Imprint device, imprint method, and article manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide an imprint device advantageous for achieving reduction of defects generated due to imprint processing and reduction of variations of pattern dimensions.SOLUTION: An imprint device has a supply unit that supplies air to a space between an imprint material and a mold on a shot area of a substrate; an irradiation unit that performs light irradiation; and a control unit. The plurality of shot areas of the substrate include a full shot area with a size allowing transfer of all the pattern area of the mold, and a partial shot area located in an outer peripheral part of the substrate, thereby allowing transfer of only part of the pattern area. When imprint processing is performed on the partial shot area, the control unit reduces the amount of air supplied by the supply unit, and increases the quantity of irradiation light emitted by the irradiation unit, compared to a case where the imprint processing is performed on the full shot area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] As the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices progresses, in addition to conventional photolithography techniques, a microfabrication technique for forming a pattern on a substrate by molding and curing an imprint material on the substrate with a mold has attracted attention. Such a technique is called an imprint technique and can form a fine pattern on the order of several nanometers on the substrate.

[0003] As one of the imprint techniques, for example, there is a photo-curing method. According to the photo-curing method, a mold is brought into contact with a photo-curable imprint material applied on a substrate (contact step), the imprint material is cured by irradiating light (curing step), and the mold is separated from the cured imprint material (separation step), whereby a pattern is formed on the substrate.

[0004] In the contact step, air (residual gas) between the mold and the imprint material may be mixed into the uncured imprint material as bubbles, resulting in unfilled defects (pattern defects). Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the remaining bubbles. Patent Document 1 describes that the remaining bubbles are suppressed by filling the space between the mold and the substrate with a gas that is highly soluble and / or highly diffusible in the imprint material.

[0005] In addition, in order to further improve productivity and obtain more patterns on the substrate, it is necessary to imprint the outer peripheral region (chipping shot region) of the substrate as well. In the imprint process using imprint technology, similar to the photolithography process using light, it is common to overlay a pattern to be newly formed on a pattern or structure previously formed on the substrate. Therefore, the substrate may be warped or there may be a step in the outer peripheral region of the substrate. Also, depending on the structure of the substrate chuck that holds the substrate and the pressure of the vacuum exhaust used to hold the substrate, the substrate may be bent or locally distorted. Therefore, the substrate in the imprint process using imprint technology is not always flat. The influence of the bending and steps of the substrate becomes particularly significant in the outer peripheral region of the substrate. Therefore, when imprinting the outer peripheral region of the substrate, in the contact process, there is a possibility that the imprint material disposed near the outermost periphery may not completely contact the mold, and thus the imprint material may adhere to the mold. If the imprint material adhering to the mold remains in a cured state due to light irradiation, when imprinting the next shot region, the remaining imprint material may be transferred to the substrate, which may cause defects.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] When imprinting the outer peripheral region of a substrate, if the imprinting process is performed in an atmosphere where sufficient oxygen is present, even if light is irradiated onto the imprinting material attached to the mold, the curing of the imprinting material is inhibited by oxygen. If the imprinting material attached to the mold is uncured, when imprinting the next shot region, the imprinting material attached to the mold is molded together with the imprinting material above the shot region. However, in that case, the pattern dimension variation becomes larger compared to the case where the imprinting process is performed with the space between the substrate and the mold filled with a gas that is highly soluble, highly diffusible, or both.

