Cleaning device, cleaning method, imprint device, and article manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a cleaning device that is advantageous for cleaning an original plate used when forming a pattern on a substrate.SOLUTION: A cleaning device that cleans an original plate used when forming a pattern on an imprint material on a substrate includes an irradiation unit that emits plasma to the first side of the original plate, and a heating unit that radiates heat to the second side of the original plate to heat the original plate. The heating unit and the irradiation unit are placed across the original plate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus, a cleaning method, an imprint apparatus, and a method for manufacturing an article. [Background technology]

[0002] As the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices increases, in addition to conventional photolithography technology, attention is being paid to a microfabrication technology in which uncured resin (imprint material) on a substrate is molded with a mold to form a resin pattern on the substrate. This technology, also known as imprint technology, is capable of forming fine structures on the nanometer order on a substrate.

[0003] One example of imprinting technology is the photocuring method. In an imprinting device that employs the photocuring method, first, resin is supplied (applied) to a shot area (imprint area) on a substrate. Next, the uncured resin on the substrate is brought into contact with a mold and irradiated with light to cure the resin, and the mold is then separated from the cured resin to form a pattern on the substrate.

[0004] In an imprinting device, the mold is brought into contact with the resin on the substrate, so some of the hardened resin may remain on the mold. If the imprinting process is performed with some of the hardened resin remaining on the mold, the remaining resin will be transferred as is, causing defects (such as imperfections) in the pattern formed on the substrate. Therefore, the mold needs to be cleaned periodically.

[0005] Several techniques for cleaning such molds have been proposed in the past (see Patent Documents 1 to 3). Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for removing foreign matter by using plasma. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for providing an exposure apparatus with a cleaning device that cleans a member to be cleaned by using plasma. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for removing foreign matter attached to a substrate by using plasma by arranging the centers of an exhaust opening, a heater heat radiation opening, a plasma irradiation opening, and a gas emission opening in a plasma head in a line. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-16434 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2010-93245 A [Patent Document 3] Special Publication No. 2021-506119 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, in the conventional cleaning apparatus described above, the positions of the substrate heating unit and the plasma irradiation unit are different, so when the substrate or the plasma irradiation unit moves while heating the substrate, it takes time for the heated substrate to reach the plasma irradiation unit, resulting in a problem of a drop in temperature in the substrate heating unit.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that is advantageous for cleaning an original used when forming a pattern on a substrate, for example. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a cleaning device as one aspect of the present invention is a cleaning device for cleaning an original plate used when forming a pattern in an imprint material on a substrate, and is characterized in that it comprises an irradiation unit that emits plasma to a first surface side of the original plate, and a heating unit that radiates heat to a second surface side of the original plate to heat the original plate, and the heating unit and the irradiation unit are arranged on either side of the original plate. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, for example, a cleaning device that is advantageous for cleaning an original used when forming a pattern on a substrate can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a cleaning device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the cleaning device of FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a cleaning device according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a cleaning device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an imprint apparatus to which a cleaning device is applied. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing an article. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, the same members or elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. In the following embodiment, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to an original (mold) used in an imprinting apparatus that forms a pattern in an imprint material on a substrate. However, the present invention is not limited to the imprinting apparatus, and may be applied to, for example, a mask (original) used in an exposure apparatus that projects and transfers a pattern onto a substrate. Thus, the original in the present invention includes a mold used in an imprinting apparatus and a mask used in an exposure apparatus.

[0013] <Example 1> Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a cleaning device 100 according to Example 1. The cleaning device 100 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. In addition, in the following figures, the X-axis and Y-axis are taken as mutually orthogonal axes in a plane parallel to the surface of the mold 1, and the Z-axis is taken as a direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis.

[0014] The cleaning apparatus 100 includes a mold stage (not shown), a heating unit 2, a plasma head 4, a driving mechanism 5, and a control unit (not shown).

[0015] The mold (original) 1 is used, for example, in an imprinting apparatus that forms a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate. The mold 1 is held by a mold stage. The mold stage holds the mold 1 by, for example, vacuum suction force or electrostatic force.

