Imprint method, imprint device, and article manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a technique advantageous for maintaining uniformity of residual film thickness by quickly filling a concave part of a pattern with an imprint material.SOLUTION: An imprint device hardens an imprint material to form a pattern on a shot region by radiating light to the imprint material via a die under a condition that the imprint material on the shot region of a substrate is in contact with the die. The imprint device has a radiation part for at least partially radiating light in a pattern region of the die, and a control part. The control part determines a partial region of the pattern region including a boundary of a first region including one or more concave parts having depth exceeding a predetermined value and a second region next to the first region, not including the concave part having depth exceeding the predetermined value based on uneven information of the pattern region, so as to make an amount for radiating light to the partial region by the radiation part larger than that in a region other than the partial region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] As the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices and MEMS advances, imprinting technology, which promises high resolution at low cost, is attracting attention. Imprinting technology is a technology in which a mold on which a concave-convex pattern is formed is pressed against an imprinting material on a substrate to transfer the pattern. In imprinting technology, a layer of imprinting material called a residual film remains between the substrate and the mold along with the concave-convex pattern. The residual film is unnecessary in the etching process after the pattern formation, so it is necessary to remove the residual film. Here, if the residual film thickness is non-uniform, there is a possibility that the pattern shape formed with the imprinting material will be destroyed when the residual film is removed. In particular, if the concave-convex pattern configuration of the mold is distributed within the mold surface, the residual film thickness is likely to be non-uniform at the boundary.

[0003] In response to this, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for determining an optimal imprint material placement pattern for boundary portions including a portion of each region in order to make the residual film thickness uniform at the boundaries between regions having different pattern configurations within the surface of a mold. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-195242 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, if the mold pattern includes deep recesses, it takes time to fill the recesses with the imprint material. As a result, the imprint material may flow to the surrounding area before filling the recesses. In that case, the residual film may become thick around the recesses, and the recesses may become unfilled due to a lack of imprint material. With conventional techniques, it is difficult to prevent the imprint material from flowing before filling the recesses.

[0006] The present invention provides an advantageous technique for accelerating the filling of the imprint material into recesses of a pattern and maintaining uniformity in the remaining film thickness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imprinting apparatus that forms a pattern on a shot area of ​​a substrate by irradiating the imprinting material with light through a mold while the imprinting material is in contact with the mold, thereby hardening the imprinting material, the imprinting apparatus having an irradiation unit that irradiates light at least partially onto a pattern area of ​​the mold, and a control unit, wherein the control unit determines a partial area of ​​the pattern area including a boundary between a first area including one or more recesses having a depth exceeding a predetermined value and a second area adjacent to the first area and not including a recess having a depth exceeding the predetermined value based on unevenness information of the pattern area, and causes the irradiation unit to irradiate the partial area with more light than areas other than the partial area. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an advantageous technique for accelerating the filling of the imprint material into the recesses of a pattern and maintaining the uniformity of the remaining film thickness. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an imprint apparatus. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a second irradiating unit. [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart of an imprint process. [Figure 4] Schematic diagram showing the force applied to the imprint material in the contact process. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flow chart of a viscosity increasing process. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an irradiation position in a viscosity increasing process. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart of a process for determining an irradiation position. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a method for manufacturing an article. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0011] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an imprinting apparatus 1 in an embodiment. In this specification and the drawings, directions are indicated in an XYZ coordinate system with the horizontal plane as the XY plane. In general, a substrate 10 is placed on a substrate holder 4 so that its surface is parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane). Therefore, in the following, directions perpendicular to each other in a plane along the substrate holding surface of the substrate holder 4 are referred to as the X-axis and Y-axis, and a direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis is referred to as the Z-axis. In the following, directions parallel to the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis in the XYZ coordinate system are referred to as the X-direction, Y-direction, and Z-direction, respectively, and the rotation direction around the X-axis, the rotation direction around the Y-axis, and the rotation direction around the Z-axis are referred to as the θX-direction, the θY-direction, and the θZ-direction, respectively.

[0012] First, an overview of an imprinting apparatus according to an embodiment will be described. The imprinting apparatus is an apparatus that brings an imprinting material supplied onto a substrate into contact with a mold and applies energy for curing to the imprinting material, thereby forming a pattern of a cured material to which the concave-convex pattern of the mold has been transferred.

