step of about 100 nm due to the recent multi-layered structure of the memory element. There is also. The step caused by the gentle waviness of the entire substrate can be corrected by the focus tracking function of the exposure apparatus (scanner) used in the photolithography process. However, the fine unevenness of the pitch that fits within the exposure slit area of the exposure apparatus consumes the depth of focus (DOF: Depth Of Focus) of the exposure apparatus as it is. As a conventional technique for smoothing the base pattern of a substrate, a technique for forming a flattening layer such as SOC (Spin On Carbon) or CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) is used. However, in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 8A, the unevenness suppression rate is only 40% to 70% at the boundary portion between the isolated pattern region A and the repeated Dense (dense line & space pattern) pattern region B. It cannot be obtained, and sufficient flattening performance cannot be obtained. In the future, the difference in unevenness of the base pattern due to the multi-layering will tend to increase further.

As a solution to this problem, US Pat. No. 4,415,418 proposes a technique of forming a continuous film by applying a resist as a flattening layer with an inkjet dispenser and imprinting with a flat template. Further, US Pat. No. 8,349,282 proposes a technique for reflecting the topography measurement result on the substrate side in the shading information for each position instructed by the inkjet dispenser. The imprint device 100 is particularly applied as a flattening device for locally flattening a substrate surface by pressing a flat surface template instead of the mold 8 against a pre-applied uncured resist. be able to.

FIG. 8A shows a substrate before flattening. The isolated pattern region A has a small area of the convex portion of the pattern. In the repeated Dense pattern region B, the area occupied by the convex portion of the pattern and the area occupied by the concave portion of the pattern are 1: 1. The average heights of the isolated pattern region A and the repeated Dense pattern region B have different values depending on the proportion occupied by the convex portion of the pattern.

FIG. 8B shows a state in which a resist forming a flattening layer is applied to the substrate. FIG. 8B shows a state in which the resist is applied by an inkjet dispenser based on the technique proposed in US Pat. No. 4,415,418, but a spin coater may be used for applying the resist. In other words, the imprint device 100 can be applied if it includes a step of pressing a flat surface template against a pre-applied uncured resist to flatten it.

As shown in FIG. 8 (c), the planar template is made of glass or quartz that transmits ultraviolet rays, and the resist is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays from a light source. The plane template follows the profile of the board surface for the gentle unevenness of the entire board. Then, after the resist is cured, the planar template is pulled away from the resist as shown in FIG. 8 (d).

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist thereof.

100: Imprint device 6: Substrate 8: Mold 9: Irradiation unit 11: Control unit

Claims (16)

A molding device that molds a composition on a substrate using a mold.
An irradiation unit that irradiates light for curing the composition, and an irradiation unit.
In a state where the composition is in contact with the mold, a first treatment of irradiating the composition with light so as to increase the viscosity of the composition, and a curing of the composition after the first treatment. A control unit that controls the irradiation unit so as to perform a second treatment of irradiating the composition with the light.
Have,
The control unit integrates the light generated on the composition by both the first treatment and the second treatment, rather than the distribution of the integrated irradiation amount of the light generated on the composition only by the first treatment. A molding apparatus characterized in that the irradiation portion is controlled so that the distribution of the irradiation amount is closer to uniform. In the control unit, the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the composition in the second treatment is the first treatment from the integrated irradiation amount of the light to be irradiated to the composition in order to cure the composition. The molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation unit is controlled so as to have a value obtained by subtracting the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the composition. Further having an alignment portion for aligning the mold and the substrate,
The control unit
The alignment unit is controlled so that the alignment is performed in parallel with the first processing.
The molding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the irradiation unit is controlled so that the second process is performed after the alignment. The control unit performs the alignment in the first mode in which the alignment is performed at a preset time for performing the alignment, or in a time obtained by adding the time for performing the first processing to the set time. The molding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the alignment portion is controlled in the second mode. The molding apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a selection unit for the user to select the first mode or the second mode. The irradiation unit includes a shutter for controlling irradiation and non-irradiation of the light to the composition.
The molding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the timing at which the second process is started by the shutter. In the first treatment, the control unit controls the irradiation unit so that the light is irradiated only to a part of the contact region of the composition in contact with the mold. The molding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The molding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the partial region includes an outer peripheral region of the contact region. In the second treatment, the control unit measures the integrated irradiation amount of the light to irradiate the part of the region from the integrated irradiation amount of the light to be irradiated to the composition in order to cure the composition. The integrated irradiation amount of the light to be applied to the region other than the partial region of the contact region so as to be a value obtained by subtracting the integrated irradiation amount of the light to be irradiated to the composition in the first treatment. The molding apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the irradiation unit is controlled so as to have an integrated irradiation amount of the light to be irradiated to the composition in order to cure the composition. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a setting unit for a user to set an integrated irradiation amount of the light to be irradiated to the composition in order to cure the composition. The molding apparatus described. Claims 1 to 10, wherein the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the composition in the first treatment is smaller than the integrated irradiation amount of the light irradiating the composition in the second treatment. The molding apparatus according to any one of the above. One of claims 1 to 11, wherein the intensity of the light irradiating the composition in the first treatment is smaller than the intensity of the light irradiating the composition in the second treatment. The molding apparatus according to the section. The molding according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the molding apparatus forms a pattern of the composition on the substrate by bringing the pattern of the mold into contact with the composition. Device. The molding according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the molding apparatus flattens the composition on the substrate by bringing the flat surface portion of the mold into contact with the composition. Device. A molding method for molding a composition on a substrate using a mold.
A step of performing a first treatment of irradiating the composition with light so as to increase the viscosity of the composition in a state where the composition and the mold are in contact with each other.
A step of performing a second treatment of irradiating the composition with light so as to cure the composition after the first treatment, and a step of performing the second treatment.
Have,
Rather than the distribution of the integrated irradiation amount of the light generated on the composition by the first treatment alone, the distribution of the integrated irradiation amount of the light generated on the composition by both the first treatment and the second treatment. A molding method comprising controlling the first treatment and the second treatment so that the treatment becomes more uniform. A step of forming a pattern on a substrate by using the molding apparatus according to claim 13.
A step of processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed in the step and a step of processing the substrate.
The process of manufacturing an article from the processed substrate and
A method of manufacturing an article, characterized in that it has.

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