Apparatus and method for calibrating fluid dispenser

Abstract

To provide a system and method for adjusting a fluid dispenser for depositing drops of a formable material.SOLUTION: A system obtains an image of a substrate including a film formed on a substrate by curing a formable material deposited by a first dispenser and a second dispenser. Intensity information is obtained for pixels of the image. A difference between an intensity value from a portion of the substrate on which the first dispenser deposited drops and an intensity value from a portion on which the second dispenser deposited drops, and the intensity values correspond to a region of the substrate associated with a target thickness is determined. Adjustments based on the intensity values are made to change a drop volume and a drop density for a nozzle of the first dispenser and a nozzle of the second dispenser.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to the adjustment in the dispensing of droplets of formable materials for inkjet-based adaptive planarization.

Background Art

[0002] Nanofabrication involves the manufacture of very small structures having features of 100 nanometers (nm) or less. One application of nanofabrication is the manufacture of integrated circuits. The semiconductor process industry continues to strive for greater production yields while increasing the number of circuits per unit area formed on a substrate. Improvements in nanofabrication include providing greater process control while also enabling a continuous reduction in the minimum feature size of the structures being formed, and increasing throughput.

[0003] Some nanofabrication techniques are generally referred to as nanoimprint lithography (NIL). Nanoimprint lithography is useful in a variety of applications including, for example, manufacturing one or more layers of an integrated device. Examples of integrated devices include CMOS logic, microprocessors, NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, DRAM memory, MRAM, 3D cross-point memory, Re-RAM, Fe-RAM, STT-RAM, MEMS, optical components, and the like.

[0004] Some nanoimprint lithography techniques form a feature pattern in a (polymerizable) layer of a formable material and transfer a pattern corresponding to the feature pattern into or onto a underlying substrate. The patterning process uses a molding surface of a template (having recesses and protrusions) spaced apart from the substrate, and a formable liquid is applied between the template and the substrate. The formable liquid solidifies to form a solid layer having a pattern that conforms to the molding surface of the template in contact with the formable liquid. After solidification, the template is separated from the solidified layer such that the template and the substrate are spaced apart. Next, the substrate and the solidified layer are subjected to an additional process, such as an etching process, to transfer a relief image corresponding to the pattern of the solidified layer into or onto the substrate.

[0005] Furthermore, planarization techniques are useful in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. For example, the process for fabricating a semiconductor device can repeatedly include adding material to a substrate and removing material from the substrate. This process can produce a layered substrate having irregular height variations (i.e., a relief pattern), and as more layers are added, the height variations of the substrate can increase. Such height variations adversely affect the ability to add additional layers to the layered substrate. Also, a semiconductor substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer) itself is not necessarily perfectly flat and can include initial surface height variations (i.e., a relief pattern). One technique for addressing such height variations is to planarize the substrate during the stacking procedure. A planarization technique based on nanoimprint lithography techniques, also referred to as inkjet-based adaptive planarization (IAP), includes dispensing various droplet patterns of a formable (polymerizable) material between the substrate and a superstrate (a template without features), where the droplet patterns vary according to the relief pattern of the substrate. Next, the molding surface of the superstrate is brought into contact with the formable material, and then the material is polymerized (cured) on the substrate and the superstrate is removed.

[0006] Various lithographic patterning techniques benefit from patterning on a plane. In ArFi laser-based lithography, planarization improves depth of focus (DOF), critical dimension (CD), and critical dimension uniformity. In extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), planarization improves feature placement and DOF. In nanoimprint lithography (NIL), planarization improves feature filling and CD control after pattern transfer.

[0007] Also, a substrate having a polymerizable material can be further subjected to known semiconductor procedures and processes for device (article) manufacturing, including, for example, curing, oxidation, layer formation, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, removal of formable material, dicing, bonding, packaging, and the like.

[0008] In a planarization process or a nanoimprint patterning process, a mismatch may occur between a droplet of formable material deposited on a substrate and a target value of the droplet of formable material. Small variations in droplet volume in droplets deposited by a dispenser can appear as thickness variations of a film formed on the substrate. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system for adjusting a fluid dispenser that dispenses droplets of formable material in a nanoimprint lithography system. According to some embodiments, a system is provided that includes a substrate chuck configured to hold a substrate, a light source configured to provide light to a formable material on the substrate, a camera disposed to receive light from the formable material on the substrate, and a plurality of fluid dispensers.

[0010] Some embodiments of the present disclosure include one or more processors and one or more memories configured to cause a system to acquire an image of a substrate including a film, the film being formed on the substrate by curing a formable material deposited on the substrate by a first dispenser and a second dispenser. The first dispenser deposits droplets of the formable material on a first portion of the substrate from a group of nozzles of the first dispenser based on a target volume. The second dispenser deposits droplets of the formable material on a second portion of the substrate from a group of nozzles of the second dispenser based on the target volume, the second portion of the substrate being different from the first portion of the substrate. The system acquires intensity information for pixels of the image of the substrate, the intensity information including first intensity data corresponding to the first portion of the substrate and second intensity data corresponding to the second portion of the substrate. The system determines a difference between a first intensity value corresponding to a region of the substrate and a second intensity value corresponding to the region of the substrate, the first intensity value being an intensity value of the first intensity data and the second intensity value being an intensity value of the second intensity data. The region of the substrate corresponding to the first intensity value and the second intensity value is associated with a target thickness of the film on the substrate. The difference between the first intensity value and the second intensity value may exceed a threshold value. A first adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the first dispenser is determined based on the first intensity value, and a second adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the second dispenser is determined based on the second intensity value. One or both of the droplet volume and the droplet density are adjusted for the group of nozzles of the first dispenser based on the first adjustment amount, and one and both of the droplet volume and the droplet density may be adjusted for the group of nozzles of the second dispenser based on the second adjustment amount.

[0011] Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate the same or similar parts throughout the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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[0043] The following paragraphs describe one illustrative embodiment. Other embodiments may include alternatives, equivalents, and modifications. Further, the illustrative embodiment can include several features, and certain features may not be essential to some embodiments of the devices, systems, and methods described herein. Further, some embodiments can include features from two or more of the following illustrative embodiments. Also, as used herein, the conjunction "or" generally refers to an inclusive "or", but "or" can refer to an exclusive "or" when explicitly indicated or when the context indicates that "or" must be an exclusive "or".

[0044] Furthermore, in this specification and the drawings, the alphabetic suffixes of reference numerals can be used to indicate a particular instance of a feature identified by the reference numeral. For example, fluid dispensers in a group of fluid dispensers can be identified by reference numeral 122 when a particular fluid dispenser is not distinguished. However, for example, 122a or 122b can be used to identify a particular fluid dispenser when the particular fluid dispenser is distinguished from the remaining fluid dispensers 122.

[0045] According to some embodiments, a plurality of fluid dispensers are used to deposit droplets of a liquid formable material on a substrate in a planarization technique such as IAP technology. When a supersstrate contacts the formable material deposited on the substrate, the droplets of the formable material coalesce to form a film of the formable material. While the supersstrate is in contact with the film of the formable material, the film of the formable material is cured to form a layer on the substrate. When a plurality of fluid dispensers are used, small variations in the droplet volume in each dispenser appear as variations in the overburden thickness across the wafer, which can affect the process. The overburden thickness can be measured by an ellipsometer. In some cases, the measurement process by the ellipsometer requires transferring the processed wafer to a dedicated measurement tool, which can be time-consuming and cumbersome. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a nanoimprint lithography system enables imaging and processing of an image of the entire wafer using a camera included in the system, such as a spread camera, and outputs the resulting overburden layer thickness for process control.

[0046] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a nanoimprint lithography system 100 in which an embodiment can be implemented. The nanoimprint lithography system 100 is used to form a film on a substrate 102. The substrate 102 can be coupled to a substrate chuck 104. The substrate chuck 104 can be, but is not limited to, a vacuum chuck, a pin-type chuck, a groove-type chuck, an electrostatic chuck, an electromagnetic chuck, etc.

[0047] The substrate 102 and the substrate chuck 104 can be further supported by a substrate positioning stage 106. The substrate positioning stage 106 can provide translational and / or rotational movement along one or more of the x, y, z, θ, and φ axes. Also, the substrate positioning stage 106, the substrate 102, and the substrate chuck 104 can be positioned on a base (not shown). The substrate positioning stage 106 can be part of a positioning system.

[0048] A superstrate 108 having an active surface 112 facing the substrate 102 is disposed at a distance from the substrate 102. The superstrate 108 can be formed from materials including, but not limited to, fused silica, quartz, silicon, organic polymers, siloxane polymers, borosilicate glass, fluorocarbon polymers, metals, hardened sapphire, and the like. In one embodiment, the superstrate is readily transparent to UV light. The surface 112 generally has the same area size as the surface of the substrate 102 or is slightly smaller. The surface 112 of the superstrate 108 can include a flat contact surface. In another embodiment, the contact surface of the superstrate (which may also be referred to as a template) can include features that define any master pattern that forms the basis of a pattern that can be formed on the substrate 102. In one embodiment, the superstrate is substantially the same size as the substrate and is used to form a film over the entire substrate. In one embodiment, the superstrate is smaller than the substrate and is used in a step-and-repeat fashion to form a film on the substrate.