[0016] The surface of one side (first surface side) of the mold 1 is provided with a pattern portion 6 in which a concave-convex pattern for shaping the imprint material supplied onto the substrate is formed in a three-dimensional shape. The pattern portion 6 is also called a mesa, and is formed as a convex portion of several tens of μm to several hundreds of μm so that the mold 1 does not come into contact with the substrate other than the pattern portion 6. For this reason, the cured product of the imprint material is likely to remain at the end portion of the pattern portion 6 called the mesa edge, and the cured product of the imprint material may accumulate when the imprint process is repeated.

[0017] In this embodiment, a core-out portion 7 (recessed portion) hollowed out in a cylindrical shape is formed in the center of the other side (second surface side) of the mold 1. The core-out portion 7 is formed in an area corresponding to the concave-convex pattern portion 6. More specifically, the core-out portion 7 is a recessed portion having an area larger than the area of ​​the concave-convex pattern portion 6.

[0018] The heating unit 2 radiates heat to the other side of the mold 1 to heat the mold 1. The heating unit 2 is held by a driving mechanism 5, which will be described later. Since the heating unit 2 is disposed on the pattern portion 6 formed on the first surface side, which is the surface opposite the second surface side of the mold 1 in the Z-axis direction, across the mold 1, the heating unit 2 can efficiently heat the pattern portion 6 of the mold 1 and the surroundings of the pattern portion 6 when heating the mold 1. The heating unit 2 is configured to have a heat radiating unit 3.

[0019] The heat radiating section 3 has a mechanism for radiating heat, and is constituted by, for example, a far-infrared heater, but is not limited thereto and any mechanism or device may be used as long as it is capable of radiating heat. Here, in an imprinting apparatus employing a photocuring method, quartz is used as the material of the mold 1. The mold 1 made of quartz has a transmittance of 90% or more at wavelengths of 0.2 μm to 2 μm. Quartz has low transmittance in the irradiation region of far-infrared rays with wavelengths of 3 μm or more, and is prone to absorbing heat. Since the heat radiating section 3 in this embodiment is constituted by a far-infrared heater, the mold 1 can be heated efficiently.

[0020] The heat radiating section 3 in Example 1 is configured so that the outer periphery of the heat radiating section 3 does not exceed the outer periphery of the heating section 2. That is, the outer periphery of the heat radiating section 3 is configured to be the same size as the outer periphery of the heating section 2 or smaller than the outer periphery of the heating section 2. The outer periphery of the heat radiating section 3 may be any size as long as it does not exceed the outer periphery of the heating section 2, but in order to efficiently heat the entire pattern section 6, it is preferable that it is configured to be the same area as the area of ​​the pattern section 6 or larger than the area of ​​the pattern section 6. The outer peripheries of the heating section 2 and the heat radiating section 3 are configured to be smaller than the inner periphery of the core-out section 7. That is, the heating section 2 and the heat radiating section 3 are configured to be smaller than the recessed shape of the core-out section 7.

[0021] The plasma head 4 is a cleaning unit (cleaning device) that cleans the mold 1 under predetermined cleaning conditions while the mold 1 is held on the mold stage. The plasma head 4 is configured to include a gas flow path 9, a gas emission opening 10, a gas exhaust opening 11, a gas flow path 12, a plasma irradiation unit 13, an electrode 14, and a gas flow path 15.

[0022] The gas flow path 9 is a flow path for discharging an inert gas such as a purge gas to the outside of the plasma head 4. The gas discharge opening 10 functions as a supply port for supplying the purge gas to the vicinity of the plasma irradiation unit 13 when discharging the purge gas to the outside of the plasma head 4. The gas exhaust opening 11 functions as an exhaust port for collecting the discharged purge gas and surrounding gas including a first gas and a second gas described later. The gas flow path 12 is a flow path for the purge gas collected from the gas discharge opening 10.

[0023] The plasma irradiation unit 13 irradiates (emits) the plasma 8. The plasma irradiation unit 13 includes an electrode 14, and a high-frequency voltage is applied to the electrode 14 to generate the plasma 8. The generated plasma 8 is irradiated from the plasma irradiation unit 13 to the outside of the plasma head 4. The electrode 14 may be a parallel plate type structure covered with a dielectric or a torch type with a cylindrical structure, but is not limited thereto, and may have any structure as long as it generates the plasma 8. The gas flow path 15 is a flow path for supplying the first gas for generating the plasma 8 and the second gas containing a reactant to the plasma irradiation unit 13. The first gas and the second gas are collected from the gas exhaust opening 11 through the gas flow path 12. In this embodiment, the plasma head 4 is provided with one plasma irradiation unit 13 for irradiating the plasma 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the plasma head 4 may have a plurality of plasma irradiation units 13.