[0013] As the imprint material, a curable composition (sometimes called an uncured resin) that is cured by applying energy for curing is used. As the energy for curing, electromagnetic waves, heat, etc. can be used. The electromagnetic waves can be, for example, light having a wavelength selected from the range of 10 nm to 1 mm, such as infrared rays, visible light, and ultraviolet rays. The curable composition can 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 consisting of a sensitizer, a hydrogen donor, an internal mold release agent, a surfactant, an antioxidant, and a polymer component. The imprint material can be arranged on the substrate in the form of droplets, or in the form of islands or films formed by connecting a plurality of droplets, by an imprint material supply device (supply unit 5 in FIG. 1). The viscosity of the imprint material (at 25° C.) may be, for example, 1 mPa·s or more and 100 mPa·s or less. Examples of materials that may be used for the substrate include glass, ceramics, metals, semiconductors, and resins. If necessary, a member made of a material different from that of the substrate may be provided on the surface of the substrate. The substrate may be, for example, a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, or quartz glass.

[0014] The imprint apparatus 1 may have a mold holding section 3 (imprint head) that holds and moves a mold 8, a substrate holding section 4 (stage) that holds and moves a substrate 10, and a supply section 5 (dispenser) that supplies an imprint material onto the substrate. The imprint apparatus 1 may also have an imaging section 6 that irradiates light 35 to capture an image of a contact state between the mold 8 and the imprint material 14 on the substrate 10, and a control section 7 that controls the entire imprint apparatus 1. The imprint apparatus 1 may also have a detection section 12 that detects marks (alignment marks) formed on the mold 8 and the substrate 10. In this embodiment, the imprint material 14 is an ultraviolet-curable imprint material. Therefore, the imprint apparatus 1 forms a pattern on the shot area by curing the imprint material 14 by irradiating the imprint material 14 with light through the mold 8 while the imprint material 14 on the shot area of ​​the substrate 10 is in contact with the mold 8. The imprint apparatus includes an irradiation section 30 that irradiates light at least partially onto a pattern area 8a of the mold 8. In the example of Figure 1, the irradiation section 30 may include a first irradiation section 2 that irradiates light 9 (e.g., ultraviolet light) onto the entire surface of the pattern area 8a of the mold 8, and a second irradiation section 60 that irradiates light onto only a partial area of ​​the pattern area 8a of the mold 8.

[0015] The substrate holding unit 4 includes a substrate chuck 16 that holds the substrate 10, and a substrate moving unit 17 that moves the substrate chuck 16 (i.e., the substrate 10) along at least two axes, the X direction and the Y direction, in an XYZ coordinate system. The substrate moving unit 17 includes, for example, an actuator. The position of the substrate holding unit 4 is determined using a mirror 18 and an interferometer 19 provided on the substrate holding unit 4. However, instead of the mirror 18 and the interferometer 19, the position of the substrate holding unit 4 may be determined using an encoder.

[0016] The mold holding unit 3 includes a mold chuck 11 that holds the mold 8, and a mold moving unit 38 that moves the mold chuck 11 (i.e., the mold 8) about at least one axis in the Z direction (up and down direction). The mold moving unit 38 includes, for example, an actuator. The mold moving unit 38 can bring the pattern area 8a of the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate by moving the mold chuck 11 downward (-Z direction). When the mold 8 (pattern area 8a) and the imprint material 14 on the substrate come into contact with each other, the control unit 7 controls the force (imprinting force) applied to the mold 8 and the imprint material 14 on the substrate to be constant.

[0017] With the mold 8 (pattern region 8a) and the imprint material 14 on the substrate in contact with each other, the first irradiating unit 2 irradiates light 9 to harden the imprint material 14 on the substrate. After hardening of the imprint material 14 is completed, the mold chuck 11 is moved upward (in the +Z direction) by the mold moving unit 38, whereby the mold 8 is separated from the hardened imprint material 14 on the substrate (demolding).

[0018] In this embodiment, the mold moving part 38 functions as a moving part that moves the mold 8 and the substrate 10 relatively to bring the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate, but is not limited thereto. For example, the substrate chuck 16 may be moved upward (in the -Z direction) by the substrate moving part 17 to bring the pattern area 8a of the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate. Also, the mold chuck 11 may be moved downward by the mold moving part 38, and the substrate chuck 16 may be moved upward by the substrate moving part 17 to bring the pattern area 8a of the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate. In this way, at least one of the substrate moving part 17 and the mold moving part 38 may function as a moving part that moves the mold 8 and the substrate 10 relatively to bring the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate.