[0008] The present invention provides an imprint apparatus that is advantageous for reducing defects caused by, for example, imprinting processes and reducing variations in pattern dimensions.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imprint apparatus that performs an imprint process of curing an imprinting material by light irradiation to form a pattern on a shot region of a substrate with the imprinting material above the shot region and the mold in contact with each other for each of a plurality of shot regions of the substrate. The imprint apparatus includes a supply unit that supplies a gas to a space between the imprinting material above the shot region and the mold, an irradiation unit that performs the light irradiation, and a control unit that controls the supply unit and the irradiation unit. The plurality of shot regions include a full-shot region having a size such that all of the pattern regions of the mold are transferred, and a partial-shot region located at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate where only a part of the pattern region is transferred. When performing the imprint process on the partial-shot region, the control unit reduces the supply amount of the gas by the supply unit and increases the irradiation light amount by the irradiation unit compared to the case of performing the imprint process on the full-shot region. An imprint apparatus is provided that is characterized by this.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, for example, it is possible to provide an imprint apparatus advantageous for reducing defects caused by imprint processing and reducing variations in pattern dimensions.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0013] <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an imprint apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. In this specification and the drawings, directions are indicated in an XYZ coordinate system with the horizontal plane being the XY plane. Generally, a substrate 2, which is an object to be processed, is placed on a substrate stage 3 such that its surface is parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane). Therefore, hereinafter, in the plane along the surface of the substrate 2 (the substrate placement surface of the substrate stage 3), directions orthogonal to each other are defined as the X-axis and the Y-axis, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis and the Y-axis is defined as the Z-axis. Further, hereinafter, the directions parallel to the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis in the XYZ coordinate system are referred to as the X-direction, Y-direction, and Z-direction, respectively, and the rotational directions around the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are referred to as the θX-direction, θY-direction, and θZ-direction, respectively.

[0014] First, an overview of the imprint apparatus according to the embodiment will be described. The imprint apparatus is a device that forms a pattern of a cured product in which the concavo-convex pattern of a mold is transferred by bringing an imprint material supplied onto a substrate into contact with the mold and applying energy for curing to the imprint material.

[0015] As the imprint material, a curable composition (sometimes referred to as an uncured resin) that cures when energy for curing is applied is used. As the energy for curing, electromagnetic waves, heat, etc. can be used. The electromagnetic waves can be, for example, light selected from the range of a wavelength of 10 nm or more and 1 mm or less, such as infrared rays, visible light, ultraviolet rays, etc. The curable composition can be a composition that cures by irradiation with light or by heating. Among these, the photocurable composition that cures by irradiation with light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photoinitiator, and may further contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent as necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of a sensitizer, a hydrogen donor, an internal release agent, a surfactant, an antioxidant, a polymer component, etc. The imprint material can be arranged on the substrate in a droplet shape, or in an island shape or a film shape formed by connecting a plurality of droplets, by an imprint material supply device (not shown). The viscosity of the imprint material (viscosity at 25°C) can be, for example, 1 mPa·s or more and 100 mPa·s or less. As the material of the substrate, for example, glass, ceramics, metal, semiconductor, resin, etc. can be used. If necessary, a member made of a material different from the substrate may be provided on the surface of the substrate. The substrate is, for example, a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, or quartz glass.

[0016] The imprint apparatus 1 is used for manufacturing devices such as semiconductor devices, and is an apparatus that forms a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate by molding the imprint material on the substrate with a mold. In the present embodiment, the imprint apparatus 1 is configured to perform an imprint process by a photocuring method. Therefore, the imprint apparatus 1 performs an imprint process of forming a pattern on the shot region by curing the imprint material by light irradiation in a state where the imprint material above the shot region and the mold are in contact with each of the plurality of shot regions of the substrate. The imprint apparatus 1 may include a light irradiation unit 20, a mold holding unit 6, a substrate stage 3, and a gas supply unit 10.

[0017] During the imprint process, the light irradiation unit 20 irradiates the imprint material 7 with ultraviolet light 21. The light irradiation unit 20 may include an optical element that adjusts the ultraviolet light 21 emitted from the light source into light suitable for imprinting.

[0018] The mold 4 has, for example, a rectangular outer peripheral shape, and the surface facing the substrate 2 includes a pattern portion 5 (pattern region) in which an uneven pattern to be transferred to the substrate, such as a circuit pattern, is three-dimensionally formed. The material of the mold 4 is a material that can transmit the ultraviolet light 21, and in this embodiment, it is made of quartz as an example.

[0019] The mold holding unit 6 holds the mold 4 and has a drive mechanism for moving the mold 4. The mold holding unit 6 holds the mold 4 by attracting the outer peripheral region of the surface of the mold 4 irradiated with the ultraviolet light 21 by a vacuum adsorption force or an electrostatic force.

