JP7437928B2 - Imprint equipment, imprint method, and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

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

In an imprint apparatus, a pattern made of a cured product of the imprint material is formed by bringing the imprint material above the shot area of the substrate into contact with the pattern area of the mold and curing the imprint material. As is well known, the overlay accuracy of the pattern formed in the shot area and the pattern formed thereon by the imprint apparatus is important. As techniques for this purpose, techniques for deforming the mold and techniques for deforming the shot area are known. Patent Document 1 describes a technique for correcting the shape of a pattern area of a mold by applying force to the side surface of the mold. Patent Document 2 describes a technique for correcting the shape of a substrate-side pattern region by heating the substrate-side pattern region.

Special Publication No. 2008-504141 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-102132

Conventional techniques for improving overlay accuracy in imprint apparatuses are not suitable for shape correction having high-order spatial frequencies.

The present invention provides a technique advantageous for improving overlay accuracy.

One aspect of the present invention is to form a pattern made of a cured product of the imprint material by bringing the imprint material above the shot area of the substrate into contact with the pattern area of the mold and curing the imprint material. The imprint apparatus includes: a heating unit that heats the substrate so that the shot area is deformed; a curing unit that hardens the imprint material on the shot area; a control section that controls the curing section, the shot region includes a plurality of first regions spaced apart from each other and a plurality of second regions spaced apart from each other, and the pattern region includes a plurality of first regions spaced apart from each other. a plurality of third regions each having a pattern to be transferred to each of the plurality of third regions; and a plurality of fourth regions each having a pattern to be transferred to each of the plurality of second regions; and a corresponding third region of the plurality of third regions, and then controlling the curing unit to cure the imprint material on the plurality of first regions. Then, after controlling a second alignment that aligns each of the plurality of second regions and a corresponding fourth region of the plurality of fourth regions, the imprint material over the entire area of the shot region is The curing section is controlled to cure, the second alignment includes heating the plurality of second regions by the heating section, and the dimensional difference between the first region and the third region is determined by the second alignment. It is smaller than the dimensional difference between the region and the fourth region.

According to the present invention, a technique advantageous for improving overlay accuracy is provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an imprint apparatus according to an embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a structure of a heating part. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a shot area on a board and an example of arrangement of marks on the board. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a shot area having two areas with different distortion magnitudes. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the amount of shrinkage (from the target size) of the memory cell array area is larger than the amount of shrinkage (from the target size) of the peripheral circuit area. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the imprint apparatus. The figure which illustrates the article manufacturing method.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of an imprint apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. The imprint apparatus 1 brings the imprint material 4 on the shot area 3a of the substrate 3 into contact with the pattern area 2a of the mold 2, and hardens the imprint material 4 to form a pattern made of a cured product of the imprint material 4. form.

As the imprint material, a curable composition (sometimes referred to as an uncured resin) that is cured by being given curing energy is used. As energy for curing, electromagnetic waves, heat, etc. can be used. The electromagnetic wave can be, for example, light whose wavelength is selected from a range of 10 nm or more and 1 mm or less, such as infrared rays, visible light, and ultraviolet rays. The curable composition may be a composition that is cured by irradiation with light or by heating. Among these, a 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 as necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group of sensitizers, hydrogen donors, internal mold release agents, surfactants, antioxidants, polymer components, and the like. The imprint material can be disposed on the substrate in the form of droplets, or in the form of islands or films formed by connecting a plurality of droplets. Further, the imprint material may be supplied in the form of a film onto the substrate using a spin coater or a slit coater. The viscosity of the imprint material (viscosity at 25° C.) may be, for example, 1 mPa·s or more and 100 mPa·s or less. As the material of the substrate, for example, glass, ceramics, metal, semiconductor (Si, GaN, SiC, etc.), resin, etc. can be used. 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, or quartz glass. Alternatively, the substrate may be a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. The mold may be constructed of a material, such as quartz, that is transparent to curing energy (e.g., ultraviolet light) for curing the imprint material.