[0024] The plasma head 4 is disposed so as to face the mold 1. Specifically, the plasma irradiation unit 13 of the plasma head 4 and the pattern unit 6 of the mold 1 are disposed so as to face each other. Therefore, in this embodiment, the heat radiation unit 3 of the heating unit 2 and the plasma irradiation unit 13 of the plasma head 4 are disposed with the mold 1 in between.

[0025] The position of the plasma head 4 and the interval between the plasma head 4 and the pattern section 6 in the Z-axis direction can be set arbitrarily. Here, it is preferable that the plasma head 4 is arranged at a position or interval where the entire area where the pattern of the pattern section 6 is formed can be irradiated when the plasma irradiation section 13 irradiates the plasma 8. It is more preferable that the plasma head 4 is arranged at a position where the plasma 8 can be irradiated to the periphery of the pattern section 6 including the pattern section 6 when the plasma irradiation section 13 irradiates the plasma 8. By setting such an arrangement position, when the plasma 8 is irradiated from the plasma irradiation section 13, the plasma 8 can be appropriately irradiated to the periphery including the end of the pattern section 6, and foreign matter remaining on the pattern section 6 and the end of the pattern section 6 can be cleaned.

[0026] The plasma 8 irradiated from the plasma head 4 is, for example, atmospheric pressure plasma generated at atmospheric pressure using a high frequency power source. By using atmospheric pressure plasma, it is possible to reduce costs. When the plasma 8 is surrounded by the atmosphere, various gas phase reactions occur, causing unevenness in the cleaning of the pattern portion 6. In order to suppress the occurrence of such unevenness, it is desirable to purge the surroundings of the plasma 8 with an inert gas such as a purge gas. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the plasma 8 is irradiated from the plasma irradiation portion 13 of the plasma head 4, a purge gas is emitted from the gas emission opening 10.

[0027] As described above, the purge gas passes through the gas flow passage 9 and is discharged from the gas discharge opening 10. The discharged purge gas flows over the upper surface of the plasma head 4, passes through the plasma irradiation unit 13, and passes through the gas exhaust opening 11 and the gas flow passage 12 to be collected. The purge gas, first gas, second gas, and other gases may be collected and treated using a removal device (collection device) (not shown).

[0028] The driving mechanism (first driving unit) 5 moves the heating unit 2 while holding it. In this embodiment, the driving mechanism 5 is configured to be able to move the heating unit 2 in the Z-axis direction relative to the mold 1, and can drive the lower surface of the heat emitting unit 3 (the surface facing the bottom surface of the core-out unit 7) so that the lower surface of the heat emitting unit 3 approaches the bottom surface of the core-out unit 7. Note that the driving mechanism 5 is not limited to being driven in the Z-axis direction, and may be configured to be able to drive in the X-axis direction or Y-axis direction as well.

[0029] The control unit (not shown) is configured as at least one computer including a CPU and a memory (storage unit), and is connected to each component of the cleaning device 100 via a line. The control unit also performs overall control of the operation adjustment of each component of the cleaning device 100 as a whole according to a program stored in the memory. The control unit may be configured integrally with other parts of the cleaning device 100 (in a common housing). Furthermore, the control unit may be configured separately from other parts of the cleaning device 100 (in a different housing), or may be installed in a location separate from the cleaning device 100 and controlled remotely.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a schematic top view of the cleaning device 100 shown in Fig. 1. The heating unit 2 is disposed approximately at the center of the core-out portion 7 of the mold 1. That is, the heating unit 2 is disposed in the cleaning device 100 while being held by the driving mechanism 5 so that the approximate center position of the heating unit 2 and the approximate center position of the core-out portion 7 coincide in the Z-axis direction. Note that the cleaning device 100 in this embodiment may be provided with a measuring device (not shown) for measuring the position and shape of the mold 1 and the core-out portion 7.