[0049] The super straight 108 can be coupled to or held by the super straight chuck 118. The super straight chuck 118 can be a vacuum chuck, a pin type chuck, a groove type chuck, an electrostatic chuck, an electromagnetic chuck, and / or other similar chuck types, but is not limited thereto. The super straight chuck 118 can be configured to apply stress, pressure, and / or strain varying across the super straight 108 to the super straight 108. In one embodiment, the super straight chuck 118 is also easily transparent to UV light. The super straight chuck 118 can include systems such as a zone-based vacuum chuck, an actuator array, a pressure bladder, etc., which can apply a pressure difference to the back of the super straight 108 and bend and deform the template. In one embodiment, the super straight chuck 118 includes a zone-based vacuum chuck that can apply a pressure difference to the back of the super straight and bend and deform the super straight.

[0050] The super straight chuck 118 can be coupled to a head 120 that is part of a positioning system. The head 120 can be movably coupled to a bridge. The head 120 may include one or more actuators such as a voice coil motor, a piezoelectric motor, a linear motor, a nut and screw motor, etc., and these actuators are configured to move the super straight chuck 118 relative to the substrate 102 in at least the z-axis direction and potentially other directions (e.g., x, y, θ, ψ, and φ axes).

[0051] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 may further include fluid dispensers 122a, 122b. Also, the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b may be movably coupled to the bridge. In one embodiment, the fluid dispensers 122a and 122b are separate physical dispensers. In one embodiment, the fluid dispenser 122a is a first subset of nozzles and the fluid dispenser 122b is a second subset of nozzles, and the first subset of nozzles and the second subset of nozzles are on a single fluid dispenser. In one embodiment, the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b and the head 120 share one or all of the positioning components. In an alternative embodiment, the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b and the head 120 move independently of each other. The fluid dispensers 122a, 122b may be used to deposit a liquid formable material 124 (e.g., a polymerizable material) in a pattern on the substrate 102. Also, additional formable material 124 may be added to the substrate 102 using techniques such as drop dispense, spin coating, dip coating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), thin film deposition, thick film deposition, etc. before the formable material 124 is deposited on the substrate 102.

[0052] When positioning the dispensers 122a, 122b, one or more processors 132 can move the imprint field of the substrate 102 to the fluid dispense position under the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b on one or both of the substrate positioning stage 106 and / or the dispenser positioning stage. The substrate 102 can be divided into a plurality of imprint fields. To dispense the formable material, one or more processors 132 can cause the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b to dispense the formable material onto the imprint field. In one embodiment, the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b dispense the formable material 124 as a plurality of droplets. The fluid dispensers 122a, 122b can include one nozzle or a plurality of nozzles. The fluid dispensers 122a, 122b may simultaneously eject the formable material 124 from one or more nozzles. Each of the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b may dispense the formable material onto the substrate during two or more passes. The fluid dispensers 122a, 122b may dispense the formable material onto the substrate during a single pass. In some embodiments, the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b alternate dropping between successive passes. The imprint field can be moved relative to the fluid dispensers 122a, 122b while the fluid dispenser is ejecting the formable material 124. In some embodiments, the formable material 124 is dispensed onto the substrate according to a droplet pattern. The droplet pattern can include information such as one or more of the position for depositing droplets of the formable material, the volume of the droplets of the formable material, the type of the formable material, and the shape parameters of the droplets of the formable material. In one embodiment, the substrate is disposed on a first substrate chuck on a first substrate stage, the fluid is dispensed onto the substrate on the first substrate chuck, and then the substrate is disposed on a second substrate chuck on a second substrate stage under the super straight chuck.

[0053] Different fluid dispensers 122 can use different techniques to dispense the formable material 124. If the formable material 124 is jetable, an inkjet type dispenser can be used to eject the formable material. For example, thermal inkjet, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based inkjet, valve jet, and piezoelectric inkjet are common techniques for dispensing jetable liquids.

[0054] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 further includes a curing system that includes a radiation source 126 that directs chemical energy, such as UV radiation, along an exposure path 128. The head 120 and the substrate positioning stage 106 can be configured to position the superstrate 108 and the substrate 102 to overlap the exposure path 128. The radiation source 126 sends chemical energy along the exposure path 128 after the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 124. FIG. 1 shows the exposure path 128 when the superstrate 108 is not in contact with the formable material 124. This is done for illustrative purposes so that the relative positions of the individual components can be easily identified. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the exposure path 128 does not substantially change even when the superstrate 108 is in contact with the formable material 124. In one embodiment, the actinic rays pass through the superstrate chuck or the holes in the superstrate chuck. In one embodiment, the superstrate is released from the superstrate chuck before the actinic rays pass through the superstrate. In one embodiment, a multilayer stack including a planarization layer 146 between the superstrate and the substrate is moved from under the superstrate chuck to the curing module where it is exposed to the actinic rays.

[0055] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 further includes a camera 136 arranged to observe the spread of the formable material 124 when the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 124 during the planarization process. FIG. 1 shows the optical axis 138 of the image field of the field camera. As shown in FIG. 1, the nanoimprint lithography system 100 may include one or more optical components (such as dichroic mirrors, beam combiners, prisms, lenses, mirrors, etc.) that combine actinic rays with the light detected by the camera 136. The camera 136 may include one or more of a CCD, a sensor array, a line camera, and a photodetector, which are configured to collect light at wavelengths that show the contrast between the area where the formable material 124 is in contact under the superstrate 108 and the area where the formable material 124 is not in contact under the superstrate 108. The camera 136 may be configured to provide an image of the spread of the formable material 124 under the superstrate 108 and / or the separation of the superstrate 108 from the cured formable material 124. Also, the camera 136 may be configured to measure interference fringes that change as the formable material 124 spreads between the gap between the surface 112 and the substrate surface. The camera 136 may be configured to detect non-UV light (e.g., visible light from 400 nm to 700 nm). The camera 136 may be a monochrome camera. According to some embodiments, the camera 136 is configured to capture a grayscale image of the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the camera 136 captures an image and converts the RGB (red, green, blue) values to grayscale using, for example, the NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) formula (0.299·red + 0.587·green + 0.114·blue) for image processing, or converts the image to a grayscale image by other techniques for generating a grayscale image.

[0056] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 may further include a thermal radiation source 156 configured to provide a spatial distribution of thermal radiation to one or both of the supersstrate 108 and the substrate 102. The thermal radiation source 156 may include one or more thermo-electromagnetic radiation sources that heat one or more of the substrate 102, the formable material 124, and the supersstrate 108 without solidifying the formable material 124. In some embodiments, the wavelength of the thermal irradiation is a non-UV wavelength. In some embodiments, a filter between the camera and the substrate removes UV light. The thermal radiation source 156 emits light in a wavelength band where the formable material 124, which is an ultraviolet curable resin material, is not photosensitive (not cured), for example, light in the wavelength band of 400 nm to 2,000 nm. For heating efficiency, some embodiments of the thermal radiation source 156 emit light in the wavelength band of 500 nm to 800 nm. In some embodiments, the wavelength of the thermal irradiation is infrared (wavelength 750 nm to 1000 μm). In some embodiments, the wavelength of the infrared radiation is adjusted to be absorbed by one or both of the supersstrate 108 and / or the substrate 102 rather than the formable material 124. However, some embodiments of the thermal radiation source 156 emit light in other wavelength bands. Also, in some embodiments, the thermal radiation source 156 is a laser such as a high-power laser. The thermal radiation source 156 may include a spatial light modulator such as a digital micromirror device (DMD), a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS), or a liquid crystal device (LCD) to modulate the spatial and temporal distribution of the thermal radiation.

[0057] The nanoimprint lithography system may further include one or more optical components used to combine actinic radiation, thermal radiation, and radiation collected by the field camera 136 on a single optical path that intersects the imprint field when the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 124 on the substrate 102. The thermal radiation source 156 can send thermal radiation along the thermal radiation path 148 after the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 128. FIG. 1 shows the thermal radiation path 148 when the superstrate 108 is not in contact with the formable material 124, which is done for illustrative purposes so that the relative positions of the individual components can be easily identified. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the thermal radiation path 148 will not substantially change even when the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 124. In FIG. 1, the thermal radiation path 148 is shown as terminating at the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the grayscale image is captured using two light sources of different intensities. In some embodiments, the grayscale image is captured using light of two different wavelengths.

[0058] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 is adjusted, controlled, or directed by one or more processors 132 (e.g., a controller) that communicate with one or more other components or subsystems such as the substrate positioning stage 106, the fluid dispenser 122, the radiation source 126, or the camera 136, and may operate based on instructions in a computer-readable program stored in one or more computer-readable storage media 134. In some embodiments, including the embodiment of FIG. 1, the one or more processors 132 and the one or more computer-readable storage media 134 are included in the lithography controller 140. The lithography controller 140 adjusts, controls, or directs the operation of the nanoimprint lithography system 100.

[0059] Each of the processors 132 above 1 can be a central processing unit (CPU) that can include a microprocessor (e.g., a single-core microprocessor, a multi-core microprocessor), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), and other electronic circuits (e.g., other integrated circuits), or can include one or more of them. For example, the processor 132 can be a dedicated controller or a general-purpose controller specially configured as an imprint system controller.