In this specification and the accompanying drawings, directions are shown in an XYZ coordinate system in which the XY plane is a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate. Directions parallel to the X, Y, and Z axes in the XYZ coordinate system are defined as the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction, respectively, and rotation around the X axis, rotation around the Y axis, and rotation around the Z axis are respectively θX and θY. , θZ. Control or drive regarding the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis means control or drive in a direction parallel to the X-axis, a direction parallel to the Y-axis, and a direction parallel to the Z-axis, respectively. Control or drive regarding the θX-axis, θY-axis, and θZ-axis refers to rotation around an axis parallel to the X-axis, rotation around an axis parallel to the Y-axis, and rotation around an axis parallel to the Z-axis, respectively. means controlling or driving. Furthermore, the position is information that can be specified based on the coordinates of the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis, and the posture is information that can be specified based on the values of the θX axis, θY axis, and θZ axis. Positioning means controlling position and/or orientation. The alignment may include controlling the position and/or orientation of at least one of the substrate and the mold so that an alignment error (overlay error) between the shot area of the substrate and the pattern area of the mold is reduced. . Furthermore, the alignment may include control for correcting or changing the shape of at least one of the shot area of the substrate and the pattern area of the mold.

The mold 2 may have a rectangular outer circumferential shape. The mold 2 has a pattern area 2a on the side facing the substrate 3. A pattern having approximately the same area as the pattern area 2a is formed on the shot area 3a of the substrate 3 by one imprint process. In this specification, a shot area refers to an area where a pattern is formed by one imprint process, and the substrate 3 may have one or more shot areas, typically a plurality of shot areas. The dimensions of the shot area in the exposure device used to form the pattern already formed on the substrate 3 provided to the imprint apparatus 1 and the dimensions of the shot area in the imprint apparatus 1 are the same. They may be different from each other. The size of one shot area is, for example, about 26 mm x 33 mm. One shot area may include one or more chip areas. The plurality of chip regions may be separated from each other by scribe lines. When the shot area in the exposure apparatus is smaller than the shot area in the imprint apparatus 1, the plurality of shot areas in the exposure apparatus can be treated as one shot area in the imprint apparatus.

The imprint apparatus 1 may include a mold drive mechanism 7, a substrate drive mechanism 23, a dispenser 15, an alignment measurement section 19, a curing section 5, a substrate heating section 17, a control section CNT, and the like. The mold drive mechanism 7 includes, for example, a mold holder 8 that holds the mold 2, a drive mechanism 9 that drives the mold 2 by driving the mold holder 8, and a mold deformation mechanism that deforms the pattern area 2a of the mold 2. 10. The operation of deforming the pattern area 2a may be an operation of correcting the shape of the pattern area 2a. The mold holding section 8 and the drive mechanism 9 may have an opening 13 through which the curing light 5a from the curing section 5 and the heating light 17a from the substrate heating section 17 pass. A transparent member 14 may be placed in the opening 13 . The transparent member 14 defines a sealed space SP on the back surface of the mold 2 (the surface opposite to the surface having the pattern region 2a). Transmissive member 14 transmits curing light 5a from curing section 5 and heating light 17a from substrate heating section 17.

The pressure in the sealed space SP can be adjusted by a pressure regulator (not shown). By making the pressure in the closed space SP higher than the external pressure using the pressure regulator, the pattern surface 2a can be deformed into a convex shape toward the substrate 3. This allows the pattern region 2a to start contacting the imprint material 4 at the center of the shot region 3a on the substrate 3. Such an operation is advantageous in order to prevent gas from remaining between the pattern area 2a and the imprint material 4.

The drive mechanism 9 may include, for example, at least one actuator such as a voice coil motor, an air cylinder, a piezo, a linear motor, or the like. The drive mechanism 9 moves the mold holder 8 (mold 2) in a Z direction so as to bring the mold 2 into contact with the imprint material 4 on the substrate 3 or to separate the mold 2 from the cured imprint material 4. It can be driven in the direction. The drive mechanism 9 may also drive the mold holder 8 (mold 2) with respect to all or part of the X axis, Y axis, θX axis, θY axis, and θZ axis, for example.

The mold deformation mechanism 10 includes, for example, at least one actuator such as a linear motor or a piezo, and can apply force to the side surface of the mold 2 by the actuator. Such a force may be a force in a direction parallel to the pattern area 2a. The mold deformation mechanism 10 deforms the pattern area 2a by applying force to the side surface of the mold 2, thereby correcting the shape of the pattern area 2a.

