JP7121653B2 - Film forming apparatus and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus and an article manufacturing method.

The mold is brought into contact with the curable composition on the substrate, the curable composition is cured by irradiating the curable composition with energy for curing, and the cured product of the curable composition and the mold There is a membrane forming device that separates Such a film forming apparatus can be used as an apparatus for forming a pattern on a substrate or an apparatus for forming a planarization film on a substrate.

Patent Literature 1 describes a nanoimprinting apparatus having a substrate placement station, a stamping station, an alignment station, a curing unit, a release station, and a transport robot. In this nanoimprinting apparatus, a substrate whose surface is coated with a resin (composition) is placed on a moving table in a substrate placement station, and then a mold is placed on the substrate via the resin. . After that, the moving table moves to the pressing station, and the pressing mechanism presses the mold against the resin on the substrate. The motion table then moves to an alignment station to align the substrate and mold. After alignment, the substrate and the mold are fixed so that they are not misaligned. The moving table then moves toward the demolding station, passing under a curing unit on the way there, where the resin is cured by UV light. At the demolding station, the mold is separated from the substrate.

JP 2010-40879 A

An apparatus such as that described in Patent Document 1 has a plurality of stations, which may increase the manufacturing cost of the apparatus as well as increase the footprint.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that is advantageous in reducing the manufacturing cost and footprint of a film forming apparatus.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a film forming apparatus that forms a film composed of a cured product of the curable composition by bringing a mold into contact with the curable composition on a substrate to cure the curable composition. , the film forming apparatus has a window through which energy for curing the curable composition passes through, a mold holding part for holding the mold, and a drive mechanism for changing the relative position between the substrate and the mold holding part. and an irradiation unit that irradiates the curable composition between the substrate and the mold through the window and the mold with the energy, wherein the mold is in contact with the curable composition, and In a state in which the holding of the mold by the mold holding unit is released, the curable composition is irradiated with the energy by the irradiation unit through the window and the mold, and in the processing , the relative position is changed by the drive mechanism such that the area where the film is to be formed is scanned with the energy to cure the curable composition.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique advantageous to reduction of the manufacturing cost and footprint of a film forming apparatus is provided.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a film forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a film forming process; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams schematically showing the operation of the film forming apparatus; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the film forming apparatus; 4A and 4B are diagrams schematically showing the operation of the film forming apparatus; FIG.

The invention will now be described through its exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 exemplarily shows the configuration of a film forming apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The film forming apparatus 100 contacts the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 with the mold 11 to cure the curable composition IM, thereby forming a film of a cured product of the curable composition IM. The film forming apparatus 100 can be used, for example, as a planarization apparatus for forming a film having a flat surface on the substrate 1 . In this case, the surface of the mold 11 that comes into contact with the curable composition IM is flat. The film forming apparatus 100 can be used as a pattern forming apparatus for forming a pattern on the substrate 1 or an imprinting apparatus. In this case, the surface of the mold 11 that comes into contact with the curable composition IM has a pattern to be transferred to the curable composition.

As the curable composition, a curable composition (also referred to as an uncured resin) that cures when energy for curing is applied is used. Electromagnetic waves, heat, and the like can be used as energy for curing. The electromagnetic wave can be light having a wavelength selected from the range of 10 nm or more and 1 mm or less, such as infrared rays, visible rays, and ultraviolet rays. The curable composition can be a composition that is cured by irradiation with light or by heating. Among these, the photocurable composition that is cured by irradiation with light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may further contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent if necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of sensitizers, hydrogen donors, internal release agents, surfactants, antioxidants, polymer components and the like. The curable composition can be placed on the substrate in the form of droplets, or in the form of islands or films formed by connecting a plurality of droplets. The viscosity (viscosity at 25° C.) of the curable composition can be, for example, 1 mPa·s or more and 100 mPa·s or less. Materials for the substrate include, for example, glass, ceramics, metals, semiconductors, and resins. If necessary, a member made of a material different from that of the substrate may be provided on the surface of the substrate. The substrate is, for example, a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, quartz glass.

