JP7566614B2 - Imprinting apparatus and method for manufacturing article - Google Patents

Description

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

Patent document 1 discloses a storage container in which a separation membrane is provided in the internal space of the storage container, and the separation membrane separates a discharged material storage section that stores the discharged material from a filling liquid storage section that stores the filling liquid.

When the discharged material comes into contact with oxygen, it becomes inactivated and the polymerization reaction stops, causing oxygen inhibition (polymerization inhibition). As in Patent Document 1, by separating the filling liquid storage section and the discharged material storage section and isolating the discharged material, the pressure in the filling liquid storage section is controlled to control the pressure in the discharged material storage section through a separation membrane, thereby preventing the discharged material from coming into contact with oxygen.

JP 2020-26129 A

However, the structure of the storage container as described in Patent Document 1 is complex and has a large number of parts.

Therefore, the present invention provides an imprinting apparatus and a method for manufacturing an article, which have a simple configuration and can suppress contact between the discharged material and oxygen in a storage container .

Therefore, the imprinting apparatus of the present invention is an ejection device comprising a storage container for storing gas and imprinting material , and an ejection means for ejecting the imprinting material stored in the storage container, and is characterized in that it is equipped with a deoxidizing section for reducing the oxygen content of the gas stored in the storage container.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imprinting apparatus and a method for manufacturing an article, which have a simple configuration and are capable of suppressing contact between the discharged material and oxygen in a storage container.

FIG. 1 illustrates an imprint apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a discharge device. 1A to 1C are diagrams showing a method for manufacturing an article in the imprint apparatus in the order of steps.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows an imprinting apparatus 1 to which this embodiment can be applied. The imprinting apparatus 1 is used for manufacturing articles such as semiconductor devices. The imprinting apparatus 1 includes a light irradiation unit 10, a mold holding unit 11, a substrate chuck 12, a substrate stage 13, a discharge device 14, a discharge nozzle 15, a pressure adjustment unit 16, and a discharge device control unit 17.

The imprinting device 1 ejects a liquid photosensitive resin (photosensitive resin composition, resist) 21 from the ejection nozzle 15 of the ejection device 14 onto the substrate 19 fixed to the substrate chuck 12. Then, the imprinting device 1 presses (impresses) the patterned mold 18 held by the mold holding unit 11 against the uncured photosensitive resin 21 ejected onto the substrate 19. Then, while pressing the mold 18 against the uncured photosensitive resin 21, the imprinting device 1 irradiates the photosensitive resin 21 with light 20 (e.g., ultraviolet light) from the light irradiation unit 10, thereby curing the photosensitive resin 21. Then, the imprinting device 1 separates the mold 18 from the photosensitive resin 21, thereby transferring the pattern on the mold 18 to the photosensitive resin 21 on the substrate 19.

The light irradiation unit 10 irradiates the photosensitive resin 21 with light 20 through the mold 18. The wavelength of the irradiated light may be a wavelength that corresponds to the resin to be cured. A pattern to be transferred, such as a circuit pattern, is formed on the surface of the mold 18 facing the substrate 19. The material of the mold 18 is preferably a material that transmits the light 20, such as quartz. The mold holding unit 11 includes a mold chuck (not shown) that holds the mold 18, a mold drive mechanism (not shown) that movably holds the mold chuck, and a magnification correction mechanism (not shown) that corrects the shape of the mold 18. The substrate 19 is a silicon wafer, an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrate, or a glass substrate.

On the substrate 19, there are multiple shots that are pattern formation regions arranged in a specific shot layout, and droplets of photosensitive resin 21 are discharged from the discharge nozzle 15 onto each shot just before imprinting. The pattern formed on the mold 18 is imprinted onto the discharged photosensitive resin 21, forming a pattern of the photosensitive resin 21 on the substrate 19. The substrate chuck 12 holds the substrate 19. The substrate stage 13 holds the substrate 19 movably, and after the photosensitive resin 21 is discharged by the discharge nozzle 15, imprinting is performed while aligning the mold 18 with the substrate 19. The discharge device 14 stores the photosensitive resin 21 and discharges it from multiple discharge nozzles 15 onto the substrate.

The sequence of imprint operations involves moving the substrate to the imprint shot position, dispensing/applying resin, imprinting, alignment, curing the resin, demolding, and moving to the next shot position, and these operations are repeated as necessary.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the discharge device 14. The discharge device 14 includes a discharge nozzle 15, a storage container 24, a pressure adjustment unit 16, a discharge device control unit 17, a deoxidizing unit 23, and a pressure detection unit 25 that measures the pressure inside the storage container 24.