The substrate drive mechanism 23 may include a substrate holder 12 that holds the substrate 3, a substrate stage 13 that supports the substrate holder 12, and a drive mechanism 21 that drives the substrate 3 by driving the substrate stage 13. Drive mechanism 21 may include, for example, a linear motor. The drive mechanism 21 can drive the substrate stage 13 (substrate 3) about, for example, the X axis, the Y axis, and the θZ axis. The drive mechanism 21 may also drive the substrate stage 13 (substrate 3) with respect to all or part of the Z axis, θX axis, and θY axis. The substrate drive mechanism 23 may be configured by a plurality of drive systems, such as a combination of a coarse drive system and a fine drive system. The position of the substrate stage 11 can be measured, for example, by an encoder system that includes a scale provided on the housing 16 and an optical device provided on the substrate stage 13. The position of the substrate stage 11 may be measured by another measuring device, for example, an interferometer system including a laser interferometer provided in the housing 16 and a reflecting mirror provided in the substrate stage 13.

Dispenser 15 may be configured to dispense imprint material 4 to one or more shot areas of substrate 3 . For example, the dispenser 15 can discharge the imprint material 14 so that the imprint material 14 is placed at a target position on the substrate 3 while the substrate 3 is being scanned and driven by the substrate drive mechanism 23 .

The alignment measurement unit 19 measures the relative position between the mold-side mark 2b placed in the pattern area 2a of the mold 2 and the substrate-side mark 3b placed in the shot area 3a of the substrate 3. Such measurements may be performed for multiple mark pairs. Each mark pair consists of a mold side mark 2b and a substrate side mark 3b.

The control unit CNT controls the mold drive mechanism 7, the substrate drive mechanism 23, the dispenser 15, the alignment measurement unit 19, the curing unit 5, and the substrate heating unit 17. The control unit CNT is, for example, a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated CNT). (abbreviation for ircuit), or a general-purpose computer with a built-in program. or a dedicated computer, or a combination of all or part of these.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the heating section 17. The heating unit 17 forms a temperature distribution in the shot area 3a by irradiating the shot area 3a of the substrate 3 with heating light 17a having an illuminance distribution, thereby correcting the shape of the shot area 3a. Note that in FIG. 2, the mirror 18, half mirror 6, and transparent member 14 in FIG. 1 are omitted. The heating unit 17 may include a light source 61, an optical fiber 62, an optical system 63, a DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device) 64, a projection optical system 65, and an irradiation control unit 66.

The light source 61 generates heating light. The heating light preferably has a wavelength that does not harden the imprint material 4 and is easily absorbed by the substrate 3. The heating light can be, for example, between 400 nm and 2000 nm. The heating light generated by the light source 61 can be incident on the DMD 64 via the optical fiber 62 and the optical system 63. The DMD 64 spatially modulates the light incident thereon to generate heating light 17a. The heating light 17a is irradiated onto the shot area of the substrate 3 via the projection optical system 65. As a result, an illuminance distribution is formed in the shot area of the substrate 3, and the shot area is deformed and its shape is corrected accordingly. Light source 61 may include, for example, a high-power semiconductor laser. The optical system 63 includes, for example, a condensing optical system (not shown) that condenses the light emitted from the light source 61, and a uniform illumination optical system that uniformizes the intensity of the light from the condensing optical system to illuminate the DMD 64. (not shown). The uniform illumination optical system may include, for example, an MLA (Micro Lens Array).

The DMD 64 includes a plurality of micromirrors (not shown) arranged two-dimensionally. For example, the DMD 64 can tilt each micromirror at an angle of −12 degrees (ON state) or +12 degrees (OFF state) with respect to the micromirror array plane according to a command from the irradiation control unit 66. The projection optical system 65 is configured to bring the DMD 64 and the substrate 3 into an optically conjugate positional relationship. The light reflected by the micromirror in the ON state is imaged onto the substrate 3 by the projection optical system 65 as heating light 17a. The light reflected by the micromirror in the OFF state is guided in a direction that does not reach the substrate 3.

The irradiation control unit 66 controls the DMD 64. The heating unit 17 can be supplied with control data for controlling the state (ON state or OFF state) of each micromirror so that a controlled illuminance distribution is formed in the shot area. In the shot area of the substrate 3 irradiated with the heating light 17a, the optical energy of the heating light 17a is converted into thermal energy, and a heat distribution corresponding to the illuminance distribution is formed in the shot area. Thereby, the shot area can be transformed into the target shape.