[0031] Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning process according to the embodiment 1. The cleaning process of the cleaning device 100 in the embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to Fig. 3. Each operation (process) shown in the flowchart in Fig. 3 is controlled by a control unit executing a computer program.

[0032] First, in step S101, the control unit controls a transport mechanism (not shown) to transport the mold 1 into the cleaning device 100 and mount it on the mold stage (transport step). When the mold 1 is mounted on the mold stage, the control unit causes the driving mechanism 5 to raise the heating unit 2 in the Z-axis direction and retract it so as not to come into contact with the mold 1.

[0033] Next, in step S102, the control unit controls the drive mechanism 5 after the mold 1 is mounted on the mold stage, and lowers the heating unit 2 in the Z-axis direction from the position where it was retracted in step S101 (movement step). During this lowering, the control unit arranges the heat emitting unit 3 of the heating unit 2 so as to be in a position close to the bottom surface of the core-out unit 7. Here, when arranging the heat emitting unit 3 in a position close to the bottom surface of the core-out unit 7, the control unit can determine the distance (spacing) in the Z-axis direction between the lower surface of the heat emitting unit 3 and the bottom surface of the core-out unit 7 by controlling the drive mechanism 5. The distance (spacing) in the Z-axis direction between the lower surface of the heat emitting unit 3 and the bottom surface of the core-out unit 7 can be any value, but is preferably between 0.1 mm and 2 mm. The size of the heat emitting unit 3 is preferably configured to be the same as the area of ​​the pattern unit 6 or larger than the area of ​​the pattern unit 6.

[0034] Next, in step S103, the control unit controls the heating unit 2 to radiate heat from the heat radiating unit 3 of the heating unit 2 to the mold 1 to heat the mold 1 (heating step). Here, in step S102, the lower surface of the heat radiating unit 3 is disposed in a position close to the bottom surface of the core-out portion 7. Therefore, when the mold 1 is heated, the pattern portion 6 and the periphery of the pattern portion 6 provided on the opposite side in the Z-axis direction of the bottom surface of the core-out portion 7 can be efficiently heated.

[0035] Next, in step S104, the control unit controls the plasma head 4 to irradiate the pattern portion 6 and the periphery of the pattern portion 6 with plasma 8, thereby cleaning the mold 1 (cleaning step). Here, the radicals generated in the plasma 8 irradiated from the plasma head 4 of the cleaning device 100 in Example 1 can increase the rate of chemical reaction by increasing the temperature of the pattern portion 6. In this example, in step S103, the mold 1 is heated at a position close to the bottom surface of the core-out portion 7 on the opposite side in the Z-axis direction to the pattern portion 6 of the mold 1. Therefore, since the temperature of the pattern portion 6 is efficiently increased, the rate of chemical reaction is increased as described above, and the cleaning efficiency of the pattern portion 6 can be increased.

[0036] Here, it is desirable to keep the temperature of the pattern section 6 high in order to prevent particles contained in the gas generated by the chemical reaction of the plasma 8 from re-adhering to the pattern section 6. For this reason, it is preferable that the heating section 2 continues to heat the mold 1 until cleaning of the mold 1 in step S104 is completed, and it is preferable that step S103 ends at the same time as or in conjunction with the end of step S104. However, this is not limited to the above, and heating of the mold 1 may be ended before the end of step S104 or before or simultaneously with the start of step S104.

[0037] By carrying out the processes in steps S101 to S104 described above, foreign matter such as the cured product of the imprint material adhering to the pattern portion 6 of the mold 1 and the ends of the pattern portion 6 and the like can be properly cleaned.

[0038] As described above, according to the cleaning apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, it is possible to irradiate the pattern portion 6 with plasma 8 while maintaining the temperature of the pattern portion 6 at a high temperature, thereby making it possible to efficiently remove foreign matter such as imprint material deposited on the mold 1.

[0039] <Example 2> Next, a cleaning device 100 in Example 2 will be described. Note that matters not mentioned in Example 2 follow those in Example 1. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the cleaning device 100 according to Example 2.