[0060] Examples of the computer-readable storage medium 134 include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks), optical disks (e.g., CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays), magneto-optical disks, magnetic tapes, semiconductor memories (e.g., non-volatile memory cards, flash memories, solid-state drives, SRAM, DRAM, EPROM, EEPROM), network-connected storage devices (NAS), intranet-connected computer-readable storage devices, and Internet-connected computer-readable storage devices.

[0061] Furthermore, the lithography control device 140 may operate as a droplet pattern generation device that generates one or more droplet patterns (dispense patterns). Also, the lithography control device 140 may acquire one or more droplet patterns from another device (e.g., a droplet pattern generation device). For example, one or more processors 132 can communicate with a networked computer (e.g., a droplet pattern generation device) where analysis is performed to generate a control file such as a droplet pattern. The droplet pattern indicates where the fluid dispenser 122 should deposit droplets of the liquid formable material 124 onto the substrate 102. The droplet pattern can be at least partially generated based on features of the field volume or imprint field. Also, the droplet density of the droplet pattern can vary across the substrate to account for features of the imprint field in the substrate, superstrate, and / or template. Further, the droplet pattern can have a uniform droplet density across regions of the imprint field having a uniform density (e.g., a blank region, or a region where the features of the imprint field have a uniform feature density). The droplet pattern generation software generates the droplet pattern based on one or more of the droplet volume, substrate topography, superstrate topography, and other process conditions. The droplet pattern generation software is described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 11,402,749, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0062] Either the head 120, the substrate positioning stage 106, or both change the distance between the superstrate 108 and the substrate 102, defining a desired space (a three-dimensionally bounded physical extent) filled with the formable material 124. For example, the head 120 may apply a force to the superstrate 108 such that the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 124. After the desired volume is filled with the formable material 124, the radiation source 126 generates actinic radiation (e.g., UV, 248 nm, 280 nm, 350 nm, 365 nm, 395 nm, 400 nm, 405 nm, 435 nm, etc.) to cure, solidify, and / or crosslink the formable material 124 to conform to the shape of the substrate surface and the surface 112 of the superstrate 108. The formable material 124 is cured while the superstrate 108 is in contact with the formable material 124 that forms a planarization layer on the substrate 102. Thus, the nanoimprint lithography system 100 uses an imprint process to form a planar layer having a featureless patterning surface 112. In an alternative embodiment, the superstrate is a template having features used to form features in the formable material on the substrate.

[0063] Figures 2A-2C illustrate a planarization process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The planarization process includes the steps schematically shown in Figures 2A-2C. As shown in Figure 2A, the formable material 124 is dispensed onto the substrate 102 in the form of droplets. As described above, the substrate surface is known based on previous processing operations or can be measured using a profilometer, AFM, SEM, or an optical surface profiler based on optical interference effects such as a Zygo NewView 8200 and has some topography. The local volume density of the deposited formable material 124 varies according to the substrate topography and / or template topography. Next, the superstrate 108 is positioned to contact the formable material 124. The superstrate 108 has a working surface 112 that faces and is spaced from the substrate 102.

[0064] Figure 2B shows a post-contact step after the superstrate 108 is in full contact with the formable material 124 but before the polymerization process (curing) begins. When the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 124, the droplets coalesce to form a film 144 of formable material that fills the space between the superstrate 108 and the substrate 102. Preferably, the filling process is performed in a uniform manner such that air or gas bubbles are not trapped between the superstrate 108 and the substrate 102 to minimize unfilled defects. The polymerization process or curing of the formable material 124 can be initiated by actinic radiation (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) light). For example, a radiation source can provide actinic radiation that cures, solidifies, and / or crosslinks the film 144 of formable material to define a cured planarization layer 146 or a cured formable material layer (if a template is used) on the substrate 102. Alternatively, curing of the film 144 of formable material may be initiated by using heat, pressure, chemical reactions, other types of radiation, or any combination thereof. Once the cured planarization layer 146 is formed, the superstrate 108 can be separated therefrom. Figure 2C shows the cured planarization layer 146 on the substrate 102 after separation of the superstrate 108. According to some embodiments, the formable material between the substrate and the superstrate forms a planarization layer on the substrate when receiving light provided by a plurality of light sources. According to some embodiments, the formable material between the substrate and the superstrate forms a planarization layer on the substrate when receiving light provided by a single light source in which light is polarized in at least two orthogonal directions.

[0065] Figure 3 shows an operational flow of an exemplary planarization method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In step S301, a formable material is deposited on a substrate such as the substrate 102. The formable material can be a curable material deposited on the substrate. The formable material dispensed onto the substrate 102 can be dispensed in the form of droplets.

[0066] In operation S302, the substrate 102 having the formable material 124 is planarized using the head 120 to form a multilayer structure. As described above, using the positioning system, the head 120 can be moved towards the substrate 102 to apply a force to the superstrate 108 such that the superstrate 108 contacts the droplets of the formable material 124 and spreads them. FIG. 2B shows the post-contact operation after the superstrate 108 has completely contacted the formable material 124. When the superstrate 108 contacts the formable material 124, the droplets coalesce to form a film 144 of the formable material that fills the space between the superstrate 108 and the substrate 102. Preferably, the filling process is performed in a uniform manner such that no air or gas bubbles are trapped between the superstrate 108 and the substrate 102 in order to minimize unfilled defects. In some embodiments, the superstrate 108 and / or the substrate 102 are supported by a controlled backpressure from the substrate chuck 104 and / or the superstrate chuck 118 to spread the formable material 124 without trapping voids. The spreading starts from the center of the substrate 102 and ends at the boundary of the active area of the substrate 102. At the point shown in FIG. 2B, operation S302 is complete. Further, at this point, the superstrate 108 is still in contact with the formable material 124, but the multilayer structure has been formed. In particular, the multilayer structure includes or is composed of the superstrate 108, the film 144 of the formable material, and the substrate 102, in that order. In another aspect, the multilayer structure can also be considered to include or be composed of the superstrate 108, the film 144 of the formable material, the substrate 102, and the substrate chuck 104, in that order. In either case, as shown in FIG. 2B, in the multilayer structure, the lower surface 112 of the superstrate 108 is in direct contact with the upper surface of the film 144 of the formable material, while the lower surface of the film 144 of the formable material is in direct contact with the upper surface of the substrate 102.

[0067] In operation S303, after the desired field volume is filled with the formable material 124, the radiation source 126 directs energy along the exposure path 128 toward the formable material 124 to generate energy (e.g., actinic rays) that cures (e.g., solidifies, crosslinks) the formable material 124 to conform to the shape of the topography of the substrate and the shape of the contact surface 112. The formable material 124 is cured while the supersheet 108 is in contact with the formable material 124, thereby forming a planarized surface on the substrate 102. In one embodiment, the supersheet 102 may be temporarily de-chucked from the supersheet chuck 118, and one or both of the head 120 and the substrate chuck 104 are moved away from each other prior to operation S303.

[0068] In embodiments where IAP is performed, the substrate 102 may have a topography (e.g., a feature pattern) on its surface. For example, FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate exemplary embodiments of the topography on the substrate 102. Droplets of the formable material 124 can form a pattern layer that fills the topography 1021 on the substrate 102, and the pattern layer can have a top layer that extends over the substrate 102 and has a top layer thickness (TLT). Further, the back surface of the top layer may be featureless and planar. For example, FIG. 2C illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a planarized surface. FIG. 2C shows a planarized pattern layer formed on the substrate 102, which includes recesses and protrusions. The pattern layer fills the recesses and protrusions of the substrate 102. The top layer of the planarized pattern layer 146, which may be referred to as an overburden, is formed on the substrate 102 and has a top layer thickness (TLT). Also, the back surface of the top layer 146 is featureless and planar.

[0069] In operation S304, the superstrate 108 is separated from the cured planarization layer 146. To remove the superstrate 108 from the cured planarization layer 146, the superstrate chuck 118 can be reattached to the superstrate 108 (i.e., rechucked) via the operation of the head 120 while the superstrate 108 is still in contact with the cured planarization layer 146. To attach the superstrate chuck 118 to the superstrate 108, at least one of the head 120 and the stage 106 is moved in the Z direction using a positioning system until the superstrate chuck 118 contacts the superstrate 108. Preferably, only one of the head 120 and the stage 106 is moved in the Z direction using the positioning system and the other is fixed. In some embodiments, the head 120 moves downward in the Z direction while the stage 106 remains fixed. However, in some cases, both may be moved.

[0070] Once the superstrate 108 is attached to the superstrate chuck 118, the superstrate chuck 118 can begin to rise upward away from the substrate 102 by using a positioning system to move the head 120 upward in the Z direction or by using a positioning system to move the stage 106 downward. As described above, both can also be moved. Since the superstrate 108 is attached to the superstrate chuck 118, the lifting force (or downward force) separates the superstrate 108 from the cured planarization layer 146.

[0071] When a hardened planarization layer 146 is formed on a substrate 102 and a superstrate 108 is separated therefrom, the hardened planarization layer can then be subjected to additional known processes and treatments for device (article) manufacturing, including, for example, patterning, hardening, oxidizing, layer formation, deposition, doping, planarizing, etching, removal of formable material, dicing, bonding, and packaging. The substrate 102 may be processed to manufacture a plurality of articles (devices).