[0019] The mold holding unit 3 that holds the mold 8 includes a posture adjustment unit that adjusts the inclination of the mold 8, and similarly, the substrate holding unit 4 that holds the substrate 10 may include a posture adjustment unit that adjusts the inclination of the substrate 10. By correcting the relative inclination between the mold 8 and the substrate 10 using these posture adjustment units, the mold 8 and the substrate 10 can be made parallel to each other. The relative inclination between the mold 8 and the substrate 10 may be corrected by either the mold holding unit 3 or the substrate holding unit 4, or may be corrected by both the mold holding unit 3 and the substrate holding unit 4.

[0020] The mold holding part 3 is provided with a recess for forming a space 13 defined by the partition plate 41 and the mold 8. By adjusting the pressure in the space 13, it is possible to deform (the pattern region 8a of) the mold 8 when the mold 8 is brought into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate or when the mold 8 is separated from the hardened imprint material 14 on the substrate. For example, when the mold 8 is brought into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate, it is possible to bring the pattern region 8a of the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate in a state in which the mold 8 is deformed into a convex shape relative to the substrate 10 by increasing the pressure in the space 13.

[0021] The detection unit 12 detects the mark formed on the mold 8 and the mark formed on the substrate 10. The relative positions (positional deviation) between the mold 8 and the substrate 10 are obtained from the detection result of the detection unit 12, and the mold 8 and the substrate 10 can be aligned by moving at least one of the mold 8 and the substrate 10.

[0022] The second irradiation unit 60 is for irradiating the substrate with irradiation light 50. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the second irradiation unit 60. The second irradiation unit 60 may include a light source 51, a light modulation element 53, and optical elements 54a and 54b. The light source 51 emits light 50 having a wavelength at which the imprint material 14 undergoes a polymerization reaction. The light source 51 is a light source that can obtain an output required for polymerizing the imprint material 14 to a predetermined viscosity. The light source 51 is composed of, for example, a lamp, a laser diode, an LED, etc. The light from the light source 51 is guided to the light modulation element 53 (spatial light modulation element) via the optical element 54a. The light modulation element 53 may be composed of, for example, a digital micromirror device (DMD). However, the light modulation element 53 is not limited to a DMD, and may be composed of other elements such as an LCD device or an LCOS device. By disposing the light modulation element 53 between the light source 51 and the substrate 10, it is possible to control the irradiation area to any position and also control the intensity of the light 50 to any intensity. The light 50, the irradiation area and light intensity of which have been controlled by the light modulation element 53, is irradiated (projected) onto a desired area of ​​the mold 8 via the optical element 54b, and the magnification is adjusted. The adjusted light 50 is irradiated onto the imprint material 14 on the substrate 10. This causes a polymerization reaction in the imprint material 14, increasing the viscosity to a predetermined level.

[0023] The control unit 7 can be configured as an information processing device (computer) including a CPU, a memory, etc. The control unit comprehensively controls each unit of the imprint apparatus 1 in accordance with a program stored in the memory. The control unit 7 controls the imprint process for forming a pattern in each shot area on the substrate and related processes. The control unit 7 may be provided inside or outside the imprint apparatus 1.

[0024] The operation of the imprint apparatus 1 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a series of steps of an imprint process in which the imprint material 14 is shaped by the mold 8 to form a pattern for each shot area of ​​the substrate 10.

[0025] In S101, the control unit 7 controls a substrate transport device (not shown) to load the substrate 10 into the imprint apparatus 1. The substrate transport mechanism places the substrate 10 on the substrate chuck 16. The substrate chuck 16 holds the substrate 10.

[0026] In S102, the control unit 7 controls the substrate moving unit 17 and the supply unit 5 to supply the imprint material 14 onto the shot area of ​​the substrate 10 (supply step). At this time, as described above, the supply amount of the imprint material is adjusted so as to have a distribution corresponding to the volume of the pattern unevenness of the mold 8.

[0027] In S103, the control unit 7 controls the mold moving unit 38 and / or the substrate moving unit 17 to bring the pattern region 8a of the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the shot region of the substrate 10 (contact step).

[0028] In S104, the control unit 7 determines an irradiation area (partial area) based on the unevenness information of the pattern area 8a, and controls the second irradiation unit 60 to irradiate only the partial area with the irradiation light 50, thereby increasing the viscosity of the imprint material (a viscosity increasing step). S104 is a step of irradiating the irradiation light 50 prior to the alignment step S105 described below and the curing step S107, and is also called advance irradiation. Details of S104 will be described later.