[0040] In the cleaning device 100 of this embodiment, the mold stage 21 and the plasma head 4 are each configured to have a driving mechanism (not shown). The driving mechanism (third driving unit) of the mold stage 21 is configured to be able to move the mold 1 in each axial direction relative to the plasma head 4. The driving mechanism (second driving unit) of the plasma head 4 is configured to be able to move the plasma head 4 in each axial direction relative to the mold 1. Note that the device configuration other than these configurations is the same as in Example 1, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0041] In cases where the area of ​​the mold 1 irradiated with the plasma 8 is narrow relative to the area of ​​the pattern portion 6, the entire pattern portion 6 can be cleaned by moving the mold stage 21 holding the mold 1 or the plasma head 4 on the XY plane.

[0042] Furthermore, the cleaning device 100 in this embodiment may have a detection mechanism (not shown) that detects the degree of contamination of the pattern unit 6 due to the adhesion of foreign matter. In this case, the detection mechanism may detect the degree of contamination of the pattern unit 6 due to the adhesion of foreign matter, and drive the mold stage 21 or the plasma head 4 by changing the moving speed or moving range according to the detected degree of contamination. The movement on the XY plane may be one-axis movement or two-axis movement. Furthermore, depending on the degree of contamination detected by the detection mechanism, cleaning may be performed only on the parts of the pattern unit 6 where foreign matter has adhered, thereby shortening the cleaning time.

[0043] The heating unit 2 held by the driving mechanism 5 may be driven in the Z-axis direction in accordance with the driving of the mold stage 21 so as not to come into contact with the side surface of the core-out unit 7. Alternatively, the driving mechanism 5 may move within the XY plane in accordance with the movement of the mold stage 21. Furthermore, the mold stage 21 and the plasma head 4 may move relatively within the XY plane to perform cleaning of the entire pattern unit 6.

[0044] As described above, according to the cleaning apparatus 100 of the second embodiment, even when the irradiation range of the plasma 8 is narrow relative to the pattern portion 6, foreign matter such as the imprint material deposited on the mold 1 can be efficiently removed. <Example 3> Next, a cleaning device 100 in Example 3 will be described. Note that matters not mentioned in Example 3 follow those in Examples 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the cleaning device 100 according to Example 3.

[0045] The cleaning device 100 of the third embodiment is configured to include a heating mechanism 31 for heating the purge gas in the gas flow path 9 for the purge gas in the plasma head 4. Also, the gas flow path 15 for generating the plasma 8 in the plasma head 4 is configured to include a heating mechanism 32 for heating the gas for generating the plasma 8. Note that the device configuration other than these configurations is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0046] Either one of the heating mechanism 31 and the heating mechanism 32 or both may be provided. By heating either the purge gas or the gas for generating plasma, or both, with this heating mechanism, the rate of chemical reaction of radicals generated in the plasma 8 can be increased, and the cleaning efficiency of the pattern unit 6 can be improved.

[0047] In this embodiment, the heating mechanisms 31 and 32 are disposed in the plasma head 4, but they may be provided in a supply path connected to the plasma head 4. Also, they may be provided both in the supply path and in the plasma head 4.

[0048] As described above, according to the cleaning apparatus 100 of the third embodiment, the reaction rate of the radicals generated in the plasma 8 can be increased, and foreign matter such as the imprint material deposited on the mold 1 can be efficiently removed.

[0049] <Example 4> Next, a cleaning apparatus 100 in a fourth embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the cleaning apparatus 100 is provided inside an imprint apparatus 200. In this embodiment, as an example, an example in which the present invention is applied to an imprint apparatus will be described, but the present invention can also be applied to a lithography apparatus such as an exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate or a drawing apparatus.

[0050] 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an imprint apparatus 200 to which the cleaning apparatus 100 is applied. The imprint apparatus 200 is an apparatus that forms a pattern of the imprint material on the substrate 202 to be processed by transferring a pattern of the mold 1 to the imprint material on the substrate 202 by imprint processing. The imprint apparatus 200 is used in the manufacture of devices such as semiconductor devices. Note that in this embodiment, the imprint apparatus employs a photocuring method.

[0051] The imprinting process (imprinting step) refers to a series of steps: bringing the pattern portion 6 of the mold 1 into contact with the imprinting material (contacting step), hardening the imprinting material after the contact (hardening step), and then detaching the mold 1 from the imprinting material after hardening (mold releasing step). This imprinting process is performed for each imprinting region (pattern forming region) on the substrate 202 where a pattern is to be formed.