In this specification and the accompanying drawings, directions are shown in an XYZ coordinate system in which a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate 1 is the XY plane. Directions parallel to the X, Y, and Z axes in the XYZ coordinate system are defined as the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively, and rotation about the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis are θX and θY, respectively. , θZ. Controlling or driving with respect to the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis means controlling or driving with respect to directions parallel to the X-axis, directions parallel to the Y-axis, and directions parallel to the Z-axis, respectively. In addition, the control or driving of the θX-axis, θY-axis, and θZ-axis relates to rotation about an axis parallel to the X-axis, rotation about an axis parallel to the Y-axis, and rotation about an axis parallel to the Z-axis, respectively. means to control or drive. The position is information that can be specified based on the coordinates of the X, Y, and Z axes, and the orientation is information that can be specified by the values of the θX, θY, and θZ axes. Positioning means controlling position and/or attitude. Alignment is the control of the position and/or orientation of at least one of the substrate 1 and the mold 11 so as to reduce the alignment error (overlay error) between the shot area of the substrate 1 and the pattern area of the mold 11. can contain Alignment may also include control to correct or change the shape of at least one of the shot area of the substrate 1 and the pattern area of the mold 11 .

An example in which the film forming apparatus 100 is configured as a planarization apparatus will be described below, but the film forming apparatus 100 can also be configured as a pattern forming apparatus or an imprint apparatus as described above.

The film forming apparatus 100 can include a base surface plate 4 , a support 5 , a top plate 6 , a support 10 and an alignment shelf 14 . The alignment shelf 14 is supported by the top plate 6 via the support 10 , and the top plate 6 is supported by the base surface plate 4 via the support 5 . In addition, the film forming apparatus 100 includes a drive mechanism 30, a dispenser 20, an off-axis alignment scope 21, a substrate transfer section 22, a mold transfer section 32, an alignment scope 23, an irradiation section 24, a cleaning section 33, an interface 34, and a control section 35. be prepared.

A drive mechanism 30 changes the relative position between the substrate 1 and the mold 11 . Alternatively, the drive mechanism 30 changes the relative position between the substrate 1 (substrate holding portion 2 ) and the mold holding portion 12 . The drive mechanism 30 can include a substrate drive mechanism 26 that drives the substrate 1 or the substrate holder 2 and a mold drive mechanism 27 that drives the mold 11 or the mold holder 12 .

The substrate drive mechanism 26 can include a substrate holder 2 that holds the substrate 1, a substrate stage 3 that holds the substrate holder 2, and an actuator 31 (eg, linear motor, air cylinder) that drives the substrate stage 3. . Actuators 31 may, for example, be configured to drive substrate stage 3 about the X and Y axes. The substrate stage 3 is supported by the base platen 4 . The substrate stage 3 can have a mechanism for driving the substrate holder 2 about the θZ axis. The substrate drive mechanism 26 preferably drives the substrate 1 along three axes of X axis, Y axis and θZ axis, preferably X axis, Y axis, Z axis, θX axis, θY axis and θZ axis. axis).

The mold driving mechanism 27 can include a mold holding portion 12 that holds the mold 11 and a head 13 that incorporates an actuator that drives the mold holding portion 12 . The mold drive mechanism 27 preferably drives the mold 11 about three axes, Z axis, θX axis, and θY axis, preferably six axes of X axis, Y axis, Z axis, θX axis, θY axis, and θZ axis. It can be configured to drive about an axis. Mold drive mechanism 27 may include a sensor (not shown) that measures the force pressing mold 11 against curable composition IM on substrate 1 .

The substrate transfer section 22 can take the substrate 1 from the outside of the film forming apparatus 100 into the film forming apparatus 100 and transfer it to the substrate holding section 2 . The mold conveying unit 32 can take the mold 11 from the outside of the film forming apparatus 100 into the film forming apparatus 100 and convey it to the mold holding unit 12 . The mold 11 can have, for example, a circular or square outline. The mold 11 has a contact surface CS that contacts the curable composition IM on the substrate 1, and the contact surface CS can be flat. The mold 11 may for example have the same dimensions as the substrate 1 or larger dimensions than the substrate 1 .

Dispensers 20 may be supported by alignment shelf 14 . The dispenser 20 may have a discharge port for discharging the curable composition IM so that the uncured curable composition IM is placed on the substrate 1 . The dispenser 20 can discharge a very small volume of the curable composition IM, for example, about 1 pL (picoliter), toward the substrate 1 by a discharge method such as a piezojet method or a micro-solenoid method. Dispenser 20 may have one or more outlets.