[0020] The drive mechanism of the mold holding unit 6 can move the mold 4 in the Z direction so as to selectively contact and separate the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2. Further, the drive mechanism of the mold holding unit 6 can also move the mold 4 in the XY direction to align the mold 4 and the substrate 2. The drive mechanism of the mold holding unit 6 may be composed of a plurality of drive systems such as a coarse drive system and a fine drive system in order to cope with high-precision positioning of the mold 4. The drive mechanism of the mold holding unit 6 may be configured to be able to move not only in the XYZ directions but also in the directions of θX, θY, and θZ. Note that the operation of contacting and separating the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2 may be performed by moving the mold 4 in the Z direction by the mold holding unit 6, or alternatively, by moving the substrate stage 3 in the Z direction. Or, the operation of contacting and separating the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2 may be performed by moving both the mold holding unit 6 and the substrate stage 3. They may be relatively moved. Thus, in this embodiment, the mold holding unit 6 and the substrate stage 3 constitute a drive unit that relatively drives the mold 4 and the substrate 2 so that the distance between the mold 4 and the substrate 2 changes.

[0021] The substrate 2 is, for example, a single crystal silicon substrate or an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrate, and an imprint material 7 that is pattern-formed by a pattern portion 5 formed in the mold 4 is applied to this surface to be processed.

[0022] The imprint material 7 can be applied onto the substrate 2 in the form of droplets, or in an island shape or a film shape formed by connecting a plurality of droplets, by a liquid ejection head of an imprint material supply device (not shown). Alternatively, the imprint material 7 may be applied onto the substrate 2 in a film shape by a spin coater or a slit coater. The imprint material 7 is a photocurable resin having a property of curing by receiving ultraviolet light 21, and is appropriately selected according to various conditions such as semiconductor device manufacturing processes. The photocurable resin contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photoinitiator, and may contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent as necessary. In the present embodiment, the imprint material 7 is applied in a plurality of droplet forms onto the shot region 8 on the substrate 2 by a liquid ejection head (not shown).

[0023] The substrate stage 3 is configured to hold and move the substrate 2. The substrate stage 3 may include a stage drive mechanism (not shown) that is movable in each axial direction. The stage drive mechanism may be composed of a plurality of drive systems such as a coarse movement drive system and a fine movement drive system for positioning the substrate 2 in the XY directions. Thereby, the substrate stage 3 can move the substrate 2 in the XY directions in order to align the mold 4 and the shot region 8 when the mold 4 comes into contact with the imprint material 7 above the shot region 8 of the substrate 2. The substrate stage 3 may further include a drive system for Z-direction position adjustment and a drive mechanism for moving the substrate 2 in the directions of θX, θY, and θZ.

[0024] After the mold 4 and the substrate 2 are positioned in a predetermined positional relationship, for example, when the mold holding part 6 moves in the -Z direction, the pattern part 5 of the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 on the shot area 8 of the substrate 2 come into contact. In this state, ultraviolet rays 21 are irradiated from the light irradiation part 20 onto the imprint material 7. Thereby, the imprint material 7 is cured. Then, when the mold holding part 6 moves in the +Z direction, the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 are separated. Thereby, a pattern of the imprint material is formed on the substrate 2. The above is the content of the imprint process for one shot area.

[0025] The gas supply part 10 supplies gas 9 to the space between the mold 4 and the substrate 2 and replaces the gas between the mold 4 and the substrate 2 with the gas 9. If bubbles are included between the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 when curing the imprint material 7, the imprint material 7 will not be filled in the locations of the bubbles, and defects may occur in the pattern of the cured product. The gas 9 supplied by the gas supply part 10 may include a permeable gas that permeates at least one of the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 when the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 are in contact. As the permeable gas, for example, noble gases such as helium (He) are used. The gas supply part 10 is arranged around the mold 4. The supply of the gas 9 is controlled by the control part 11.

[0026] The control part 11 comprehensively controls each part of the imprint apparatus 1. The control part 11 can be constituted by an information processing apparatus (computer) including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage part such as a memory. Note that the control part 11 may be arranged inside the housing of the imprint apparatus 1 or may be arranged outside the housing of the imprint apparatus 1. The control part 11 arranged outside the housing of the imprint apparatus 1 may be realized by, for example, a computer that functions as a control server network-connected to the imprint apparatus 1.