Returning to FIG. 1, the curing unit 5 generates curing light 5a as curing energy for curing the imprint material 4 on the shot area 3a of the substrate 3, and hardens the imprint material 4 on the shot area 3a. irradiate. An optical element 20 may be placed in the optical path of the curing light 5a. The curing section 5 includes, for example, a light source, a DMD, an aperture, a variable field stop, an imaging optical system, etc., and can control the illuminance distribution and/or the irradiation area. By controlling the illuminance distribution and/or the irradiation area, it is possible to irradiate only a targeted portion of the shot area 3a with the curing light 5a. A mirror 20 is arranged between the optical element 20 and the transparent member 14. The heating light 17a from the heating unit 17 can be irradiated onto the substrate 3 via the mirror 18 and the half mirror 6, for example. The curing light 5a from the curing section 5 can be irradiated onto the imprint material 4 on the substrate 3 via the mirror 20 and the half mirror 6.

FIG. 3A shows an example of the configuration of the shot area 3a of the substrate 3 and an example of the arrangement of the substrate-side marks 3b. FIG. 3(b) shows an example of the configuration of the pattern area 2a of the mold 2 and an example of the arrangement of the mold-side marks 2b. The mold 2 in FIG. 3(b) is used to form a pattern on the shot area 3a of the substrate 3 in FIG. 3(a).

In the example of FIG. 3A, one shot region 3a includes a plurality of chip regions 3c, a scribe line 3d separating the plurality of chip regions 3c from each other, and a plurality of substrate-side marks 3b. The plurality of substrate side marks 3b may be arranged on the scribe line 3d. Each substrate-side mark 3b may be placed at a corner of the shot area 3a. In the example of FIG. 3(b), one pattern region 2a separates a plurality of chip regions 2c from each other so as to match the configuration of the shot region 3a of FIG. 3(a). It has a scribe line 2d and a plurality of mold side marks 2b. The plurality of mold-side marks 2b may be arranged on the scribe line 2d. Each mold-side mark 2b may be placed at a corner of the pattern area 2a.

In the example shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, there are four mark pairs each consisting of a board side mark 3b and a pattern side mark 2b, and the alignment measuring unit 19 determines the board side mark for each of the four mark pairs. 3b and the pattern side mark 2b can be measured. Here, the relative position is measured in the X direction and the Y direction. Through this measurement, the positional deviation in the X direction, the positional deviation in the Y direction, the rotational deviation around the Z axis, the deviation in the magnification component, the deviation in the skew component, and the trapezoidal component between the shot area 3a and the pattern area 2a are detected. Information regarding the deviation can be obtained. Based on this information, the control unit CNT controls the alignment of the substrate drive mechanism 23, mold drive mechanism 7, and heating unit 17 so that the overlay error between the shot area 3a and the pattern area 2a falls within an allowable range. can do. Note that the magnification, skew, and trapezoidal components described above are components for the entire shot area 3a, not for each chip area.

FIG. 4(a) shows an example of a shot region 3a having two regions having different magnitudes of distortion. Here, the two regions having different amounts of strain are the peripheral circuit region 3f and the memory cell array region 3e. In the example of FIG. 4A, the shot area 3a includes a plurality of chip areas 3c, and each chip area 3c is a chip area of a memory product. Since the peripheral circuit region 3f and the memory cell array region 3e have different structures, their rigidities also differ from each other. Therefore, in a series of manufacturing processes, for example, through a process that involves heating such as a film forming process such as sputtering, different magnitudes of strain occur in the peripheral circuit region 3f and the memory cell region 3e. sell.

FIG. 4(b) shows an example of the mold 2 used to form a pattern on the substrate 3 having the shot area 3a of FIG. 4(a). The pattern area 2a of the mold 2 includes a first pattern area 2f having a pattern to be transferred to the peripheral circuit area 3f and a second pattern area 2e having a pattern to be transferred to the memory cell array area 3e.

FIG. 5A shows an example in which the amount of shrinkage (from the target size) of the memory cell array region 3e is larger than the amount of shrinkage (from the target size) of the peripheral circuit region 3f. In other words, in the example of FIG. 5A, the dimensional difference between the peripheral circuit region 3f and the first pattern region 2f is smaller than the dimensional difference between the memory cell array region 3e and the second pattern region 2e. In the example of FIG. 5A, a state is shown in which the memory cell array area 3e has become a memory cell array area 3e' indicated by a dotted line. Note that the magnitude of distortion in the memory cell array region 3e and peripheral circuit region 3f is actually on the order of nm, but is shown exaggerated in FIG. 5(a).