The irradiation unit 24 irradiates the curable composition IM with energy for curing the curable composition IM between the substrate 1 and the mold 11 . The mold holding section 12 has a window W through which the curing energy from the irradiation section 24 passes. The window W may be an opening provided in the mold holding portion 12, or may be a transmitting member (a member that transmits curing energy) provided in such an opening. Similarly, the head 13 may also have a window W through which curing energy from the irradiation section 24 passes. The dimensions of the window W are smaller than the substrate 1 . In addition, the size of the window W is smaller than the size of the area where the film made of the cured product of the curable composition IM is to be formed. The illumination portion 24 may have dimensions smaller than the maximum dimensions of the dispenser 20, for example.

A top plate 6 supports a guide bar 8 . A guide bar 8 passes through the alignment shelf 14 and is connected to the head 13 . The alignment shelf 14 is supported by the top plate 6 via the struts 10 . For example, a height measurement system (not shown) for measuring the height (flatness) of the substrate 1 held by the substrate holding part 2 can be arranged on the alignment shelf 14 . The height measurement system can measure the height of the substrate 1 by, for example, an oblique incidence image shift method.

Alignment scope 23 may be supported by alignment shelf 14 . The alignment scope 23 can include an optical system and an imaging system for observing the reference marks provided on the substrate stage 3 and the alignment marks provided on the mold 11 . However, if the mold 11 is not provided with alignment marks, the alignment scope 23 is not used. The alignment scope 23 can measure relative positions between the reference marks provided on the substrate stage 3 and the alignment marks provided on the mold 11 . The measurement result can be used for alignment to correct the positional deviation.

Off-axis alignment scope 21 may be supported by alignment shelf 14 . The off-axis alignment scope 21 can be used for global alignment processing that detects alignment marks provided in multiple shot areas on the substrate 1 and determines the positions of each of the multiple shot areas. By using the alignment scope 23 to obtain the positional relationship between the mold 11 and the substrate stage 3 and by using the off-axis alignment scope 21 to obtain the positional relationship between the substrate stage 3 and the substrate 1, each shot of the mold 11 and the substrate 1 is obtained. Relative alignment with regions can be performed.

The washing unit 33 can wash (clean) the mold 11 while the mold 11 is held by the mold holding unit 12 . The cleaning unit 33 is used, for example, to remove the curable composition IM remaining on the mold 11, especially the contact surface CS of the mold 11 after the cured curable composition IM on the substrate 1 and the mold 11 are separated. sell. The cleaning unit 33 may, for example, wipe off the curable composition IM adhering to the mold 11, or may remove the liquid organic material adhering to the mold 11 using UV irradiation, wet cleaning, dry plasma cleaning, or the like. good.

The control unit 35 controls the drive mechanism 30 , the dispenser 20 , the off-axis alignment scope 21 , the substrate transfer unit 22 , the mold transfer unit 32 , the alignment scope 23 , the irradiation unit 24 , the cleaning unit 33 and the interface 34 . From another point of view, the control unit 35 controls the film forming process of forming a film of the cured product of the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 using the mold 11 . The control unit 35 is, for example, PLD (abbreviation of Programmable Logic Device) such as FPGA (abbreviation of Field Programmable Gate Array), or ASIC (abbreviation of Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a general-purpose device in which a program is incorporated. or a dedicated computer, or a combination of all or part of these.

The film forming process will be described with reference to FIG. First, as schematically shown in FIG. 2( a ), the curable composition IM is placed on the substrate 1 by the dispenser 20 , and then the substrate 1 is positioned under the mold 11 by the substrate driving mechanism 26 . be. A substrate 1 may have a pattern 1a on its surface. The placement of the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 can be performed, for example, by discharging the curable composition IM from the dispenser 20 while moving the substrate 1 by the substrate drive mechanism 26 .