[0029] In S105, the control unit 7 aligns the mold 8 with the substrate 10. The alignment of the mold 8 with the substrate 10 is performed after the contact step (S103) of bringing the mold 8 into contact with the imprint material 14 on the substrate is completed and the pattern in the pattern region 8a of the mold 8 is sufficiently filled with the imprint material 14. For example, the control unit 7 detects the marks formed on the mold 8 and the marks formed on the substrate 10 using the detection unit 12, and aligns the mold 8 with the substrate 10 based on the detection result.

[0030] The alignment in S105 may be performed after the start of the preliminary irradiation in S104. The preliminary irradiation and the alignment may be performed in an overlapping manner.

[0031] In S105, the mold 8 and the substrate 10 are aligned relative to each other, but no correction is made for distortion that may result from the substrate 8, the mold 10, the imprint apparatus 1, or any combination thereof. The distortion includes a pattern error formed in the mold 8, or a pattern distortion of the mold 8 or a distortion of the substrate 10 due to a deviation in flatness of the support surface of the chuck region of the substrate holder 4 or the mold holder 3, the main surface of the substrate 10, the main surface of the mold 8, or any combination thereof. All of these distortions affect the overlay accuracy.

[0032] In S106, the control unit 7 performs a determination of the alignment accuracy. If the alignment accuracy satisfies the tolerance, the process proceeds to S107. If the alignment accuracy does not satisfy the tolerance, the process returns to S105, and the alignment process continues. Note that if the alignment accuracy does not satisfy the tolerance in S106 even after the alignment process has been repeated a predetermined number of times, the process may be forced to proceed to S107.

[0033] After the alignment is completed, in S107, the control unit 7 controls the first irradiating unit 2 to irradiate the imprint material 14 with the light 9 so as to harden the imprint material 14 while the mold 8 and the imprint material 14 are in contact with each other. The first irradiating unit 2 irradiates the light onto the entire surface of the pattern region 8a.

[0034] In S108, the control unit 7 controls the mold moving unit 38 and / or the substrate moving unit 17 to separate the mold 8 from the cured imprint material 14 on the shot area of ​​the substrate 10 (mold releasing process).

[0035] In S109, the control unit 7 determines whether or not the imprint process is completed for all shot areas on the substrate 10. If the imprint process is completed for all shot areas, the process proceeds to S110. If the imprint process is not completed for all shot areas, the process returns to S102, and the imprint process is performed on the next shot area.

[0036] In S110, the control unit 7 controls the substrate transport device to transport the substrate 10 out of the imprint apparatus 1.

[0037] The above is the flow of a series of imprint processes for the substrate 10. Next, details of S104 will be described. As described above, S104 is a viscosity increasing step in which an irradiation area is determined based on unevenness information of the pattern area, and the second irradiation unit 60 is controlled to irradiate irradiation light 50, thereby increasing the viscosity of the imprint material.

[0038] The reason for performing the viscosity increasing step of S104 will be explained. In the supply step of S102, the supply amount of the imprint material 14 is supplied so as to have a distribution according to the volume of the pattern unevenness of the mold 8. This is because if the imprint material is not supplied in an amount corresponding to the volume of the filling according to the unevenness of the pattern of the mold, the imprint material will be overfilled or insufficient, resulting in the concaves of the mold not being filled, or the remaining film thickness will not be constant. However, even if the imprint material is supplied in accordance with the pattern volume of the mold in this way, if the filling speed of the pattern concaves of the mold is slow, the imprint material will flow to the surroundings before filling the pattern concaves. In that case, the remaining film thickness at the location where the imprint material has flowed becomes relatively thick, and the pattern concaves may be left unfilled due to a shortage of the imprint material required for filling. In order to prevent such a problem, it is necessary to prevent the imprint material from flowing to the surroundings until the filling of the pattern concaves is completed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the viscosity of the imprint material is increased by irradiation light in S104. By performing S104, the filling of the imprint material into the pattern concaves of the mold 8 is promoted, making it possible to maintain the uniformity of the remaining film thickness in the vicinity. Generally, the deeper the pattern, the longer it takes to fill the recesses in the pattern.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing part of the force acting on the imprint material 14 when the imprint material 14 on the substrate 10 comes into contact with the mold 8 in the contact step of S103. When the imprint material 14 comes into contact with the mold 8 on the substrate 10, the imprint material 14 receives pressure P from the mold 8 and spreads outward by the amount of pressure crushed by the contact. If the mold 8 has a pattern recess at the time of contact, the imprint material 14 fills the pattern recess by capillary action. At this time, the imprint material 14 in the pattern recess receives pressure P from the mold 8 and a force N that raises the liquid level due to surface tension as forces in the direction of filling the pattern recess. At the same time, the imprint material 14 in the pattern recess receives force P' from the gas in the pattern recess and gravity G acting on the imprint material 14 as forces preventing filling in the opposite direction. Therefore, the filling time of the pattern recess depends on the force relationship between (P+N) and (P'+G).