[0027] A plurality of shot regions are formed on the substrate 2, and imprint processing is performed on each of the plurality of shot regions. FIG. 2 shows an example of a substrate 2 having a general circular shape and the layout (shot layout) of a plurality of shot regions formed thereon. The plurality of shot regions may include a full shot region 80 having a size such that all of the pattern portions 5 of the mold 4 are transferred, and a partial shot region 81 (chipped shot region) in which only a part of the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is transferred because it is located in the outer peripheral region of the substrate 2. Even if there is no "chip", a shot region where only the corner touches the outer periphery of the substrate or a shot region close to the outer periphery of the substrate may also be classified as the partial shot region 81. The substrate 2 may have an effective region where chips are formed and an invalid region outside the effective region where chips are not formed. For example, a region at a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral end of the substrate may be an invalid region that is not subject to imprinting for reasons such as being easily affected by the processes of the previous steps or due to the specifications of the substrate storage device. A shot region partially covering such an outermost region may also be classified as the partial shot region 81. In that sense, the partial shot region 81 may be understood as a shot region defined by the outer edge of the effective region. In order to obtain more chips from a single substrate, imprinting is also performed on the partial shot region 81.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 3, a conventional imprint method will be described. Here, a case where an imprint process is first performed on the partial shot area 81 and then an imprint process is performed on the full shot area 80 will be described. The substrate 2 is held by a substrate chuck (not shown) on the substrate stage 3. The substrate chuck holds the substrate 2 by, for example, vacuum suction. Therefore, depending on the shape of the substrate chuck and the pressure of the vacuum suction, bending can occur particularly at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 2. Further, since the substrate 2 has undergone pre-treatment such as patterning by photolithography before being supplied to the imprint apparatus 1, a step can occur at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 2. FIG. 3(a) shows a case where bending 2a occurs at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 2, and FIG. 3(b) shows a case where a step 2b occurs at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 2.

[0029] In S101, the control unit 11 controls an imprint material supply device (not shown) to dispose (apply) the imprint material 7 on the partial shot area 81 that is the imprint target of the substrate 2 (coating step). In the coating step, the partial shot area 81 can be coated even in the areas with the bending 2a and the step 2b so that a sufficient amount of the imprint material 7 is supplied. Thereafter, the control unit 11 controls the substrate stage 3 so that the partial shot area 81 coated with the imprint material 7 is positioned under the pattern portion 5.

[0030] In order to prevent the unfilling of the imprint material due to the entrapment of air bubbles in the contact step, before the contact step, in S102, the control unit 11 controls the gas supply unit 10 to supply the gas 9 (supply step). Thereby, the air between the pattern portion 5 and the substrate 2 is replaced by the gas 9.

[0031] In S103, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to bring the pattern unit 5 into contact with the imprint material 7 above the partial shot area 81 (contact step). As a result, the imprint material 7 is filled into the pattern unit 5. At this time, although the imprint material 7 applied to the area with the deflection 2a or the step 2b may also come into contact with the pattern unit 5, the degree of contact may be insufficient for all of the imprint material 7 to remain on the substrate 2 during demolding. After that, the control unit 11 causes the irradiation unit 20 to emit ultraviolet rays 21. The ultraviolet rays 21 are irradiated onto the imprint material 7 through the mold 4, and thereby the imprint material 7 is cured (curing step).

[0032] In S104, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to separate (demold) the pattern unit 5 from the cured imprint material 7 (separation step). At this time, since the imprint material 7 applied to the area with the deflection 2a or the step 2b has insufficient contact with the pattern unit 5, a part of the imprint material 7, i.e., the imprint material 7', remains attached to the pattern unit 5 during demolding. The imprint material 7' remaining on the surface of the pattern unit 5 is cured by the ultraviolet rays 21 and continues to remain on the surface of the pattern unit 5 as it is. As a result, the imprint process for the next shot area will be performed with the imprint material 7' remaining on the surface of the pattern unit 5.