[0072] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary substrate on which a formable material is deposited by two fluid dispensers that perform a dispense process after the formable material contacts and hardens with the superstrate and the superstrate is lifted from the hardened formable material. The positions of fluid dispenser 1 and fluid dispenser 2 relative to the substrate between each pass of the dispense process are identified in FIG. 4. Dispenser 1 and dispenser 2 each perform three interleaved passes. From the top of the substrate across the substrate, dispenser 1 performs the first, third, and fifth passes, and dispenser 2 performs the second, fourth, and sixth passes. In FIG. 4, to distinguish the regions of the substrate where dispenser 1 deposits the formable material between the first, third, and fifth passes from the regions of the substrate where dispenser 2 deposits the formable material between the second, fourth, and sixth passes, the shading of the regions corresponding to dispenser 1 is darker than the shading of the regions corresponding to dispenser 2. FIG. 5 shows the result of the dispense process of FIG. 4.

[0073] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary substrate including a film formed on a substrate by curing a formable material deposited on the substrate. The exemplary substrate is featureless and substantially flat on the micron scale. The dispenser is configured to dispense a droplet pattern having a target top layer thickness that varies in the scanning direction of the dispenser and is constant in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. FIG. 29 shows the variation of the target top layer thickness at the center of the substrate in the scanning direction. In the case of a circular substrate, the target thickness may be cropped based on the width of the substrate in the dispensing direction. The target top layer thickness is substantially similar to a step function having a step width, a trench width, a trench height, and a plurality of step heights. For example, the step width is 35 mm, the trench width is 8 mm, the trench height is 15 nm, and the plurality of step heights are 20 nm, 35 nm, 50 nm, 65 nm, 80 nm, 95 nm, and 110 nm. The superstrate has sufficient flexibility to deform such that the dispensed formable material conforms to the step height on the length scale of the step width. The superstrate is made of fused silica and can have a thickness in the range of 0.03 millimeters (mm) to 2 mm. The superstrate can be made from other materials and thicknesses that provide both compatibility on the mm length scale and flatness on the submicron length scale. The trench has a width sufficient to prevent the formable material in different steps from mixing and to keep the heights of different steps substantially independent of each other. The height of the trench is thick enough to prevent the superstrate from contacting the exemplary substrate and thin enough not to affect the measurement of the step height. The step width is selected to ensure that there is sufficient area to accurately measure the step height and avoid the influence of the curved superstrate at the boundaries of the trench and the step. The step height is selected based on the calibration requirements of the dispenser when the dispenser is used to dispense on the target substrate. The target substrate has a topography with a range of heights, and the plurality of step heights should cover the range of heights seen on the target substrate.In an alternative embodiment, an exemplary substrate includes a feature pattern on its surface that is the inverse of the above-described target top layer thickness. The feature pattern includes a series of trenches of different depths separated by walls having a constant height. The superspread is used to form a planarizing film that forms a pattern layer that fills the topography on the substrate, and the pattern layer includes a top layer that extends over the substrate and has a top layer thickness (TLT).

[0074] FIG. 5 shows a raw image taken using a spread camera. In the exemplary image of FIG. 5, there is a horizontal streak indicating the difference in the volume dispensed based on the fact that one dispenser is calibrated while another dispenser is not calibrated. For example, the horizontal region identified by 501 dispensed by dispenser 1 has a darker shade than the horizontal region identified by 502 dispensed by dispenser 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the droplets of the formable material coming out of dispenser 1 and dispenser 2 are not uniform. If multiple dispensers perform a fluid dispensing process and there is variation in the droplet volume between dispensings, the thickness of the film when cured may not be uniform. Therefore, periodic calibration of the fluid dispenser prevents inconsistencies in the dispensed pattern and increases the likelihood that the planarizing film will be more uniform.

[0075] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary heat map of ellipsometer data corresponding to the substrate of FIG. 5. In the heat map of FIG. 6, the problem of volume variation output by each dispenser is shown, and also the influence of the deformation of the superstrate due to the thickness variation of the formable material under the superstrate is shown. The horizontal regions identified by 601 and 602 respectively correspond to the horizontal regions 501 and 502. FIG. 6 shows ellipsometer data that can be used to detect different thicknesses of the cured film. However, collecting ellipsometer data is time-consuming and difficult because it requires removing the processed wafer and transferring it to a dedicated measurement tool. According to the method of FIG. 7, after the film is measured on the ellipsometer, the data can then be used to estimate the film thickness using grayscale intensity data. FIG. 30 is a diagram of the raw correlation relationship between the raw image data and the ellipsometry data. Note the noise in the correlation relationship between the spread camera intensity data and the ellipsometry data. FIG. 7 is a method for estimating the film thickness to reduce noise so that when calibrating the dispenser used in nanoscale forming tools such as IAP and NIL, the intensity data can be used to provide a nanometer-level estimate of the film thickness.

[0076] FIG. 7 shows the operation flow of an exemplary method for estimating film thickness. In step S701, an image of a substrate including a cured film is acquired. One or more processors 132 of the nanoimprint lithography system 100 may control the camera 136 to capture an image of the substrate. The camera 136 may capture a grayscale image. In some embodiments, the camera 136 or one or more processors 132 perform image processing on the image of the substrate to obtain a grayscale image. Step S701 is performed after the process described in FIG. 3. Therefore, the substrate in step S701 includes a cured layer as shown in FIG. 2C. For example, FIG. 8 shows an exemplary raw image of a substrate including a cured film captured by the camera 136. The feature pattern of the substrate in FIG. 8 or the feature pattern of the target thickness is the feature pattern described above with reference to FIG. 5.

[0077] In step S702, one or more processors 132 obtain a grayscale intensity value from the image for each pixel of the image shown in FIG. 8 related to a position on the substrate. For example, one or more processors 132 extract the grayscale value and the corresponding X and Y values. FIG. 9A is a plot of the grayscale intensity data of all the pixels in the image with respect to the x-axis of the substrate.

[0078] In step S703, thickness measurement data of the cured film on the substrate is acquired. For example, FIG. 11 shows the thickness measurement positions of the cured film on the substrate shown in FIG. 8 measured by an ellipsometer. The data points are encoded with the required thickness used during the generation of the droplet pattern of the droplet pattern used during planarization. This target thickness for each column is shown on the right side of FIG. 11.

[0079] In step S704, one or more processors 132 generate mask data for regions of grayscale intensity data corresponding to each film thickness. The mask generated in step S704 takes into account the variation in grayscale data when the superstrate 108 is curved. During the curing process, the superstrate 108 contacts the surface of the formable material. Since the wafer has a series of steps of different heights separated by trenches having a constant height above the substrate, the trenches are wide enough for the superstrate 108 to bulge at the steps. This bulge occurs because the superstrate is flexible on the scale of the steps. To ensure that this bulge does not adversely affect the calibration, only data not affected by the bulged superstrate 108 is used during calibration. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the mask is generated to reduce the data set to those intensity values at the center of the region to avoid data that causes misinterpretation near the edges of the trench walls. Thus, in step S704, mask data is generated for regions of grayscale intensity data corresponding to each film thickness. For example, FIG. 10 can be generated by applying the masks corresponding to FIGS. 9B and 9C to the grayscale plot. As shown in FIG. 10, the masked region narrows for each column across the substrate in the X direction from left to right. FIG. 31 is a diagram of the mask data and the target thickness. The mask data has a series of steps with openings centered on the step width, and the step width is narrower than the step width based on the step height (mask width = step width - f(step height)). The function f represents the curvature of the superstrate due to the superstrate being curved around the step. The function f may vary between 0.1 and 10 mm over a step height range of 200 nm and depends on the flexibility of the superstrate. For example, region 1001 in FIG. 10 includes a masked region that is larger in the X direction than each of the other regions between the trenches in FIG. 10 because the data in region 1001 is more accurate than the data in the other regions of FIG. 10. FIG. 9B is a plot showing the position of the mask on the grayscale intensity with respect to the x-axis of the substrate.This is because the difference in the target volume steps and trenches for region 1001 is smaller than the respective differences in the target volume step heights and trenches for each of the other regions. On the other hand, the rightmost column of the substrate in the X direction includes the narrowest masked region because the super straight has the highest curvature among the regions in FIG. 10 due to the height of the step with respect to the trench.

[0080] In step S705, one or more processors 132 apply the mask shown in FIG. 10 to the thickness measurement data. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, column 1101 with a depth of about 50 nm has a larger width than column 1102 with a depth of about 95 nm. This is because due to the curvature of the super straight on the substrate, the data near the edge of column 1102 cannot be trusted. FIG. 9C is a plot showing the masked grayscale intensity with respect to the x-axis of the substrate.