[0040] In this embodiment, gravity G acting on the imprint material does not contribute much to the filling time because the volume of the imprint material is very small, and the force P' received from the gas in the pattern recesses contributes greatly. Because the pattern recesses are closed spaces, the deeper the pattern, the larger P' becomes. Therefore, the deeper the pattern, the slower the filling time of the pattern recesses. Therefore, the viscosity increasing step S104 is required.

[0041] Here, the reason why the viscosity increasing step of S104 is necessary has been explained using a pattern recess that takes a long time to fill. However, this step can be useful not only for pattern recesses, but also for all locations where a relative difference in filling time occurs. This is because if there is a relative difference in filling time, the imprint material will flow according to the difference in filling time. As mentioned above, if the imprint material flows to the surroundings before filling, the remaining film thickness at the destination of the imprint material will be relatively thick, while the imprint material required for filling may be insufficient at the source of the flow. Locations where there is a shortage of imprint material may ultimately become unfilled defects.

[0042] The viscosity increasing step of S104 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 5. First, in S201, the control unit 7 acquires unevenness information of the pattern region 8a of the mold 8. The unevenness information may include information indicating what shape and arrangement of unevenness exists in the pattern region 8a.

[0043] In S202, the control unit 7 determines the irradiation position (preceding irradiation position) of the irradiation light 50 based on the information obtained in S201. For example, the control unit 7 determines the boundary between a region having a deep recess that takes time to fill and an outer region as the irradiation position. Based on the acquired unevenness information, the control unit 7 determines a partial region of the pattern region 8a including a boundary between a first region including one or more recesses having a depth exceeding a predetermined value and a second region adjacent to the first region and not including a recess having a depth exceeding the predetermined value as the irradiation position. Note that the above-mentioned process of determining the preceding irradiation position may be configured to be executed by a dedicated processing unit different from the control unit 7. In the present embodiment, the control unit 7 has been described as including the function of such a processing unit.

[0044] With reference to FIG. 6(a), a specific method of determining the irradiation position will be described. In FIG. 6(a), the first region R1 is a region having deep recesses that take a long time to fill. Here, a recess having a depth exceeding a predetermined value is defined as a deep recess that takes a long time to fill. The second region R2 is a region adjacent to the first region R1, and is a region that does not include a recess having a depth exceeding the above-mentioned predetermined value. The third region R3 indicated by diagonal lines is a partial region of the pattern region 8a that includes the boundary between the first region R1 and the second region R2. This partial region is determined as the irradiation position. In one example, the "recess having a depth exceeding a predetermined value" is a recess having a depth of 80 nm or more. Note that the specific value of 80 nm is a value provisionally determined by the inventor's consideration and is merely an example. In one example, the first region R1 is a chip pattern region that includes a plurality of recesses having a depth of 80 nm or more, and the second region R2 is a region that does not include a recess having a depth of 80 nm or more. Here, the chip pattern region corresponds to one chip (die) to be manufactured, and is a region in which a pattern of the chip is formed. In this case, the control unit 7 may determine the outer periphery of the chip pattern area as the third area D3 (partial area (irradiation position)). In the example of Fig. 6(a), the control unit 7 may determine the third area D3 so that the third area D3 is located across the first area R1 and the second area R2.

[0045] In S203, the control unit 7 controls the second irradiating unit 60 to perform pre-irradiation of the irradiation light 50 onto the third region R3 determined as the partial region (irradiation position) in S202.

[0046] As described above, in this embodiment, the irradiation position is determined based on the unevenness information of the pattern region 8a of the mold 8, and the determined irradiation position is pre-irradiated with irradiation light to increase the viscosity of the imprint material. This makes it possible to prevent the imprint material from flowing around deep recesses before the imprint material is filled in the recesses.

[0047] In this manner, in this embodiment, the amount of light irradiated by the irradiating unit 30 onto a partial region (irradiation position) is set to be greater than that onto a region other than the partial region. As a result, this embodiment makes it possible to provide an imprinting apparatus that is advantageous in that it is possible to quickly fill deep recesses with the imprinting material and maintain the uniformity of the remaining film thickness.