In the example of FIG. 5A, in order to match the shapes of the pattern surface 2a and the shot region 3a, it is necessary to expand the memory cell region 3e in the shot region 3a while suppressing the expansion of the peripheral circuit region 3f. Here, when the heating section 17 irradiates the memory cell region 3e with the heating light 17a, heat is generated in the memory cell region 3e, and the memory cell region 3e expands due to this heat. However, since this heat is transferred to the peripheral circuit region 3f, the peripheral circuit region 3f may also expand.

Therefore, the area outside the memory cell array area 3e, that is, all or part of the peripheral circuit area 3f and the scribe line 3d is irradiated with curing light 5a to harden the imprint material 4 on the peripheral circuit area 3f and the scribe line 3d. A first curing step is performed. Below, the area irradiated with the curing light 5a in the first curing step is defined as a first area, and the area different from the first area among the shot areas is defined as a second area. According to this definition, the pattern area 2a includes a third area having a pattern to be transferred to the first area, and a fourth area having a pattern to be transferred to the second area.

In the first curing step, the imprint material 4 on the peripheral circuit region 3f is cured without expanding the peripheral circuit region 3f, that is, without worsening the overlay error. FIG. 5(b) schematically shows the first curing step. In FIG. 5(b), the shaded area is the first area of the shot area 3a that is irradiated with the curing light 5a in the first curing process. When the shot area 3a includes a plurality of chip areas, the first area includes an area (hereinafter referred to as a first partial area) arranged in each chip area, and the second area also includes an area (hereinafter referred to as a first partial area) arranged in each chip area. (hereinafter referred to as a second partial region). The plurality of first partial regions may be spaced apart from each other. Alternatively, the plurality of second partial regions may be arranged apart from each other. Alternatively, the plurality of first partial regions or the plurality of second partial regions may be arranged apart from each other. The plurality of first partial regions may be arranged periodically. The plurality of second partial regions may be arranged periodically.

In the first curing step, a non-irradiation area to which the curing light 5a is not irradiated may be provided outside the memory cell array area 3e so as to surround the memory cell array area 3e. The non-irradiated area may be a portion of the peripheral circuit area 3f and the scribe line 3d. The first shot area may be a portion of the peripheral circuit area 3f and the scribe line 3d excluding the non-irradiated area.

Thereafter, in order to align shot region 3a and pattern region 2a, memory cell array region 3e is heated by heating unit 17, and memory cell array region 3e can be deformed. At this time, the pattern area 2a may also be deformed by the mold deforming section 10. Thereafter, a second curing step is performed in which the shot area 3a is irradiated with curing light 5a so that the imprint material 4 is cured in the entire shot area 3a. Here, in the second curing step, the curing light 5a may be irradiated at least to a region of the shot region 3a that was not irradiated with the curing light 5a in the first curing step (ie, a second region). However, in the second curing process, the curing light 5a may also be irradiated to the entire or part of the area (i.e., the first area) that was irradiated with the curing light 5a in the first curing process in the shot area 3a.

According to the above method, it is possible to improve the overlay accuracy in the memory cell array area 3e while improving the overlay accuracy in the peripheral circuit area 3f.

Note that all or part of the peripheral circuit region 3f and the scribe line 3d are only an example of the first region, and the memory cell array region 3e is only an example of the second region. The first region and the second region can be arbitrarily defined in the shot region of any product.

FIG. 6 exemplarily shows the operation of the imprint apparatus 1 on one substrate. The processing shown in FIG. 6 is controlled by the control unit CNT. In step S301, the substrate 4 is loaded into the imprint apparatus 1, and the substrate 3 is held by the substrate holding section 12. In step S302, the imprint material 4 is placed by the dispenser 15 on the shot area 3a where a pattern is to be formed by imprint processing. In step S303, the substrate 3 is driven and positioned by the substrate drive mechanism 23 so that the shot area 3a where the imprint material 4 is placed by the dispenser 15 is placed below the mold 2.