The photosensitive resin 21 is stored in the storage container 24, and the space formed above the photosensitive resin 21 in the storage container 24 contains gas 22. The ejection device 14 is entirely controlled by the ejection device control unit 17, and the pressure inside the storage container is controlled by supplying gas 22 into the storage container by the pressure adjustment unit 16, and the photosensitive resin 21 is ejected from the ejection nozzle 15. The ejection nozzle 15 is preferably one that uses inkjet technology.

The pressure adjustment unit 16 is controlled by the discharge device control unit 17 to maintain the pressure of the liquid photosensitive resin (photosensitive resin composition, liquid) in the storage container 24 at a predetermined pressure based on the detection result of the pressure detection unit 25. In order to stably discharge droplets from the inkjet type discharge nozzle 15, it is required to maintain the pressure of the photosensitive resin at a constant minute negative pressure. Therefore, the photosensitive resin in the storage container 24 is controlled to a predetermined pressure, and the pressure is, for example, -0.3 kPa. In this embodiment, the discharge nozzle 15 and the pressure detection unit 25 are provided at approximately the same height in order to accurately measure the pressure of the photosensitive resin in the discharge nozzle 15. Note that in this embodiment, the discharge nozzle 15 and the pressure detection unit 25 are provided at approximately the same height, but the pressure detection unit 25 may be provided in the discharge nozzle 15 or near the discharge nozzle 15.

The gas 22 in the storage container 24 is preferably an inert gas, such as nitrogen or argon. In addition to the main component monomer, the photosensitive resin 21 contains additives such as a photopolymerization initiator, a polymerization inhibitor, and a surfactant. In order to prevent reactions with these additives, an inert gas is used for the gas 22. Note that, although an inert gas is used in this embodiment, it is not limited to an inert gas, and a gas that does not contain oxygen may be used.

If the gas 22 is a gas containing oxygen, there is a risk of polymerization inhibition occurring, in which the photopolymerization initiator in the photosensitive resin 21 reacts with oxygen, stopping the polymerization reaction. If polymerization inhibition occurs, the polymerization reaction stops in the photosensitive resin 21 after discharge, and the hardening of the photosensitive resin 21 is inhibited. The storage container 24 and piping are made of resins such as PTFE and PFA, and therefore gas can pass through them. In addition, the discharge device 14 has joints, and it may be difficult to completely seal the storage container 24. In this way, oxygen can enter the storage container 24 from the outside along with air. As a result, the photosensitive resin 21 comes into contact with oxygen, and polymerization inhibition may occur.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the discharge device 14 is provided with a deoxidizing section 23 that reduces the oxygen content of the gas 22 in the storage container 24. Any deoxidizing device can be used for the deoxidizing section 23. For example, a method using nitrogen gas or a method using a deoxidizing agent such as hydrazine can be used. The deoxidizing section 23 can reduce the oxygen content of the gas 22 while circulating the gas 22 in the storage container 24. In addition, the deoxidizing section 23 includes an oxygen concentration measurement function, and the deoxidizing section 23 is controlled by the discharge device control section 17 to maintain the oxygen concentration of the gas 22 at an oxygen concentration of 1% or less, which is an oxygen concentration that does not cause polymerization inhibition. By repeatedly discharging the photosensitive resin 21 from the discharge nozzle 15 based on a series of imprint operations, the photosensitive resin 21 in the storage container 24 is reduced. As the resin 21 decreases, the pressure adjustment section 16 supplies gas 22 based on a predetermined control.

In this way, the ejection device 14 controls the pressure inside the storage container 24, the oxygen concentration of the gas 22, and the gas circulation, so that the photosensitive resin 21 can be ejected from the ejection nozzle 15 while maintaining the optimum conditions for imprinting.

The pressure inside the storage container 24 is controlled to a negative pressure of about -0.3 kPa. By controlling the inside of the storage container 24 to a negative pressure in this manner, the stored photosensitive resin 21 is degassed. By degassing the photosensitive resin 21, air bubbles that may cause pattern defects after ejection can be removed from the photosensitive resin 21.