[0052] The substrate 202 is, for example, a single crystal silicon substrate or an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrate, and the surface to be processed is coated with an imprint material that is patterned by the pattern portion 6 formed on the mold 1. The substrate 202 may also be any of various substrates such as a gallium arsenide wafer, a composite adhesive wafer, a glass wafer containing quartz as a material, a liquid crystal panel substrate, a reticle, etc. The outer shape may also be not only circular but also rectangular, etc.

[0053] The imprint material is a curable composition (sometimes called uncured resin) that is cured by applying curing energy. Electromagnetic waves, heat, etc. are used as the curing energy. The electromagnetic waves are, for example, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, etc., whose wavelengths are selected from the range of 150 nm to 1 mm. The viscosity of the imprint material (viscosity at 25° C.) is, for example, 1 mPa·s to 100 mPa·s. The application amount (supply amount) of the imprint material can be adjusted in the range of 0.1 to 10 pL / drop, and may usually be used at about 1 pL / drop. The total application amount of the imprint material is determined by the density of the pattern portion 6 and the desired remaining film thickness.

[0054] The curable composition is a composition that is cured by irradiation with light or by heating. Among them, the photocurable composition that is cured by light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent as necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of sensitizers, hydrogen donors, internal mold release agents, surfactants, antioxidants, and polymer components. When using a photocurable composition (photocurable resin), it is cured using a photocuring method, and when using a thermosetting composition (thermosetting resin), which is a composition that is cured by heating, it is cured using a thermosetting method.

[0055] The imprint apparatus 200 of this embodiment includes a mold holding unit 201, a substrate stage 203, a transport unit 204, a recovery unit 205, and a cleaning apparatus 100. In addition, although not shown, the imprint apparatus 200 may also include a control unit, an irradiation unit, a coating unit, and an alignment measurement unit.

[0056] The mold holding unit 201 has a drive mechanism for moving the mold 1 while holding it. The mold holding unit 201 can hold the mold 1 by attracting the outer peripheral area of ​​the surface of the mold 1 irradiated with the irradiation light by vacuum suction force or electrostatic force. The mold holding unit 201 moves the mold 1 in each axial direction so as to selectively press or separate the mold 1 from the imprint material on the substrate 202. In addition, in order to accommodate high-precision positioning of the mold 1, the mold holding unit 201 may be composed of multiple drive systems such as a coarse movement drive system and a fine movement drive system. Furthermore, the mold holding unit 201 may have a configuration having a position adjustment function not only in the Z-axis direction but also in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, or the θ direction of each axis, and a tilt function for correcting the inclination of the mold 1.

[0057] The substrate stage 203 has a stage driving mechanism that can move in each axis direction. The substrate stage 203 holds the substrate 202, and aligns the mold 1 with the imprint region on the substrate 202 when the mold 1 is pressed against the imprint region on the substrate 202. The alignment is performed by measuring a mark (alignment make) on the mold 1 and a mark on the substrate 202 by an alignment measurement unit (not shown), and moving the substrate stage 203 by a stage driving mechanism based on the measurement result. The stage driving mechanism may be composed of a plurality of driving systems, such as a coarse driving system and a fine driving system, for each of the X-axis and Y-axis directions. The stage driving mechanism may further include a driving system for adjusting the position in the Z-axis direction, a position adjustment function for the substrate 202 in the θ direction, or a tilt function for correcting the inclination of the substrate 202.

[0058] The transport unit 204 transports the mold 1 after cleaning from the cleaning apparatus 100 to a storage location or the mold holding unit 201 in the imprint apparatus 200. The transport unit 204 may also transport the mold 1 from outside the imprint apparatus 200 into the imprint apparatus 200.

[0059] The recovery unit 205 recovers gas (air) generated when the cleaning apparatus 100 cleans the mold 1, in particular gas that is an impediment to the imprint process. However, in cases where no gas that is an impediment to the imprint process is generated or where the cleaning apparatus 100 is used in a form independent of the imprint apparatus 200, the recovery unit 205 does not need to be disposed inside the imprint apparatus 200. In this case, the recovery unit 205 is disposed, for example, outside the imprint apparatus 200.