Next, as schematically shown in FIG. 2(b), the drive mechanism 30 drives the substrate 1 and the mold 11 so that the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 and the contact surface CS of the mold 11 are in contact with each other. is changed or adjusted relative to In one example, mold 11 is lowered by mold drive mechanism 27 so that curable composition IM on substrate 1 and contact surface CS of mold 11 are in contact. The contact surface C of the mold 11 can now be pressed against the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 . The contact surface CS of the mold 11 can deform into a shape following the surface shape of the substrate 1 .

Next, as schematically shown in FIG. 2(c), the irradiation unit 24 irradiates the curable composition IM with energy for curing through the window W and the mold 11, and the curable composition IM is cured. be. Next, as schematically shown in FIG. 2(d), the drive mechanism 30 separates the cured curable composition IM on the substrate 1 from the mold 11. Next, as shown in FIG. In one example, the mold 11 is lifted by the mold drive mechanism 27 so that the cured curable composition IM on the substrate 1 and the mold 11 are separated. As a result, a film made of the cured product of the curable composition IM remains on the substrate 1 . The unevenness of the surface of this film is smaller than the unevenness of the surface of the substrate 1 . Therefore, this film can function as a planarizing film.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the operation of the film forming apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows a flow chart showing the operation of the film forming apparatus 100 . The operations shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are controlled by the controller 35 . In the example shown in FIG. 3, the mold 11 has a circular outer shape and its dimensions are larger than those of the substrate 1 .

First, in step S401, the substrate 1 on which the curable composition IM is placed by the dispenser 20 or an external device is positioned under the mold 11 by the substrate driving mechanism 26, as schematically shown in FIG. be done.

Next, in step S402, as schematically shown in FIG. 3B, the drive mechanism 30 moves the substrate so that the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 and the contact surface CS of the mold 11 are in contact with each other. 1 and mold 11 are changed or adjusted. In one example, mold 11 is lowered by mold drive mechanism 27 so that curable composition IM on substrate 1 and contact surface CS of mold 11 are in contact. The contact surface C of the mold 11 can now be pressed against the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 . In this state, it waits until the space between the surface of the substrate 1 and the contact surface CS of the mold 11 is sufficiently filled with the curable composition IM.

Next, in step S403, as schematically shown in FIG. 3C, the irradiation unit 24 irradiates a portion of the curable composition IM with energy for curing through the window W and the mold 11. be. As a result, the part of the curable composition IM is cured, and the part bonds the substrate 1 and the mold 11 together. The part can be located, for example, in the central part of the substrate 1 . Step S403 is an optional step, and in subsequent steps S404 and S405, if the relative position between the substrate 1 and the mold 11 is maintained, for example if the mold 11 is fixed by other methods, Step S403 is unnecessary. Such fixing of the mold 11 can be realized, for example, by providing a member for restricting the movement of the mold 11 in the substrate holding part 2 . Alternatively, step S403 is not necessary even if variation in relative position between substrate 1 and mold 11 is permissible in steps S404 and S405.

Next, in step S404, the holding of the mold 11 by the mold holding part 12 is released. Next, in step S405, the substrate 1 (or the mold coupled to the substrate 1) is separated from the mold 11 by the drive mechanism 30, as schematically shown in FIG. 11) and the mold holder 12 are changed or adjusted. As a result, the combined body of the substrate 1 and the mold 11 can be moved relative to the mold holding portion 12 .

Next, in step S406, as schematically shown in FIGS. 3(e) and 3(f), the combination of the substrate 1 and the mold 11 is moved relatively to the mold holder 12 by the driving mechanism 30. Meanwhile, the curable composition IM is irradiated with energy for curing by the irradiation unit 24 . The curable composition IM is irradiated with energy for curing through the window W and the mold 11 . This treatment is performed in a state in which (the contact surface CS of) the mold 11 is in contact with the curable composition IM and the holding of the mold 11 by the mold holding part 12 is released. In this process, the substrate 1 is driven by the driving mechanism 30 so that the region where the film made of the cured product of the curable composition IM is to be formed is scanned with the energy for curing and the curable composition IM is cured over the entire region. and the mold holder 12 can be changed. Here, the energy irradiation in step S406 can be performed in consideration of the portion of the curable composition IM that has been irradiated with energy in step S403. More specifically, for the portion of the curable composition IM irradiated with energy in step S403, step S406 is performed so that the sum of the irradiation dose in step S403 and the irradiation dose in step S406 is the target irradiation dose. can be applied with energy at .