[0033] In the subsequent S105 to S107, an imprint process is performed on the full shot area 80. In S105, the control unit 11 controls an imprint material supply device (not shown) to dispose (apply) the imprint material 7 onto the full shot area 80 to be imprinted on the substrate 2 (coating step). At this time, the cured imprint material 7' remains on the pattern unit 5. After that, the control unit 11 controls the substrate stage 3 so that the full shot area 80 coated with the imprint material 7 is positioned under the pattern unit 5. Next, the control unit 11 controls the gas supply unit 10 to supply the gas 9 (supply step). As a result, the air between the pattern unit 5 and the substrate 2 is replaced by the gas 9.

[0034] In S106, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to bring the pattern unit 5 into contact with the imprint material 7 above the full shot area 80 (contact step). As a result, the imprint material 7 is filled into the pattern unit 5. Thereafter, the control unit 11 causes the irradiation unit 20 to emit ultraviolet rays 21. The ultraviolet rays 21 are irradiated onto the imprint material 7 through the mold 4, whereby the imprint material 7 is cured (curing step).

[0035] In S107, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to separate (release) the pattern unit 5 from the cured imprint material 7 (separation step). At this time, filling defects and pattern formation defects occur at the locations where the remaining imprint material 7' in the pattern unit 5 was in contact. As a result, defects D occur at the contact locations of the remaining imprint material 7' in the imprint material 7 formed through the separation step of S107.

[0036] Therefore, in the present embodiment, when performing an imprint process on the partial shot area 81, compared with the case of performing an imprint process on the full shot area 80, the supply amount of the gas 9 in the supply step is decreased, and the irradiation light amount of the light irradiation in the curing step is increased. With reference to FIG. 4, the imprint method of the present embodiment will be described. Here, similar to FIG. 3, the case where an imprint process is first performed on the partial shot area 81 and then an imprint process is performed on the full shot area 80 will be described.

[0037] In S201, the control unit 11 controls an imprint material supply device (not shown) to dispose (apply) the imprint material 7 on the partial shot area 81, which is the imprint target of the substrate 2 (coating step). In the coating step, the imprint material 7 can be applied even to the areas with the deflection 2a and the step 2b so that a sufficient amount of the imprint material 7 is supplied to the partial shot area 81. Thereafter, the control unit 11 controls the substrate stage 3 so that the partial shot area 81 coated with the imprint material 7 is positioned under the pattern unit 5.

[0038] In S202, the control unit 11 controls the gas supply unit 10 to supply the gas 9 (supply step). Here, when performing imprint processing on the partial shot area 81, the supply amount of the gas 9 is reduced compared to the case of performing imprint processing on the full shot area 80. Reducing the supply amount of the gas 9 may also include setting the supply amount of the gas 9 to 0 (that is, turning off the gas supply from the gas supply unit 10).

[0039] In S203, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to bring the pattern unit 5 into contact with the imprint material 7 above the partial shot area 81 (contact step). As a result, the imprint material 7 is filled into the pattern unit 5. However, in the partial shot area 81, since the supply amount of the gas 9 in S202 is small or the gas 9 is not supplied, the filling speed of the imprint material 7 into the pattern unit 5 is slow. Therefore, in the partial shot area 81, the contact time between the imprint material 7 and the pattern unit 5 is made longer compared to the full shot area 80. At this time, the imprint material 7 applied to the area with the deflection 2a or the step 2b may also come into contact with the pattern unit 5, but the degree of contact may be insufficient for all of the imprint material 7 to remain on the substrate 2 when demolding. Thereafter, the control unit 11 causes the irradiation unit 20 to emit ultraviolet rays 21. The ultraviolet rays 21 are irradiated onto the imprint material 7 through the mold 4, and thereby the imprint material 7 is cured (curing step). In the partial shot area 81, since the supply amount of the gas 9 in S202 is small or the gas 9 is not supplied, the oxygen concentration in the space between the imprint material 7 above the partial shot area 81 and the mold 4 becomes high. The imprint material 7 at the location where the pattern unit 5 and the partial shot area 81 are in contact is cured by the ultraviolet rays 21 because the atmosphere has disappeared due to the contact. However, the imprint material 7 applied to the area with the deflection 2a or the step 2b has an insufficient contact with the pattern unit 5, so there is an atmosphere containing oxygen around it. As described above, the imprint material 7 contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photoinitiator. The curing of the imprint material 7 is caused by the polymerizable compound undergoing a polymerization reaction due to radicals generated from the photoinitiator irradiated with the ultraviolet rays 21. Oxygen reacts with the radicals generated from the photoinitiator by the irradiation of the ultraviolet rays 21 to disappear the radicals. As a result, the polymerization reaction of the polymerizable compound is inhibited. This means that the curing of the imprint material 7 is inhibited. Therefore, the curing of the imprint material 7 applied to the area with the deflection 2a or the step 2b is inhibited (suppressed) by the oxygen in the atmosphere. When the gas 9 is not supplied in S202, since the oxygen concentration becomes higher, the effect of suppressing the curing of the imprint material 7 also becomes higher.