[0060] The control unit includes a CPU, a memory (storage unit), and the like, and is configured by at least one computer, and is connected via lines to each component of the imprint apparatus 200. The control unit also performs overall control of the operation and adjustment of each component of the entire imprint apparatus 200 in accordance with a program stored in the memory. The control unit may be configured integrally with other parts of the imprint apparatus 200 (in a common housing), or may be configured separately from other parts of the imprint apparatus 200 (in a different housing), or may be installed in a location separate from the imprint apparatus 200 and controlled remotely.

[0061] The irradiation unit (illumination unit) may include an irradiation optical system including optical elements such as a light source and a reflection unit. The light source can irradiate irradiation light with a wavelength that hardens the imprint material. The irradiation light irradiated from the light source is irradiated to the imprint material on the substrate 202 through the mold 1. The irradiation light may be, for example, ultraviolet light. The optical elements described above are not limited to the reflection unit, and may include a light source and an optical element such as a lens or a light shielding plate for adjusting the irradiation light from the light source to an appropriate irradiation light state for the imprint process, such as the light intensity distribution and the illumination area. The irradiation unit may be installed inside the imprint apparatus 200, but is not limited thereto and may be installed outside the imprint apparatus 200.

[0062] The applicator (supply unit) can be installed in the vicinity of the mold holding unit 201. The applicator applies the imprint material as droplets to at least one imprint region present on the substrate 202. The application of the imprint material, as well as the application position, application amount, etc. are controlled based on operation commands from the control unit. The applicator may be installed inside the imprint apparatus 200, but is not limited to this and may also be installed outside the imprint apparatus 200.

[0063] The configuration of the cleaning apparatus 100 is similar to that of the above-mentioned first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, after the mold 1 is cleaned using the cleaning apparatus 100, the above-mentioned imprint process is performed to form a pattern in the imprint material on the substrate 202. Note that the configuration of the cleaning apparatus 100 in this embodiment is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment, and may be the configuration of the second embodiment or the third embodiment, or may be a combination of the configurations of the first to third embodiments. Furthermore, if a plurality of molds 1 can be stored in the imprint apparatus 200, imprint processes may be performed using other molds in parallel with the cleaning of the mold.

[0064] As described above, in the fourth embodiment, by providing the cleaning apparatus 100 inside the imprint apparatus 200, the transport distance of the mold 1 is shortened, and therefore the cleaning process time can be shortened.

[0065] <Example of article manufacturing method> The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment is suitable for manufacturing an article such as a microdevice such as a semiconductor device or an element having a fine structure. The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment includes a step of forming a pattern on a composition applied to a substrate using the imprinting apparatus 200 (a step of processing the substrate) and a step of processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in the step. Furthermore, the manufacturing method includes other well-known steps (oxidation, film formation, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, composition peeling, dicing, bonding, packaging, etc.). The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment is advantageous in at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of the article compared to conventional methods. In addition, in the method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment, a cleaning step of cleaning the mold (original) using the cleaning apparatus 100 is performed before the step of forming a pattern using the imprinting apparatus 200.

[0066] The pattern of the cured material formed using the imprint apparatus 200 is used permanently on at least a part of various articles, or temporarily when manufacturing various articles. The articles include electric circuit elements, optical elements, MEMS, recording elements, sensors, molds, etc. Examples of electric circuit elements include volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memories such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, and MRAM, and semiconductor elements such as LSI, CCD, image sensors, and FPGAs. Examples of molds include molds for substrate processing such as imprinting.

[0067] The pattern of the cured product may be used as it is as at least a part of a component of the article, or may be used temporarily as a composition mask, which is removed after etching or ion implantation is performed in a substrate processing step.

[0068] Next, a specific method for manufacturing an article will be described with reference to Fig. 7. As shown in Fig. 7(A), a substrate 1z such as a silicon substrate having a workpiece 2z such as an insulator formed on its surface is prepared, and then a composition 3z is applied to the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. Here, a state in which the composition 3z in the form of multiple droplets is applied onto the substrate 1z is shown.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 7(B), the mold 4z is placed so that the side on which the concave-convex pattern is formed faces the composition 3z on the substrate 1z. As shown in FIG. 7(C), the substrate 1z to which the composition 3z is applied is brought into contact with the mold 4z, and pressure is applied (contact step). The composition 3z fills the gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. In this state, when light is irradiated through the mold 4z as energy for curing, the composition 3z is cured (curing step). At this time, in this embodiment, it is possible to irradiate the composition with light at an irradiation amount that results in an optimal degree of photopolymerization based on the spectral sensitivity characteristics acquired within the device.