[0081] In step S706, the masked grayscale data and the masked thickness measurement data are correlated to generate a function for estimating the thickness based on the grayscale values. In some embodiments, the masked grayscale data and the masked thickness measurement data are then processed using a series of statistical processes to obtain better data. The statistical processes can include, for example, outlier removal, averaging in the dispenser direction in each masked step region, averaging along the dispenser direction over a limited region smaller than the length of the dispenser, or other suitable statistical processes. The ellipsometry data can be correlated with a subset of the camera data to create a function for estimating the thickness based only on the grayscale values. For example, FIG. 12 shows the points of the average value of the masked region of the grayscale in FIG. 10 and the corresponding measured thickness values. Point 1201 corresponds to, for example, column 1101 in FIG. 11, and point 1202 represents the average value of all the data within the masked region of the column corresponding to column 1101 in the masked data of FIG. 10.

[0082] Next, these grayscale values shown in FIG. 12 can be used to adjust the droplet pattern density that correlates position, dispenser, dispenser path, and droplet density. Also, the droplet density or droplet volume is then adjusted until the grayscale value is constant along the column direction. According to the method of FIG. 7, a set of relationship values is obtained as shown in FIG. 12. The set of relationship values represented by the function shown in FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the grayscale intensity value and the corresponding film thickness value, the grayscale intensity value based on the average of the grayscale values extracted from the image of the film on the substrate of FIG. 8, and the film thickness value based on the film thickness measurement values collected on the substrate in FIG. 11.

[0083] In FIG. 12, the points (e.g., point 1201) representing each average grayscale value corresponding to each film thickness have a relationship that is a function of the complex refractive index of the cured film and the substrate, the film thickness, and the effective detection wavelength (detection wavelength in vacuum / refractive index of the cured film). Due to the interference effect, this correlation is monotonic over a limited range determined by the effective detection wavelength. If it is necessary to perform measurements beyond this limited range, two or more effective detection wavelengths can be used. A model that describes the intensity as a function of thickness may be used. If a model is used, the model may need to include the effect of any underlying layer on the substrate. For the last two points shown at the measured thicknesses of approximately 97 nm and 115 nm in FIG. 12, a linear relationship is no longer shown in this example. The grayscale values obtained for these high film thicknesses cannot be distinguished due to the intensity of the light source used to illuminate the substrate when the image of FIG. 8 was taken. In some embodiments, the image of the substrate is taken using light sources of different intensities and / or wavelengths. Thus, the grayscale values obtained at each step width are more distinguishable than the exemplary plot of grayscale pixel values of FIG. 9. Further, thus, a more linear function overall is obtained for each film thickness compared to the linear function shown in FIG. 12, and a linear relationship exists for film thicknesses up to approximately 90 nm.

[0084] FIG. 13 shows an operational flow of an exemplary method for adjusting a fluid dispenser. In step S1301, one or more processors 132 acquire an image of a substrate including a cured film having a calibration-style target thickness pattern. For example, camera 136 acquires the image shown in FIG. 14. In step S1302, one or more processors 132 obtain a grayscale intensity value for each pixel of the image acquired in step S1301. In step S1303, one or more processors 132 generate a plot of grayscale intensity values for each position X along each line Y corresponding to a path of a dispenser depositing a formable material on the substrate. For example, in FIG. 14, lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 correspond to each line Y at which a grayscale intensity value was obtained. Lines 1, 3, 5 correspond to regions of the substrate where one dispenser 122a deposited the formable material. Lines 2, 4, 6 correspond to regions of the substrate where a second dispenser 122b deposited the formable material. In some embodiments, each of lines 1, 3, and 5 corresponds to each group of nozzles of dispenser 122a, and each of lines 2, 4, and 6 corresponds to each group of nozzles of dispenser 122b. Next, one or more processors 132 generate a plot of grayscale intensity values at each X position along lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. For example, FIG. 15 shows a plot of grayscale pixel values corresponding to each X position along lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 on the image of the substrate of FIG. 14.

[0085] In operation S1304, one or more processors 132 compare the grayscale intensity values of each dispenser nozzle group associated with each region of the image corresponding to each film thickness. For example, in the plot of FIG. 15, the grayscale pixel values corresponding to each step height are compared. As shown by the plot of FIG. 15, the pixel intensity values of lines 1, 3, and 5 vary by approximately 40 from pixel values 2, 4, and 6 at the horizontal positions corresponding to each step height. As described with reference to FIG. 12, the difference in intensity values decreases for thicker films because the grayscale values in thicker films cannot be distinguished from each other due to destructive interference and / or high absorption.

[0086] In operation S1305, one or more processors 132 compare the variation between pixel values with a threshold value and determine whether the variation between the pixel intensity values of each line (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) is greater than the threshold value. The image processing techniques described above for generating a calibration curve can also be used for these pixel values. The threshold value is a predetermined value determined based on the tolerance of the volume output of each dispense used to output the formable material and the calibration curve generated by the method described in FIG. 7. If one or more processors 132 determine that the variation between each pixel intensity value exceeds the threshold value, the flow proceeds to operation S1307. On the other hand, if one or more processors 132 determine that the variation between each pixel intensity value does not exceed the threshold value, the flow proceeds to operation S1306.

[0087] In operation 1306, one or more processors 132 determine whether the intensity values measured in operation S1302 and plotted in operation S1303 are outside the range of acceptable intensity values. For example, in FIG. 15, a maximum intensity value of approximately 140 for 1000 pixels at the center of a column may exceed a predetermined threshold based on the target thickness of the film in that column of the substrate. Thus, for example, if the pixel intensity values of a region are too high for a group of dispenser nozzles that do not output a sufficient amount of formable material corresponding to the region of the film, one or more processors 132 can determine that the intensity value is outside the range of acceptable intensity values. If one or more processors 132 determine that the intensity value is outside the range of acceptable intensity values, the flow proceeds to operation S1307. On the other hand, if one or more processors 132 determine that the intensity value is not outside the range of acceptable intensity values, the flow proceeds to operation S1310.

[0088] In operation S1307, one or more processors 132 estimate the film thickness based on the grayscale intensity values of a group of dispenser nozzles associated with a region of the substrate, using the function generated in operation S706. For example, in FIG. 15, the grayscale intensity values of the third column of the substrate centered around approximately 1700 pixels have a range of pixel intensity values from approximately 80 to 120. As shown in FIG. 11, the target thickness of this film is 50 nm (see column 1101 in FIG. 11). However, the pixel intensity value of the brightest line for its X position is approximately 120. Using the function shown in FIG. 12, a grayscale intensity value of approximately 120 corresponds to an estimated film thickness of approximately 45 nm.

[0089] In operation S1308, one or more processors 132 determine an adjustment amount for a dispenser nozzle group based on the estimated film thickness and the corresponding target film thickness. For example, as previously described with reference to operation S1307, the estimated film thickness of the brightest line in the third step column is about 45 nm. Thus, the estimated step height (45 nm) for this region of the substrate shown in FIG. 14 is about 10% lower than the target thickness (50 nm) of this step, as indicated by the target thickness on FIG. 11. Therefore, the adjustment amount for the dispenser nozzle group corresponding to this step is to adjust the volume dispensed by the dispenser nozzle group during this pass by an output increase of 10%.

[0090] In operation S1309, one or more processors 132 adjust a dispenser corresponding to the adjustment amount determined in operation S1308 based on the determined adjustment amount. For example, for the dispenser nozzle group corresponding to the estimated step height of 45 nm in column 1101, one or more processors 132 adjust the droplet volume and / or droplet density of the dispenser nozzle group so that the total volume of the formable material dispensed into the region increases by 10%. Examples of methods for adjusting the droplet volume and droplet density are described with reference to FIGS. 17, 20, and 21.

[0091] In operation S1310, one or more processors 132 determine whether another pixel intensity value among the pixel intensity values plotted in operation S1303 needs to be evaluated. If there are other pixel intensity values that have not yet been evaluated (Yes in operation S1310), the process proceeds to operation S1304. Thus, operation S1304 is performed for each pixel intensity value plotted in operation S1303. On the other hand, if one or more processors 132 determine that there is no need to evaluate other pixel intensity values (No in operation S1310), the flow proceeds to operation S1311.

[0092] In operation S1311, one or more processors 132 determine whether it is necessary to evaluate the pixel intensity values of another region of the image among the pixel intensity values plotted in operation S1303. If the pixel intensity values of another region of the image have not yet been evaluated (Yes in operation S1311), the flow proceeds to operation S1304. Thus, operation S1304 is performed for each pixel intensity value plotted in operation S1303 for each region of the image (e.g., seven separate column regions of different film thicknesses). On the other hand, if one or more processors 132 determine that it is not necessary to evaluate other pixel intensity values in another region of the image (No in operation S1311), the flow ends.

[0093] FIG. 16 shows an exemplary set of droplets of a formable material. In the exemplary set 1600 of droplets of FIG. 16, the droplets within region 1601 have a lower volume than the other droplets included in the set 1600 of droplets. Further, the droplets within region 1601 have a lower droplet density than the other droplets included in the set 1600 of droplets, and the droplets within region 1601 are more spaced apart from each other than the other droplets included in the set 1600 of droplets. In the exemplary set 1600 of droplets of FIG. 16, one dispenser 122a deposited droplets within region 1601, while a different dispenser 122b deposited the droplets included in the set 1600 of droplets outside region 1601. Thus, the adjustment of operation S1309 is described with reference to FIGS. 17, 20, and 21, and is performed on dispenser 122a such that the group of pixels of dispenser 122a that deposited droplets within region 1601 increases the total volume of the formable material dispensed based on the adjustment.