[0048] In the above example, the recesses of 80 nm or more were treated as deep recesses that take a long time to fill. However, this depth cannot be determined in general because it depends on the combination of the imprint material and the material of the mold used, the air pressure in the imprint device, the atmosphere, etc. Therefore, it is desirable to search for a suitable depth by a separate experiment. An experiment to determine the deep recesses that take a long time to fill can be performed by skipping the viscosity increasing step of S104 and then performing the imprint process, and then examining the unfilled parts in the substrate surface. The recesses that ultimately become unfilled parts are the recesses that are slow to fill. Therefore, it is sufficient to determine the recesses that become unfilled parts as the deep recesses that take a long time to fill. In particular, the difference in filling speed depending on the depth of the recesses becomes clearer by shortening the time from S103 (contact step) to S107 (curing step). As another experimental method, there is also a method of examining the distribution of the remaining film thickness in the substrate surface after skipping the S104 step and performing the imprint process. As mentioned above, the distribution of the residual film thickness is caused by the imprint material flowing from recesses that take a relatively long time to fill, so it is also possible to determine deep recesses that take a long time to fill based on the correlation between areas where the residual film thickness is thin and the depth of the recesses in their vicinity.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the chip pattern region including a plurality of recesses having a depth exceeding a predetermined value is set as the first region R1. However, the first region R1 may be set as a region including only one recess having a depth exceeding a predetermined value.

[0050] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the third region R3 that straddles the first region R1 including the deep recess and the second region R2 outside the first region R1 is determined as the irradiation position. However, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the control unit 7 may determine the third region R3 such that the entire region of the third region R3, which is a partial region, is included in the first region R1, and the end of the third region R3 is located at the boundary between the first region R1 and the second region R2. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the control unit 7 may determine the third region R3 such that the entire region of the third region R3, which is a partial region, is included in the second region R2, and the end of the third region R3 is located at the boundary between the first region R1 and the second region R2. The position to be set as the irradiation range may be determined depending on the relative difference in the filling speed between the first region R1 and the second region R2. Therefore, it is desirable to search for optimal conditions by separate experiments or the like.

[0051] In addition, in S203, the intensity of the irradiated light 50 and the irradiation timing of the irradiated light 50 required to change the viscosity of the imprint material 14 differ depending on the type of imprint material 14, and therefore it is preferable to find values ​​for these through experiments.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the irradiation position is the third region R3 that spans the first region R1 having a deep recess that takes a long time to fill and the second region R2 outside the first region R1. However, as described above, this embodiment is useful for all locations where a relative difference in filling time occurs. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to the boundaries of areas where the pattern density is different from the surroundings, the boundaries of areas where the aspect ratio is different, etc., where differences in filling time are likely to occur. The characteristics of these target molds can be known by investigating the distribution of unfilled areas and remaining film thickness on the substrate surface after imprint processing, as described above.

[0053] <Second embodiment> In the second embodiment, when determining the irradiation position in S202, the irradiation position is determined based on irradiation position information based on the unevenness information of the mold pattern shown in the first embodiment, and irradiation information for obtaining a predetermined viscosity of the imprint material suitable for alignment.

[0054] In order to improve the filling property of the concave portion of the mold, it is preferable that the viscosity of the imprint material is low. On the other hand, if the viscosity of the imprint material is low, the positional deviation between the mold and the substrate is easily caused by disturbance, and the alignment accuracy is likely to decrease. If the viscosity of the imprint material is increased to a certain extent, the imprint material acts as a resistance, making it difficult for the positional deviation between the mold and the substrate to occur, thereby improving the alignment accuracy.

[0055] Therefore, in this embodiment, irradiation to help fill the area that takes a long time to fill as shown in the first embodiment and irradiation to help align the mold and the substrate can be performed in parallel. A specific example will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 is a flowchart of the irradiation position determination in S202, and Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the irradiation position determined according to the flow.

[0056] In S301, the control unit 7 acquires information on the irradiation position A from irradiation information for obtaining a predetermined viscosity of the imprint material. The irradiation position A can be a position including the center of the shot area, such as the hatched area shown in FIG.

[0057] In S302, the control unit 7 acquires information on the irradiation position B based on the concave-convex information of the pattern of the mold 8. The irradiation position B may be a position as shown by the thick black line in Fig. 8(b). For example, the irradiation position B may be the outer periphery of the first region R1 constituting the chip pattern region including a plurality of concaves having a depth exceeding a predetermined value as shown in the first embodiment.

[0058] In S303, the control unit 7 acquires information on the first region R1 having a deep recess that takes a long time to fill. An example of the first region R1 is shown in Fig. 8(c).