[0070] As shown in Fig. 7(D), after the composition 3z is cured, the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, and a pattern of the cured product of the composition 3z is formed on the substrate 1z (pattern formation step, molding step). In this cured product pattern, the concave portions of the mold 4z correspond to the convex portions of the cured product, and the convex portions of the mold 4z correspond to the concave portions of the cured product, that is, the concave-convex pattern of the mold 4z is transferred to the composition 3z.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 7(E), when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured material as an etching-resistant mask, the portion of the surface of the workpiece 2z where there is no cured material or where only a thin portion remains is removed, forming a groove 5z. As shown in FIG. 7(F), when the pattern of the cured material is removed, an article having grooves 5z formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z can be obtained. Here, the pattern of the cured material is removed, but it may be used as an interlayer insulating film included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, a component of an article, without being removed after processing. Note that, although an example of using a mold for transferring a circuit pattern provided with a concave-convex pattern as the mold 4z has been described, it may also be a flat template having a flat portion without a concave-convex pattern.

[0072] Although the 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 present invention. In addition, the above-described embodiments may be combined to carry out the present invention.

[0073] Furthermore, a computer program for implementing all or part of the control in each of the above-described embodiments may be supplied to the cleaning apparatus 100, the imprinting apparatus 200, etc. via a network or various storage media. Then, a computer (or a CPU, MPU, etc.) in the cleaning apparatus 100, the imprinting apparatus 200, etc. may read and execute the program. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1 Mold 2 Heating section 3. Heat radiation section 4. Plasma Head 5. Driving mechanism 6 Pattern section 7 Core-out section 8. Plasma 13 Plasma irradiation unit 100 Cleaning device

Claims

1. 1. A cleaning device for cleaning an original used when forming a pattern on an imprint material on a substrate, comprising: an irradiation unit that emits plasma toward the first surface side of the master; a heating unit that radiates heat to a second surface side of the original opposite to the first surface side, thereby heating the original, A cleaning device characterized in that the heating unit and the irradiation unit are arranged with the master plate sandwiched therebetween.

2. the master has a pattern portion for forming the pattern in the imprint material, The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the pattern portion is formed on the first surface side of the original.

3. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the area of ​​the heating portion is equal to or larger than the area of ​​the pattern portion of the original.

4. the master has a recessed portion, 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the recessed portion is formed on the second surface side of the original.

5. 5. The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the outer periphery of the heating portion is smaller than the inner periphery of the recessed portion.

6. 5. The cleaning device according to claim 4, further comprising a first drive unit for moving the heating unit relative to the original.

7. a control unit that controls the first drive unit, 7. The cleaning device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the first driving unit so that a predetermined distance is maintained between a surface of the heating unit that radiates the heat and a bottom surface of the recessed portion.

8. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a second drive unit that moves the irradiation unit relative to the original.

9. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a third drive unit for moving the original plate relative to the irradiation unit.

10. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit heats the original with far infrared rays.

11. 2. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a supply port for supplying a purge gas to the vicinity of the irradiation unit, and an exhaust port for exhausting a surrounding gas containing the purge gas.

12. 12. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a heating mechanism for heating at least one of the first gas for generating the plasma, the second gas containing a reactant, and the purge gas.

13. 1. A cleaning method for cleaning an original used when forming a pattern in an imprint material on a substrate, comprising: a cleaning step of cleaning the original plate by an irradiation unit that emits plasma to a first surface side of the original plate; A cleaning method characterized in that, in the cleaning step, heat is radiated to a second surface side of the original plate opposite to the first surface side by a heating unit arranged between the irradiation unit and the original plate.

14. After cleaning the master using the cleaning device according to claim 1, The pattern is formed in the imprint material on the substrate using the master. An imprinting apparatus comprising:

15. a pattern forming step of forming the pattern on the substrate using the imprint apparatus according to claim 14; a processing step of processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in the pattern forming step; manufacturing an article from the substrate processed in the processing step; A method for manufacturing an article, comprising:

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