[0094] FIG. 17 shows an operational flow of an exemplary method for adjusting a waveform to change a droplet volume. In step S1701, one or more processors 132 obtain a target volume corresponding to a group of dispenser nozzles to be adjusted. For example, the target volume for the path of dispenser 122a may correspond to the required thickness shown in FIG. 11. In step S1702, one or more processors 132 determine a scaling parameter of the waveform based on the adjustment amount determined in step S1308 and the target volume obtained in step S1701. For example, in the example described above with reference to step S1308, the adjustment amount for the group of dispenser nozzles is to increase the volume of the formable material dispensed by the group of dispenser nozzles by 10%. Next, one or more processors 132 access a look-up table stored in one or more computer-readable storage media 134 that identifies the voltage corresponding to the droplet volume. Next, one or more processors 132 determine, based on the look-up table, the voltage corresponding to a droplet volume that is 10% greater than the target volume obtained in step S1701. For example, instead of a standard voltage of 20 volts, to achieve a 10% increase in the droplet volume, the new voltage based on the look-up table may be higher, such as 20.5 volts, for example.

[0095] In step S1703, one or more processors 132 adjust the voltage of the waveform based on the new voltage determined in step S1702. For example, one or more processors 132 may increase the voltage of the waveform from 20 volts to 20.5 volts so as to increase the droplet volume output by, for example, dispenser 122a. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the voltage of the waveform is adjusted to generate a larger droplet volume.

[0096] Figure 18 shows exemplary waveform adjustments for changing droplet volume. In the exemplary waveform adjustment of Figure 18, one or more processors 132 adjust the amplitude of the waveform and the start and stop times. In this example, the ramp speed, period, and dwell time can be kept constant. With the waveform adjustment of Figure 18, the voltage is increased based on the scaling parameter determined in step S1702 (step S1703). Figures 19A and 19B show exemplary droplets of the formable material generated by the exemplary waveforms of Figure 18. The droplet of the formable material shown in Figure 19A was generated by waveform A of Figure 18. The droplet of the formable material shown in Figure 19B was generated by waveform B of Figure 18. The droplet volume of the droplet of the formable material shown in Figure 19B is larger than the droplet volume of the droplet of the formable material shown in Figure 19A.

[0097] Thus, by changing the voltage of the waveform with the scaling parameter corresponding to the adjustment amount determined in step S1308 by the method of Figure 17, the droplet volume is adjusted for the group of nozzles of the dispenser by adjusting the waveform for the group of nozzles of the dispenser. That is, the volume of each droplet dispensed by dispenser 122a increases by the adjustment.

[0098] Figure 20 shows the operation flow of an exemplary method for changing the droplet pattern to change the droplet volume. In step S2001, one or more processors 132 obtain a target volume map. The target volume map can include volumes that vary across the substrate. For example, to achieve the target thicknesses of different steps as shown in Figure 11, the target volume map varies across the substrate according to each volume. The target volume map obtained in step S2001 includes volume targets corresponding to the regions where the group of dispenser nozzles being adjusted dispense the formable material.

[0099] In step S2002, one or more processors 132 determine a scaling parameter based on the adjustment amount determined in step S1308 and the target volume map. For example, if the adjustment amount is to increase the volume of the formable material output by 10%, and the target volume map for the region requires a film thickness of 50 nm, the scaling parameter will be the increased droplet density required for a thickness of 55 nm.

[0100] In step S2003, one or more processors 132 generate a scaled volume map by applying the scaling parameter determined in step S2002 to the target volume map obtained in step S2001. For example, one or more processors 132 generate a new map that includes an increase in the droplet density of the nozzles of dispenser 122a based on the target thickness of 55 nm for the region.

[0101] In step S2004, one or more processors 132 generate a droplet pattern based on the scaled volume map generated in step S2003. The droplet pattern generated in step S2004 has, for example, a higher droplet density than the droplet pattern of the nozzles of dispenser 122a used to manufacture the substrate shown in FIG. 14.

[0102] Thus, by the method of FIG. 20, the desired volume map is scaled based on the adjustment amount determined in step S1308, and a droplet pattern is generated based on the scaled desired volume map, whereby the droplet density is adjusted for a group of nozzles of the dispenser. That is, the number of droplets dispensed by dispenser 122a increases by the adjustment.

[0103] FIG. 21 shows the operation flow of an exemplary method for adjusting droplet volume. In step S2101, one or more processors 132 obtain a target volume for the substrate shown in FIG. 14. In step S2102, one or more processors 132 estimate the droplet volume of each group of nozzles of dispenser 122a and each group of nozzles of dispenser 122b based on the target volume and each adjustment amount corresponding to each nozzle group. In step S2103, one or more processors 132 obtain a target volume map. The target volume map may include volumes that vary across the substrate. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, to achieve different target thicknesses for different steps, the target volume map varies across the substrate according to each volume. The target volume map obtained in step S2103 includes volume targets corresponding to the regions where each dispenser nozzle group dispenses the formable material. In step S2104, one or more processors 132 generate a droplet pattern based on the droplet volume estimated in step S2102 and the target volume map obtained in step S2103. In an alternative embodiment, instead of using droplet pattern generation software that uses information regarding the variation in droplet volume, the target volume map is scaled based on the variation in droplet volume, and the droplet pattern generation software uses the scaled target volume map.

[0104] Thus, by the method of FIG. 21, the droplet density is adjusted for each group of nozzles of the dispenser by scaling a desired volume map based on each adjustment amount determined for each group of nozzles and generating a droplet pattern based on the scaled desired volume map. That is, the number of droplets dispensed by dispenser 122a increases by the adjustment.

[0105] Figures 22 to 24 show exemplary droplets of the formable material. Figure 22 shows an exemplary droplet dispensed onto a substrate containing droplets in region 2201, and the droplets in region 2201 have a lower droplet volume and a lower droplet density than the droplets of Figure 22 that are not included in the droplets in region 2201. Figure 23 shows a droplet dispensed onto a substrate containing droplets in region 2301. The droplets in region 2301 have the same droplet volume as the droplets in region 2201 of Figure 22. However, the droplets in region 2301 of Figure 23 have a higher droplet density than the droplets in region 2201 of Figure 22. The droplets in region 2301 of Figure 23 represent the droplets dispensed by dispenser 122a after dispenser 122a dispensed droplets into region 2201 of Figure 22. The droplets in region 2301 of Figure 23 are an example of the droplets dispensed by dispenser 122a after adjustment using the adjustment method of Figure 20 or after adjustment using the adjustment method of Figure 21. That is, in Figure 23, the number of droplets dispensed by dispenser 122a increases.

[0106] Figure 24 shows a droplet dispensed onto a substrate containing droplets in region 2401. The number of droplets in region 2401 is the same as the number of droplets in region 2201 of Figure 22. However, the droplets in region 2401 of Figure 24 have a higher volume than the droplets in region 2201 of Figure 22. The droplets in region 2401 of Figure 24 represent the droplets dispensed by dispenser 122a after dispenser 122a dispensed droplets into region 2201 of Figure 22. The droplets in region 2401 of Figure 24 are an example of the droplets dispensed by dispenser 122a after adjustment using the adjustment method of Figure 17. That is, the volume of each droplet dispensed by dispenser 122a increases by the adjustment.

[0107] FIG. 25 shows an exemplary image of a substrate including the adjusted film. For example, the substrate including the film of FIG. 14 was generated by dispensers 122a and 122b before the adjustment according to step S1309 and FIGS. 17, 20, or 21. On the other hand, the substrate including the film of FIG. 25 was generated by dispensers 122a and 122b after the adjustment according to step S1309 and FIGS. 17, 20, or 21.

[0108] FIG. 26 shows an exemplary grayscale image of a substrate including a film. FIG. 27 shows an exemplary plot of grayscale pixel values corresponding to each position on the image of the substrate shown in FIG. 26. A comparison of the exemplary substrates and plots shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 with the exemplary substrates and plots shown in FIGS. 26 and 27 shows an improvement in the uniformity of the cured film generated by the adjustment to the dispenser disclosed herein. FIG. 26 shows an exemplary grayscale image of a substrate including the film shown in FIG. 25, except that FIG. 26 includes lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of FIG. 26 are arranged at the same vertical (Y) positions as each of lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of FIG. 14. Lines 1, 3, 5 correspond to regions of the substrate where dispenser 122a deposited the formable material. Lines 2, 4, 6 correspond to regions of the substrate where the second dispenser 122b deposited the formable material. In some embodiments, each of lines 1, 3, and 5 corresponds to each group of nozzles of dispenser 122a, and each of lines 2, 4, and 6 corresponds to each group of nozzles of dispenser 122b.

[0109] FIG. 27 shows an exemplary plot of grayscale pixel values corresponding to each position on the image of the substrate of FIG. 26. One or more processors 132 generate a plot of grayscale intensity values at each X position along line 1, line 2, line 3, line 4, line 5, and line 6. For example, FIG. 27 shows a plot of grayscale pixel values corresponding to each X position along line 1, line 2, line 3, line 4, line 5, and line 6 on the image of the substrate of FIG. 26.