[0059] In S304, the control unit 7 determines the final irradiation position (partial region) based on the obtained information on the irradiation region A, the irradiation position B, and the first region R1. For example, the control unit 7 obtains a region Ba (FIG. 8(d)) (additional partial region) obtained by removing the first region R1 from the region obtained by superimposing the irradiation region A (FIG. 8(a)) and the first region R1 (FIG. 8(c)) for obtaining a predetermined viscosity. The control unit 7 determines the region Bt obtained by adding the irradiation position B and the region Ba as the final irradiation position (partial region). In this way, the control unit 7 determines the additional partial region of the pattern region for obtaining a predetermined viscosity of the imprint material, and determines the partial region so as to include the additional partial region. In FIG. 8(d), the irradiation position determined in this manner is indicated by a black portion.

[0060] This allows the imprint material to be quickly filled into deep recesses, making it possible to maintain uniformity in the remaining film thickness and improving the accuracy of alignment between the mold and the substrate.

[0061] If the desired viscosity for improving the alignment accuracy cannot be obtained because the first region R1 is excluded from the irradiation position, the irradiation area may be increased in the portion other than the first region R1. Alternatively, the desired viscosity may be obtained by adjusting the intensity and timing of the irradiation light, or by changing the irradiation position over time.

[0062] <Embodiment of the article manufacturing method> The pattern of the cured product formed by using the imprinting apparatus 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, and molds. Examples of the 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 FPGA. Examples of the molds include molds for imprinting.

[0063] The pattern of the cured product is used as it is as at least a part of a component of the article, or is used temporarily as a resist mask, which is removed after etching or ion implantation in a substrate processing step.

[0064] Next, a method for manufacturing an article will be described. In step SA of Fig. 9, a substrate 1z such as a silicon substrate having a workpiece 2z such as an insulator formed on its surface is prepared, and then an imprint material 3z is applied to the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. Here, a state in which the imprint material 3z in the form of multiple droplets is applied onto the substrate is shown.

[0065] In step SB of Fig. 9, the imprinting mold 4z is placed facing the imprinting material 3z on the substrate with the side on which the concave-convex pattern is formed. In step SC of Fig. 9, the substrate 1z to which the imprinting material 3z has been applied is brought into contact with the mold 4z, and pressure is applied. The imprinting material 3z fills the gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. When light is irradiated through the mold 4z in this state as energy for hardening, the imprinting material 3z hardens.

[0066] 9, after the imprint material 3z is cured, the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, and a pattern of the cured product of the imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z. In this cured product pattern, the recesses of the mold correspond to the protrusions of the cured product, and the protrusions of the mold correspond to the recesses of the cured product, i.e., the recessed and protruding patterns of the mold 4z are transferred to the imprint material 3z.

[0067] In step SE of Fig. 9, etching is performed using the pattern of the cured material as an etching-resistant mask, and the portions of the surface of the workpiece 2z where there is no cured material or where only a thin layer remains are removed to form grooves 5z. In step SF of Fig. 9, the pattern of the cured material is removed to obtain an article in which grooves 5z are formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z. 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.