In step S304, the mold 2 is driven by the mold drive mechanism 7 so that the imprint material 4 on the shot area 3a of the substrate 3 and the pattern area 2a of the mold 2 are in contact with each other. In step S305, the alignment measurement unit 15 is used to measure the relative positions of the mold side mark 2b and the substrate side mark 3b for the four mark pairs in the shot area 3a, thereby determining the relationship between the shot area 3a and the pattern area 2a. Overlay error is measured. Then, the first alignment is performed so that this overlay error is reduced. In the first alignment, the substrate is aligned so that the positional deviation in the X direction, the positional deviation in the Y direction, the rotational deviation around the Z axis, the deviation in the magnification component, the deviation in the skew component, and the deviation in the trapezoid component are reduced. The drive mechanism 23 and the mold drive mechanism 7 can be controlled. The substrate drive mechanism 23 and the drive mechanism 9 of the mold drive mechanism 7 can be used to reduce the displacement in the X direction, the displacement in the Y direction, and the rotational displacement around the Z axis. Furthermore, the mold deformation mechanism 10 of the mold deformation mechanism 10 can be used to reduce the deviation of the magnification component, the deviation of the skew component, and the deviation of the trapezoid component.

Here, the dimensional relationship among the first region, second region, third region, and fourth region will be explained. In one example, the dimensions of the first region (part of the peripheral circuit region 3f and part of the scribe line 3d) and the third region 2f in a state where the mold 2 is deformed by the mold deformation mechanism 10 in the first alignment. Let the difference be Δ1. Further, the dimensional difference between the second region (memory cell array region 3e and non-irradiated region) and the fourth region in a state in which the mold 2 is deformed by the mold deformation mechanism 10 in the first alignment is Δ2. At this time, Δ1<Δ2 may hold.

In another example, the dimensional difference between the first region and the third region at the time when the mold deformation mechanism 10 starts deforming the mold 2 in the first alignment (in other words, when the mold 2 is not deformed) is set to Δ1. '. Further, the dimensional difference between the second region and the fourth region at the time when the mold deformation mechanism 10 starts deforming the mold 2 in the first alignment is assumed to be Δ2'. At this time, Δ1'<Δ2' may hold.

In step S306, a first curing step is performed. Specifically, in step S306, as illustrated in FIG. 6(b), the control unit CNT controls the imprint material on all or part of the first region, that is, the peripheral circuit region 3f and the scribe line 3d. The curing section 5 is controlled so that the curing portion 4 is cured. The first region may include a region where the substrate-side mark 3b exists, and in this case, the relative positions of the substrate-side mark 3b and the mold-side mark 3b are fixed in the first curing step.

In step S307, second alignment is performed so that the overlay error between shot area 3a and pattern area 2a is reduced. The second alignment may include heating the second region (or memory cell array region 3e) by the heating unit 17. The heating of the memory cell array region 3e by the heating unit 17 deforms the memory cell array region 3e so that the overlay error is reduced by giving a controlled illuminance distribution to the second region (or the memory cell array region 3e). can be made to do so. Here, at the time when the second alignment is started, the second area (or memory cell array area) 3e is smaller than the fourth area (or second pattern area) 2e.

The mold deformation mechanism 10 can also be used in the second alignment. Alternatively, the control unit CNT may operate the mold deformation mechanism 10 in at least one of the first alignment and the second alignment. In the second alignment, the shape of the pattern region 2a may be additionally corrected by adjusting the pressure in the closed space SP.

In the above control example, the control unit CNT does not cause the heating unit 17 to heat the first region in the first alignment. However, the control unit CNT may control the heating unit 17 so that the amount of heat that the heating unit 17 gives to the first region in the first alignment is smaller than the amount of heat that the heating unit 17 gives to the second region in the second alignment.

In step S308, a second curing step is performed. Specifically, in step S308, the control unit CNT controls the curing unit 5 so that the imprint material 4 over the entire shot area 3a is cured. In step S308, in consideration of the amount of irradiation of the curing light 5a to the first region in step S306, the total amount of irradiation of the curing light 5a in the first curing step and the second curing step does not exceed the allowable value. The illuminance distribution or irradiation area in the second curing step can be controlled.

In step S309, the mold 2 is driven by the mold drive mechanism 7 so that the mold 2 is separated from the cured imprint material 4. In step 310, it is determined whether or not pattern formation has been completed for all shot areas in which patterns are to be formed among the plurality of shot areas on the substrate 3. If pattern formation has not been completed, a pattern is formed next. Steps S302 to S309 are performed for the target shot area. On the other hand, if pattern formation for all shot areas in which patterns are to be formed has been completed, the substrate 3 is unloaded from the substrate holder 12 in step S311.

In one example, the illuminance distribution formed in the first region where the imprint material is cured in step S306 (first curing step) and in the shot region by the heating unit 17 in step S307 (second alignment step) is as follows. can be determined. First, a test imprint is performed in which steps S306 and S307 are omitted in the process shown in FIG. and obtain it. Next, in order to correct the overlay error, the optimum illuminance distribution of the first region and the heating light 17a is calculated by numerical simulation or the like.