[0110] Comparing the plot of FIG. 15 with the plot of FIG. 27 demonstrates the effectiveness of grayscale image processing for measuring the uniformity of overburden thickness variations. The images and plots of FIGS. 14 and 15 show an uncalibrated dispenser having overburden thickness variations and line profiles in grayscale intensity. On the other hand, the images and plots of FIGS. 26 and 27 show a closely matched dispenser having substantially the same line profile. Thus, thanks to the features of the present disclosure, by using camera 136 to capture an image of the substrate and using the grayscale of the image, differences in overburden thickness can be measured. The results can be used to fine-tune process parameters (e.g., matching the droplet pattern and / or drive voltage of each dispenser) or to monitor each processed wafer to track process stability over time.

[0111] FIG. 28 shows an exemplary computing system 2800. According to various embodiments, all or part of the description of computing system 2800 is applicable to all or part of one or more nanoimprint lithography systems 100, one or more processors 132, and lithography control device 140. In some embodiments, computing system 2800 provides the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the software executed on computing system 2800 performs one or more operations described herein.

[0112] As used herein, the term computing system includes, but is not limited to, one or more software modules, one or more hardware modules, one or more firmware modules, or combinations thereof that cooperate to perform operations on electronic data. The physical layout of the modules can vary. A computing system can include multiple computing devices coupled via a network. A computing system can include a single computing device in which internal modules (such as memory and a processor) cooperate to perform operations on electronic data. Also, as used herein, the term resource includes, but is not limited to, objects that can be processed by a computing system. A resource can be part of executable instructions or data.

[0113] In some embodiments, computing system 2800 performs one or more steps of one or more of the methods described or illustrated herein. In some embodiments, computing system 2800 provides one or more of the functions described or illustrated herein. In some embodiments, the software executed on computing system 2800 performs one or more steps of one or more of the methods described or illustrated herein, or provides one or more of the functions described or illustrated herein. Some embodiments include one or more portions of computing system 2800.

[0114] Computing system 2800 includes one or more processors 2801, a memory 2802, a storage 2803, an input / output (I / O) interface 2804, a communication interface 2805, and a bus 2806. The computing system 2800 can take any suitable physical form. By way of example, the computing system 2800 can be an embedded computer system, a system-on-chip (SOC), a single-board computer system (SBC) (such as a computer-on-module (COM) or a system-on-module (SOM)), a desktop computer system, a laptop or notebook computer system, an interactive kiosk, a mainframe, a mesh of computer systems, a mobile phone, a PDA, a server, a tablet computer system, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0115] Processor 2801 includes hardware for executing instructions, such as those that make up a computer program. Processor 2801 can retrieve instructions from memory 2802, storage 2803, internal registers, or internal cache. Processor 2801 then decodes and executes the instructions. Processor 2801 then writes one or more results to memory 2802, storage 2803, internal registers, or internal cache. Processor 2801 can provide the processing power for executing an operating system, programs, user interfaces and application interfaces, as well as any other functions of the computing system 2800.

[0116] Processor 2801 can include a central processing unit (CPU), one or more general-purpose microprocessors, application-specific microprocessors, and / or dedicated microprocessors, or some combination of such processing elements. Processor 2801 can include one or more graphics processors, video processors, audio processors, and / or related chip sets.

[0117] In some embodiments, memory 2802 includes a main memory for storing instructions for the processor 2801 to execute or data for the processor 2801 to operate on. By way of example, computing system 2800 may load instructions into memory 2802 from storage 2803 or another source. During or after execution of the instructions, processor 2801 may write one or more results (which may be intermediate or final results) to memory 2802. One or more memory buses (each of which may include an address bus and a data bus) may couple processor 2801 to memory 2802. One or more memory management units (MMUs) may exist between processor 2801 and memory 2802 and may facilitate access to memory 2802 requested by processor 2801. Memory 2802 may include one or more memories. Memory 2802 may be a random access memory (RAM).

[0118] Storage 2803 stores data and / or instructions. By way of example, and not limitation, storage 2803 can include a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, flash memory, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, or a combination of two or more of these. In some embodiments, storage 2803 is removable media. In some embodiments, storage 2803 is fixed media. In some embodiments, storage 2803 is internal to computing system 2800. In some embodiments, storage 2803 is external to computing system 2800. In some embodiments, storage 2803 is non-volatile solid state memory. In some embodiments, storage 2803 includes read only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, this ROM can be mask programmed ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), electrically alterable ROM (EAROM), or flash memory, or a combination of two or more of these. Storage 2803 can include one or more memory devices. One or more program modules stored in storage 2803 can be configured to cause various operations and processes described herein to be executed. Storage 2803 can store application data, program modules, and other information. In some embodiments, an application exists on storage 2803 and is executed on computing system 2800. One or more program modules stored in storage 2803 are configured to cause various operations and processes described herein to be executed. For example, a program of one or more applications can include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more operations described with respect to one or more of FIGS. 3, 7, 13, 17, 20, and 21.

[0119] The I / O interface 2804 includes hardware, software, or both that provide one or more interfaces for communication between the computing system 2800 and one or more I / O devices. The computing system 2800 may optionally include one or more of these I / O devices. One or more of these I / O devices may enable communication between a person and the computing system 2800. By way of example, and not limitation, I / O devices may include a light source, keyboard, keypad, microphone, monitor, mouse, speaker, still camera, stylus, tablet, touch screen, trackball, digital video camera, any other I / O device, or a combination of two or more of these. The I / O devices may include one or more sensors. In some embodiments, the I / O interface 2804 includes one or more devices or software drivers that enable the processor 2801 to drive one or more of these I / O devices. The I / O interface 2804 may include one or more I / O interfaces.

[0120] The communication interface 2805 includes hardware, software, or both to provide one or more interfaces for communication (e.g., packet-based communication, etc.) between the computing system 2800 and one or more other computing systems or one or more networks. As an example, without limitation, the communication interface 2805 can include a network interface card (NIC) or a network controller for communicating with an Ethernet or other wired-based network, or a wireless NIC (WNIC) or a wireless adapter for communicating with a wireless network such as a WI-FI network. The present disclosure contemplates any suitable network and any suitable communication interface 2805 therefor. As an example, without limitation, the computing system 2800 can communicate with one or more portions of an ad hoc network, a personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), or the Internet, or a combination of two or more of these. One or more portions of these networks can be wired or wireless. As an example, the computing system 2800 can communicate with a wireless personal area network (WPAN) (e.g., a Bluetooth® WPAN or an ultra-wideband (UWB) network, etc.), a WI-FI network, a WI-MAX network, a cellular phone network (e.g., a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, etc.), or other suitable wireless networks, or a combination of two or more of these. The computing system 2800 can include any suitable communication interface 2805 for any of these networks as needed. The communication interface 2805 can include one or more communication interfaces 2805.

[0121] Bus 2806 interconnects various components of computing system 2800 and enables the transmission of data and the execution of various processes. Bus 2806 can include one or more types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus, using any of various bus architectures.

[0122] The above description is for the purpose of explaining the principles of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure should not be limited to the above examples. For example, the order and / or timing of some of the various operations may be different from the above examples without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Also, other variations from the above examples may exist without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the various features of the illustrated examples can be modified, rearranged, or removed, or one or more features can be added, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0123] The scope of the present disclosure includes a computer-readable medium that stores instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute one or more embodiments of the present disclosure described herein. Examples of computer-readable media include hard disks, floppy disks, magneto-optical disks (MOs), compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk recordables (CD-Rs), CD-rewritables (CD-RWs), digital versatile disk ROMs (DVD-ROMs), DVD-RAMs, DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and ROMs. Also, computer-executable instructions may be supplied to a computer-readable storage medium by being downloaded via a network.

[0124] Although specific embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In fact, the novel embodiments described herein may be implemented in various other forms, and furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the forms of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The appended claims and their equivalents are intended to cover forms or modifications that are included within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the claims are not limited to the above-described embodiments and include various modifications and equivalents.

Claims

1. acquiring an image of a substrate including a film, the film being formed on the substrate by curing formable material deposited on the substrate by a first dispenser and a second dispenser, the first dispenser depositing droplets of the formable material from a group of nozzles of the first dispenser onto a first portion of the substrate based on a target volume, and the second dispenser depositing droplets of the formable material from a group of nozzles of the second dispenser onto a second portion of the substrate based on the target volume, the second portion of the substrate being different from the first portion of the substrate; acquiring intensity information for pixels of the image of the substrate, the intensity information including first intensity data corresponding to the first portion of the substrate and second intensity data corresponding to the second portion of the substrate; determining a difference between a first intensity value corresponding to a region of the substrate and a second intensity value corresponding to the region of the substrate, the first intensity value comprising an intensity value of the first intensity data and the second intensity value comprising an intensity value of the second intensity data, the region of the substrate being associated with a target thickness of the film on the substrate; determining that the difference between the first intensity value and the second intensity value exceeds a threshold; determining a first adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the first dispenser based on the first intensity values ​​and determining a second adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the second dispenser based on the second intensity values; adjusting one or both of a drop volume and a drop density for a group of nozzles of the first dispenser based on the first adjustment amount, and adjusting one or both of a drop volume and a drop density for a group of nozzles of the second dispenser based on the second adjustment amount; The method includes:

2. Determining the first adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the first dispenser includes: determining a first estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the first intensity value; determining the first adjustment amount based on the target volume and the first estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate; Determining the second adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the second dispenser includes: determining a second estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the second intensity values; and determining the second adjustment amount based on the target volume and the second estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate. The method of claim 1.