Next, in step S407, as schematically shown in FIG. 3G, the drive mechanism 30 drives the substrate 1 (the mold 11) and the mold holder 12 so that the mold 11 and the mold holder 12 are in contact with each other. are changed or adjusted, and the mold 11 is held by the mold holding part 12 .

Next, in step S408, the drive mechanism 30 separates the film of the cured product of the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 from the mold 11, as schematically shown in FIG. 3(h). In one example, the mold driving mechanism 27 lifts the mold 11 so that the mold 11 is separated from the film of the cured product of the curable composition IM on the substrate 1 . As a result, a film made of the cured product of the curable composition IM remains on the substrate 1 .

As described above, in the film forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the mold 11 is in contact with the curable composition IM, and the holding of the mold 11 by the mold holding unit 12 is released. and through the mold 11, energy for curing is applied to the curable composition IM. With such a configuration, curing of the curable biocomposition IM can be completed under the mold holder 12 in the entire region where the film is to be formed. Therefore, this embodiment is advantageous in reducing the manufacturing cost and footprint of the film forming apparatus 100 .

FIG. 5 schematically shows the film forming process when the dimensions of the mold 11 are the same as the dimensions of the substrate 1 . The film forming process shown in FIG. 5 is the same as the film forming process described in FIG. 3, except that the dimensions of the mold 11 are different.

In the film forming process shown in FIG. 3, the dimensions of the mold 11 are larger than the dimensions of the substrate 1, for example, the dimensions of the substrate 1 can be 300 mm in diameter and the dimensions of the mold 11 can be 450 mm. In this case, it may be necessary to newly prepare peripheral equipment for handling the mold 11 (for example, a washing machine, a transfer machine, a carrier (such as a FOUP), and a transport system). On the other hand, if the dimensions of the mold 11 are the same as the dimensions of the substrate 1, as illustrated in FIG. .

An article manufacturing method for manufacturing an article using the film forming apparatus 100 described above will be exemplified below. The article manufacturing method includes a film forming step of forming a film on the substrate 1 by the film forming apparatus 100, and a processing step of processing the substrate 1 on which the film is formed. manufacture goods; The processing steps include, for example, forming a photoresist film on the film, forming a latent image on the photoresist film using an exposure device, and developing the latent image to form a photoresist pattern. and the step of The processing step may further comprise processing (eg etching, ion implantation) the substrate 1 using the photoresist pattern.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof.

1: substrate, 11: mold, 12: mold holder, 24: irradiation unit, 30: drive mechanism

Claims (10)

A film forming apparatus for forming a film made of a cured product of the curable composition by bringing a mold into contact with the curable composition on a substrate to cure the curable composition,
a mold holding part that holds the mold and has a window through which energy for curing the curable composition passes;
a driving mechanism for changing the relative position between the substrate and the mold holding part;
an irradiation unit that irradiates the curable composition between the substrate and the mold with the energy through the window and the mold;
In a state in which the mold is in contact with the curable composition and the holding of the mold by the mold holding unit is released, the curable composition is exposed to the curable composition through the window and the mold by the irradiation unit. A process of irradiating energy is performed,
In the process, the relative position is changed by the driving mechanism such that the area to be formed with the film is scanned with the energy to cure the curable composition.
A film forming apparatus characterized by: Before the treatment, the mold is held by the mold holding unit, and the energy is irradiated to a part of the curable composition by the irradiation unit in a state where the curable composition and the mold are in contact. to be
2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said portion of said curable composition is located in a central portion of said substrate;
3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that: After the treatment, the mold is held by the mold holding unit, and the film made of the cured product of the curable composition and the mold are separated by the driving mechanism.
4. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: In the processing, the relative position is changed by the driving mechanism while the mold and the mold holding unit are separated from each other.
5. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: the dimensions of the window are smaller than the substrate;
6. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: the dimension of the window is smaller than the area where the membrane is to be formed;
6. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The surface of the mold that contacts the curable composition is flat.
8. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The surface of the mold that comes into contact with the curable composition has a pattern,
8. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: forming a film on a substrate by the film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9;
and processing the substrate on which the film is formed;
A method for manufacturing an article, comprising manufacturing an article from the substrate.

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