[0068] The disclosure of the present specification includes at least the following imprint apparatus, imprint method, and article manufacturing method. (Item 1) 1. An imprinting apparatus for forming a pattern on a shot area of ​​a substrate by irradiating light onto the imprinting material through a mold while the imprinting material is in contact with the mold, thereby hardening the imprinting material, an irradiation unit that irradiates light at least partially onto a pattern area of ​​the mold; A control unit, The control unit determines a partial region of the pattern region including a boundary between a first region including one or more recesses having a depth exceeding a predetermined value and a second region adjacent to the first region and not including any recesses having a depth exceeding the predetermined value based on unevenness information of the pattern region, and controls the amount of light irradiated by the irradiation unit onto the partial region to be greater than that onto regions other than the partial region. (Item 2) 2. The imprint apparatus according to item 1, wherein the first region is a region including only one recess having a depth exceeding the predetermined value. (Item 3) the first region is a chip pattern region including a plurality of recesses each having a depth exceeding the predetermined value; the control unit determines an outer periphery of the chip pattern area as the partial area. 2. The imprint apparatus according to item 1, (Item 4) 4. The imprint apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the partial region so that the partial region is located across the first region and the second region. (Item 5) The imprint apparatus of any one of items 1 to 3, characterized in that the control unit determines the partial region so that the entire area of ​​the partial region is included in the first region and an end of the partial region is located on the boundary. (Item 6) The imprint apparatus of any one of items 1 to 3, characterized in that the control unit determines the partial region so that the entire area of ​​the partial region is included in the second region and an end of the partial region is located on the boundary. (Item 7) The imprinting apparatus described in any one of items 1 to 6, characterized in that the control unit determines an additional partial area of ​​the pattern area to obtain a predetermined viscosity of the imprinting material, and determines the partial area to include the additional partial area. (Item 8) The irradiation unit includes: A first irradiation unit that irradiates light onto the entire surface of the pattern area; A second irradiating unit that irradiates light only onto the partial region; 7. The imprinting apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 6, comprising: (Item 9) The control unit is The second irradiating unit is controlled to pre-irradiate only the partial region with light; After the start of the preliminary irradiation, the mold and the substrate are aligned; After the alignment is completed, the first irradiation unit is controlled to irradiate the entire surface of the pattern area with light. 9. The imprinting apparatus according to item 8, (Item 10) 1. An imprinting method for forming a pattern on a shot area of ​​a substrate by curing the imprinting material using an irradiation unit that irradiates light at least partially onto the shot area while the imprinting material on the shot area is in contact with a mold, the method comprising: determining a partial region of the pattern region including a boundary between a first region including one or more recesses having a depth exceeding a predetermined value and a second region adjacent to the first region and not including a recess having a depth exceeding the predetermined value based on unevenness information of the pattern region of the mold; A step of controlling the irradiation unit to perform pre-irradiation of the partial region with light; After the start of the pre-irradiation, aligning the mold with the substrate; After the alignment is completed, controlling the irradiation unit to irradiate the entire surface of the pattern area with light; 1. An imprint method comprising the steps of: (Item 11) Forming a pattern on a substrate according to the imprinting method according to item 10; processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed; and manufacturing an article from the substrate on which the processing has been performed.

[0069] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 1: imprint device, 2: first irradiation unit, 3: mold holding unit, 4: substrate holding unit, 7: control unit, 8: mold, 10: substrate, 14: imprint material, 60: second irradiation unit

Claims

1. 1. An imprinting apparatus that forms a pattern on a shot area of ​​a substrate by irradiating light onto the imprinting material through a mold while the imprinting material is in contact with the mold, thereby hardening the imprinting material, an irradiation unit that irradiates light at least partially onto a pattern area of ​​the mold; a control unit; An imprinting apparatus characterized in that the control unit controls the irradiation unit so that the amount of light irradiation to a partial region of the pattern region including the boundary between a first region including one or more recesses having a depth exceeding a predetermined value and a second region adjacent to the first region and not including any recesses having a depth exceeding the predetermined value is greater than the amount of light irradiation to regions other than the partial region.

2. 2. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first region is a region that includes only one recess having a depth exceeding the predetermined value.

3. the first region is a chip pattern region including a plurality of recesses each having a depth exceeding the predetermined value, the control unit determines the outer periphery of the chip pattern area as the partial area. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 .

4. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the partial region so that the partial region is located at a position that straddles the first region and the second region.

5. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the partial region such that the entire area of ​​the partial region is included in the first region and an end of the partial region is located on the boundary.

6. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the partial region such that the entire area of ​​the partial region is included in the second region and an end of the partial region is located on the boundary.

7. 2. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines an additional partial area of ​​the pattern area for obtaining a predetermined viscosity of the imprint material, and determines the partial area so as to include the additional partial area.

8. The irradiation unit is a first irradiation unit that irradiates the entire surface of the pattern area with light; a second irradiating unit that irradiates light only onto the partial region; The imprinting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

9. The control unit The second irradiation unit is controlled to pre-irradiate only the partial region with light; After the start of the preliminary irradiation, the mold and the substrate are aligned; After the alignment is completed, the first irradiation unit is controlled to irradiate the entire surface of the pattern area with light. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 8 .

10. 1. An imprinting method for forming a pattern on a shot area of ​​a substrate by curing the imprint material using an irradiation unit that irradiates light onto at least a portion of the shot area while the imprint material on the shot area is in contact with a mold, the method comprising: a step of pre-irradiating a partial region of the pattern region of the mold with light, the partial region including a boundary between a first region including one or more recesses having a depth exceeding a predetermined value and a second region adjacent to the first region and not including any recesses having a depth exceeding the predetermined value; a step of aligning the mold and the substrate after the start of the preliminary irradiation; After the alignment is completed, controlling the irradiation unit to irradiate the entire surface of the pattern area with light; An imprint method comprising:

11. forming a pattern on a substrate according to the imprinting method of claim 10; processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed; and manufacturing an article from the substrate on which the processing has been performed.

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