According to this embodiment, by curing the imprint material 4 on a partial region (first region) of the shot region 3a, a region where the shot region 3a and the pattern region 2a cannot be relatively deformed is defined. be done. Further, an area (second area) other than the partial area (first area) is defined as an area where the shot area 3a and the pattern area 2a can be relatively deformed. Therefore, this embodiment is advantageous for shape correction having a high-order spatial frequency. An example of a case where shape correction having a high-order spatial frequency is required is, for example, a case where a shot region has a plurality of chip regions and the shape of each chip region should be corrected.

The pattern of the cured material formed using the imprint device is used permanently on at least a portion of various articles, or temporarily when manufacturing various articles. The articles include electric circuit elements, optical elements, MEMS, recording elements, sensors, molds, and the like. Examples of the electric circuit element include volatile or nonvolatile semiconductor memories 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 and the like.

The pattern of the cured product can be used as it is as a component of at least a portion of the article, or can be used temporarily as a resist mask. After etching, ion implantation, or the like is performed in a substrate processing step, the resist mask is removed.

Next, an article manufacturing method will be described in which a pattern is formed on a substrate using an imprint apparatus, the substrate on which the pattern is formed is processed, and an article is manufactured from the processed substrate. As shown in FIG. 7(a), a substrate 1z such as a silicon wafer on which a workpiece 2z such as an insulator is formed is prepared, and then ink is applied to the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. Apply printing material 3z. Here, a state in which a plurality of droplet-shaped imprint materials 3z are applied onto a substrate is shown.

As shown in FIG. 7(b), the imprint mold 4z is placed facing the imprint material 3z on the substrate, with the side on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed facing the imprint material 3z on the substrate. As shown in FIG. 7(c), the substrate 1z provided with the imprint material 3z is brought into contact with the mold 4z, and pressure is applied. The imprint material 3z is filled into the gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. In this state, when light is irradiated as energy for curing through the mold 4z, the imprint material 3z is cured.

As shown in FIG. 7D, after the imprint material 3z is cured, when the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, a pattern of the cured imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z. The pattern of this cured product has a shape in which the concave parts of the mold correspond to the convex parts of the cured product, and the convex parts of the mold correspond to the concave parts of the cured product.In other words, the concave and convex pattern of the mold 4z is transferred to the imprint material 3z. It means that it was done.

As shown in FIG. 7(e), when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured material as an etching-resistant mask, parts of the surface of the workpiece 2z where there is no or a thin remaining cured material are removed, forming grooves 5z and Become. As shown in FIG. 7(f), by removing the pattern of the cured material, it is possible to obtain an article in which grooves 5z are formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z. Although the pattern of the cured product is removed here, it may be used as an interlayer insulation film included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a component of an article, without removing it even after processing.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following claims are hereby appended to disclose the scope of the invention.

1: Imprint device, 2: Mold, 3: Substrate, 5: Curing section, 17: Heating section, CNT: Control section

Claims (13)