Figures 3(a) to (f) are diagrams showing the process steps of a method for manufacturing an article using the imprinting device 1. Imprinting technology can form three-dimensional structures in one go, and can be used in a wide range of fields, such as the manufacturing technology for diffractive optical elements and bio-based chip-type testing elements, and next-generation semiconductor lithography technology, as it is capable of forming patterns on the nanometer order.

The three-dimensional pattern formed using the imprinting apparatus 1 is used for at least a part of various articles permanently, or temporarily when manufacturing various articles. Here, the "article" refers to 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 manufacturing method of an article in the imprinting device 1 will be described below in the order of steps. First, as shown in FIG. 3(a), a substrate 1z such as a silicon wafer with a workpiece 2z such as an insulator formed on its surface (the workpiece 2z and the substrate 1z such as a silicon wafer are combined to form the substrate 19 (see FIG. 1)). Next, a photosensitive resin 21, which is an imprinting material with reduced oxygen (in a deoxidizing process), is applied to the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like (discharge process). Here, the state in which the photosensitive resin 21 in the form of multiple droplets is applied to the substrate is shown. Next, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the side of the imprinting mold 18 on which the concave-convex pattern is formed is made to face the photosensitive resin 21 on the substrate.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3(c), the mold 18 is imprinted on the substrate 1z to which the photosensitive resin 21 has been applied (imprinting process). The photosensitive resin 21 fills the gap between the mold 18 and the workpiece 2z. In this state, light is irradiated through the mold 18 as energy for hardening. This initiates a polymerization reaction, and the photosensitive resin 21 hardens. Since the photosensitive resin 21 is prevented from coming into contact with oxygen, it hardens without polymerization inhibition. After that, as shown in FIG. 3(d), after the photosensitive resin 21 has hardened, the mold 18 and the substrate 1z are released, and a pattern of the photosensitive resin 21 is formed on the substrate 1z. In this pattern, the recesses of the mold 18 correspond to the protrusions of the pattern, and the protrusions correspond to the recesses of the pattern. That is, the uneven pattern of the mold 18 is transferred to the photosensitive resin 21.

After the projection and recess pattern is transferred, as shown in FIG. 3(e), etching is performed using the pattern as an etching-resistant mask, and the portions of the surface of the workpiece 2z where there is no pattern or where only a thin pattern remains are removed, forming grooves 5z. Then, as shown in FIG. 3(f), the pattern of the photosensitive resin 21 is removed, and an article is obtained in which grooves 5z are formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z. Here, the pattern is removed, but it may also be used as an interlayer insulating film included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a component of an article, without being removed after processing.

In this manner, the discharge device 14 includes the deoxidizing unit 23 that adjusts the oxygen concentration of the gas 22 in the storage container 24 to a desired concentration. This makes it possible to provide an imprinting apparatus and a method for manufacturing an article that are simply configured and can suppress contact between the photosensitive resin and oxygen in the storage container.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Imprint device 14 Discharge device 15 Discharge nozzle 16 Pressure adjustment unit 21 Photosensitive resin 23 Deoxidation unit 24 Storage container 25 Pressure measurement unit

Claims (10)

A container for storing a gas and an imprint material , and a discharge means for discharging the imprint material stored in the container;
A discharge device comprising:
An imprinting apparatus comprising: a deoxidizing unit that reduces the oxygen content of the gas stored in the storage container. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the deoxidizing unit circulates the gas stored in the storage container. a pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure in the storage container by supplying a gas into the storage container;
3. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure adjusting means adjusts the pressure inside the storage container based on a detection result of a pressure detecting means that detects the pressure inside the storage container. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a control unit that controls the deoxidizing unit, the discharge unit, and the pressure adjustment unit. The deoxidizing unit has an oxygen concentration measuring function,
The imprint apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the control means controls the deoxidizing unit so as to maintain the oxygen concentration of the gas contained in the storage container at 1% or less. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the imprinting material contains a photosensitive resin. 7. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas is an inert gas. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the imprinting material further contains a photopolymerization initiator. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a mold for imprinting the discharged imprinting material . A method for manufacturing an article using a discharge device including a storage container for storing a gas and a discharge material, and a discharge means for discharging the discharge material stored in the storage container, comprising:
a deoxidation step of reducing the oxygen content of the gas contained in the storage container;
a discharge step of discharging the discharge material stored in the storage container after the deoxidation step;
a stamping step of stamping a mold on the material discharged in the discharging step to manufacture an article;
A method for producing an article having the following structure:

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