3. adjusting the drop volume for the first group of nozzles of the dispenser includes adjusting a first waveform for the first group of nozzles of the dispenser by modifying a voltage of the first waveform by a first scaling parameter corresponding to the first adjustment amount; adjusting the drop volume for the second group of nozzles of the second dispenser includes adjusting a second waveform for the second group of nozzles of the second dispenser by modifying a voltage of the second waveform by a second scaling parameter corresponding to the second adjustment amount. The method of claim 1.

4. Adjusting the drop density for the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles of the dispenser comprises: obtaining a map of a desired volume that varies across the substrate; generating a new map by scaling the desired volume map based on the first adjustment amount of the first group of nozzles of the dispenser and the second adjustment amount of the second group of nozzles of the dispenser; generating a droplet pattern based on the new map. The method of claim 1.

5. Adjusting the drop density for the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles of the dispenser comprises: estimating a number of drop volumes dispensed by the first dispenser based on the first adjustment amount of at least a group of nozzles of the first dispenser; estimating a plurality of drop volumes dispensed by the second dispenser based on the second adjustment amount of at least the group of nozzles of the second dispenser; obtaining a map of a desired volume that varies across the substrate; generating a droplet pattern based on the plurality of droplet volumes dispensed by the first dispenser, the plurality of droplet volumes dispensed by the second dispenser, and the desired volume map. The method of claim 1.

6. acquiring an image of a second substrate including a second film; generating a plot of intensity values ​​of pixels of the image of the second substrate; applying mask data to regions of the plot; calculating an average intensity value for each of the regions to which the mask data has been applied; acquiring thickness measurement data of the second film on the second substrate; generating a function by correlating the average intensity values ​​with the thickness measurement data; Further comprising: the first adjustment amount and the second adjustment amount are determined based on the function. The method of claim 1.

7. obtaining a set of relationship values, the set of relationship values ​​indicating relationships between grayscale intensity values ​​and corresponding film thickness values, the grayscale intensity values ​​being based on an image of a second film on a second substrate, and the film thickness values ​​being based on a thickness measurement of the second film on the second substrate; the first adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the first dispenser and the second adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the second dispenser are determined based on the set of relationship values. The method of claim 1.

8. determining a first estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the set of relationship values ​​and the first intensity values, the set of relationship values ​​indicating a correspondence between the first intensity values ​​and the first estimated thickness; determining the first adjustment amount based on the first estimated thickness; determining a second estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the set of relationship values ​​and the second intensity values, the set of relationship values ​​indicating a correspondence between the second intensity values ​​and the second estimated thickness; determining the second adjustment amount based on the second estimated thickness; The method of claim 7 further comprising:

9. depositing the formable material onto a second substrate according to a drop pattern calibrated based on adjusting one or area of ​​a drop volume and a drop density for a group of nozzles of the first dispenser based on the first adjustment amount and adjusting one or both of a drop volume and a drop density for a group of nozzles of the second dispenser based on the second adjustment amount; contacting a molding surface of a superstrate or template with the moldable material deposited on the second substrate; curing the moldable material deposited on the second substrate while the molding surface is in contact with the moldable material; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

10. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the substrate with the hardened formable material to form a plurality of articles by subjecting the substrate with the hardened formable material to one or more of a plurality of known semiconductor procedures and processes for manufacturing articles.

11. 1. A system comprising: one or more computer readable media; one or more processors in communication with the one or more computer-readable media; The one or more processors and the one or more computer readable media include: acquiring an image of a substrate including a film, the film being formed on the substrate by curing formable material deposited on the substrate by a first dispenser and a second dispenser, the first dispenser depositing droplets of the formable material from a group of nozzles of the first dispenser onto a first portion of the substrate based on a target volume, and the second dispenser depositing droplets of the formable material from a group of nozzles of the second dispenser onto a second portion of the substrate based on the target volume, the second portion of the substrate being different from the first portion of the substrate; acquiring intensity information for pixels of the image of the substrate, the intensity information including first intensity data corresponding to the first portion of the substrate and second intensity data corresponding to the second portion of the substrate; determining a difference between a first intensity value corresponding to a region of the substrate and a second intensity value corresponding to the region of the substrate, the first intensity value comprising an intensity value of the first intensity data and the second intensity value comprising an intensity value of the second intensity data, the region of the substrate being associated with a target thickness of the film on the substrate; determining that the difference between the first intensity value and the second intensity value exceeds a threshold; determining a first adjustment amount for a group of nozzles of the first dispenser based on the first intensity values ​​and determining a second adjustment amount for a group of nozzles of the second dispenser based on the second intensity values; adjusting one or both of a drop volume and a drop density for a group of nozzles of the first dispenser based on the first adjustment amount, and adjusting one or both of a drop volume and a drop density for a group of nozzles of the second dispenser based on the second adjustment amount; The system is configured to cause the system to perform operations including:

12. Determining the first adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the first dispenser includes: determining a first estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the first intensity value; determining the first adjustment amount based on the target volume and the first estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate; Determining the second adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the second dispenser includes: determining a second estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the second intensity values; and determining the second adjustment amount based on the target volume and the second estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate. The system of claim 11.

13. adjusting the drop volume for the first group of nozzles of the dispenser includes adjusting a first waveform for the first group of nozzles of the dispenser by modifying a voltage of the first waveform by a first scaling parameter corresponding to the first adjustment amount; adjusting the drop volume for the second group of nozzles of the second dispenser includes adjusting a second waveform for the second group of nozzles of the second dispenser by modifying a voltage of the second waveform by a second scaling parameter corresponding to the second adjustment amount. The system of claim 11.

14. Adjusting the drop density for the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles of the dispenser comprises: obtaining a map of a desired volume that varies across the substrate; generating a new map by scaling the desired volume map based on the first adjustment amount of the first group of nozzles of the dispenser and the second adjustment amount of the second group of nozzles of the dispenser; generating a droplet pattern based on the new map. The system of claim 11.

15. Adjusting the drop density for the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles of the dispenser comprises: estimating a number of drop volumes dispensed by the first dispenser based on the first adjustment amount of at least a group of nozzles of the first dispenser; estimating a plurality of drop volumes dispensed by the second dispenser based on the second adjustment amount of at least the group of nozzles of the second dispenser; obtaining a map of a desired volume that varies across the substrate; generating a droplet pattern based on the plurality of droplet volumes dispensed by the first dispenser, the plurality of droplet volumes dispensed by the second dispenser, and the desired volume map. The system of claim 11.

16. The one or more processors and the one or more computer readable media include: acquiring an image of a second substrate including a second film; generating a plot of intensity values ​​of pixels of the image of the second substrate; applying mask data to regions of the plot; calculating an average intensity value for each of the regions to which the mask data has been applied; acquiring thickness measurement data of the second film on the second substrate; generating a function by correlating the average intensity values ​​with the thickness measurement data; and further configured to cause the system to perform operations including: the first adjustment amount and the second adjustment amount are determined based on the function. The system of claim 11.

17. The one or more processors and the one or more computer readable media include: obtaining a set of relationship values, the set of relationship values ​​indicating relationships between grayscale intensity values ​​and corresponding film thickness values, the grayscale intensity values ​​being based on an image of a second film on a second substrate, and the film thickness values ​​being based on a thickness measurement of the second film on the second substrate; the first adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the first dispenser and the second adjustment amount for the group of nozzles of the second dispenser are determined based on the set of relationship values. The system of claim 11.

18. The one or more processors and the one or more computer readable media include: determining a first estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the set of relationship values ​​and the first intensity values, the set of relationship values ​​indicating a correspondence between the first intensity values ​​and the first estimated thickness; determining the first adjustment amount based on the first estimated thickness; determining a second estimated thickness of the film in the region of the substrate based on the set of relationship values ​​and the second intensity values, the set of relationship values ​​indicating a correspondence between the second intensity values ​​and the second estimated thickness; determining the second adjustment amount based on the second estimated thickness; The system of claim 17 , further configured to cause the system to perform the following operations:

19. The one or more processors and the one or more computer readable media include: depositing the formable material onto the substrate according to a droplet pattern; contacting a superstrate with the moldable material deposited on the substrate; curing the moldable material deposited on the substrate while the superstrate is in contact with the moldable material; The system of claim 11 , further configured to cause the system to perform the following operations:

20. acquiring first intensity information for an image of a first substrate including the film; obtaining thickness metrology data for the first substrate including the film; determining a set of relationship values, the set of relationship values ​​indicating relationships between grayscale intensity values ​​and corresponding film thickness values, the grayscale intensity values ​​based on the first intensity information, and the film thickness values ​​based on the thickness metrology data; acquiring second intensity information for an image of a second substrate; adjusting parameters associated with a dispenser that dispenses formable material onto the second substrate based on the second intensity information and the set of relationship values; The method further comprises:

Images