An imprint apparatus that forms a pattern made of a cured product of the imprint material by bringing an imprint material on a shot region of a substrate into contact with a pattern region of a mold and curing the imprint material, the imprint device comprising:
a heating unit that heats the substrate so that the shot area is deformed;
a curing section that hardens the imprint material above the shot area;
A control unit that controls the heating unit and the curing unit,
The shot area includes a plurality of first areas separated from each other and a plurality of second areas separated from each other, and the pattern area includes a plurality of third areas each having a pattern to be transferred to each of the plurality of first areas. and a plurality of fourth regions each having a pattern to be transferred to each of the plurality of second regions,
The control unit controls the imprint on the plurality of first regions after controlling a first alignment that aligns each of the plurality of first regions and a corresponding third region of the plurality of third regions. The curing section is controlled to harden the material, and after that, the second alignment is controlled to align each of the plurality of second regions with a corresponding fourth region of the plurality of fourth regions, and then the shot is controlling the curing section so that the imprint material over the entire area is cured;
The second alignment includes heating the plurality of second regions by the heating unit,
The dimensional difference between the first region and the third region is smaller than the dimensional difference between the second region and the fourth region.
An imprint device characterized by: The control unit does not cause the heating unit to heat the first region in the first alignment.
The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control unit controls the heating unit such that the amount of heat that the heating unit gives to the first region in the first alignment is smaller than the amount of heat that the heating unit gives to the second region in the second alignment.
The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: further comprising a mold deformation mechanism that deforms the mold,
The control unit operates the mold deformation mechanism in at least one of the first alignment and the second alignment.
The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: further comprising a mold deformation mechanism that deforms the mold,
The control unit operates the mold deformation mechanism in the first alignment and the second alignment.
The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The dimensional difference between the first region and the third region when the mold is deformed by the mold deformation mechanism in the first alignment is the same as the dimensional difference between the first region and the third region when the mold is deformed by the mold deformation mechanism in the first alignment. smaller than the dimensional difference between the second region and the fourth region,
The imprint apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that: The dimensional difference between the first region and the third region at the time when the mold deformation mechanism starts deforming the mold in the first alignment is such that the dimensional difference between the first region and the third region causes the mold deformation mechanism to start deforming the mold in the first alignment. smaller than the dimensional difference between the second region and the fourth region at the time,
The imprint apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that: At the time of starting the second alignment, the second region is smaller than the fourth region,
The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The shot area includes a plurality of chip areas, the first area includes an area arranged in each chip area, and the second area includes an area arranged in each chip area.
The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: An imprint apparatus that forms a pattern made of a cured product of the imprint material by bringing an imprint material on a shot region of a substrate into contact with a pattern region of a mold and curing the imprint material, the imprint device comprising:
a heating unit that heats the substrate so that the shot area is deformed;
a curing section that hardens the imprint material above the shot area;
A control unit that controls the heating unit and the curing unit,
The shot area includes a plurality of chip areas, each chip area includes a first area and a second area, and the pattern area includes a third area having a pattern to be transferred to the first area and the second area. a fourth region having a pattern to be transferred to the region;
The control unit controls the curing unit to cure the imprint material on the first area after controlling a first alignment that aligns the first area and the third area, and then, controlling the curing section so that the imprint material over the entire area of the shot area is cured after controlling a second alignment that aligns the second area and the fourth area;
The second alignment includes heating the second region by the heating unit,
The dimensional difference between the first region and the third region is smaller than the dimensional difference between the second region and the fourth region.
An imprint device characterized by: forming a pattern made of a cured imprint material on a substrate using the imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10;
processing the substrate on which a pattern has been formed in the step;
A method for manufacturing an article, comprising: obtaining an article from the substrate subjected to the processing. An imprint method in which an imprint material on a shot area of a substrate is brought into contact with a pattern area of a mold, and a pattern made of a cured product of the imprint material is formed by curing the imprint material, the imprint method comprising:
The shot area includes a plurality of first areas separated from each other and a plurality of second areas separated from each other, and the pattern area includes a plurality of third areas each having a pattern to be transferred to each of the plurality of first areas. and a plurality of fourth regions each having a pattern to be transferred to each of the plurality of second regions,
The imprint method includes:
a first alignment step of aligning each of the plurality of first regions and a corresponding third region of the plurality of third regions;
After the first alignment step, a first curing step of curing the imprint material on the plurality of first regions;
After the first curing step, a second alignment step of aligning each of the plurality of second regions and a corresponding fourth region among the plurality of fourth regions;
After the second alignment step, a second curing step of curing the imprint material over the entire area of the shot area,
The second alignment step includes deforming the plurality of second regions by heating,
The dimensional difference between the first region and the third region is smaller than the dimensional difference between the second region and the fourth region.
An imprint method characterized by: An imprint method in which an imprint material on a shot area of a substrate is brought into contact with a pattern area of a mold, and a pattern made of a cured product of the imprint material is formed by curing the imprint material, the imprint method comprising:
The shot area includes a plurality of chip areas, each chip area includes a first area and a second area, and the pattern area includes a third area having a pattern to be transferred to the first area and the second area. a fourth region having a pattern to be transferred to the region;
The imprint method includes:
a first alignment step of aligning the first region and the third region;
a first curing step of curing the imprint material on the first region after the first alignment step;
a second alignment step of aligning the second region and the fourth region after the first curing step;
After the second alignment step, a second curing step of curing the imprint material over the entire area of the shot area,
The second alignment step includes heating the second region to deform the second region,
The dimensional difference between the first region and the third region is smaller than the dimensional difference between the second region and the fourth region.
An imprint method characterized by:

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