[0040] In S204, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to separate (release) the pattern unit 5 from the cured imprint material 7 (separation step). At this time, since the contact between the imprint material 7 applied to the region with the deflection 2a or the step 2b and the pattern unit 5 is insufficient, a part of the imprint material 7, i.e., the imprint material 7', remains attached to the pattern unit 5 during the release. However, the remaining imprint material 7' remains uncured due to the presence of oxygen. Since the small amount of the remaining uncured imprint material 7' volatilizes and disappears over time, it will not cause defects when the next shot region is subjected to the imprint process.

[0041] In the subsequent S205 to S207, the imprint process is performed on the full shot region 80. In S205, the control unit 11 controls an imprint material supply device (not shown) to dispose (apply) the imprint material 7 on the full shot region 80 to be imprinted on the substrate 2 (application step). At this time, the uncured imprint material 7' remains on the pattern unit 5. Then, the control unit 11 controls the substrate stage 3 so that the full shot region 80 coated with the imprint material 7 is positioned under the pattern unit 5. Next, the control unit 11 controls the gas supply unit 10 to supply the gas 9 (supply step). Thereby, the air between the pattern unit 5 and the substrate 2 is replaced by the gas 9.

[0042] In S206, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to bring the pattern unit 5 into contact with the imprint material 7 above the full shot area 80 (contact step). As a result, the imprint material 7 is filled into the pattern unit 5. In this contact step, the uncured imprint material 7' remaining in the pattern unit 5 comes into contact with the imprint material 7 applied to the full shot area 80. Since both the imprint material 7' and the imprint material 7 are in an uncured state, they are mixed and filled into the pattern unit 5. Since the gas 9 is supplied in S205, the contact time can be made shorter than in the contact step in the partial shot area 81 of S203. Then, the control unit 11 causes the irradiation unit 20 to emit ultraviolet rays 21. The ultraviolet rays 21 are irradiated onto the imprint material 7 through the mold 4, whereby the imprint material 7 is cured (curing step).

[0043] In S207, the control unit 11 controls the mold holding unit 6 to separate (release) the pattern unit 5 from the cured imprint material 7 (separation step). Since the imprint material 7' is mixed with the imprint material 7, no defect occurs at the contact location of the remaining imprint material 7'.

[0044] As described above, when performing imprint processing in the partial shot area, compared with the case of performing imprint processing in the full shot area, reducing the gas supply amount by the gas supply unit 10 has been explained. Next, when performing imprint processing in the partial shot area, compared with the case of performing imprint processing in the full shot area, increasing the irradiation light amount by the light irradiation unit 20 will be explained.

[0045] When an imprint process was performed under the condition that gas 9 was sufficiently supplied to all the full-shot regions 80 on the substrate 2, a structure without pattern collapse as shown in the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 5(a) could be obtained. Next, the imprint process was performed on all the partial-shot regions 81 on the substrate 2 while reducing the supply amount of gas 9 or without supplying gas 9 as compared with the case of performing the imprint process on the full-shot regions 80. At this time, as shown in the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 5(b), due to the collapse occurring in a part of the pattern, variations occurred in the dimensions of the imprinted structure in the region 81 as compared with the region 80.

[0046] On the other hand, when the imprint process was performed while increasing the amount of irradiation light for the partial-shot region 81 compared to the amount of irradiation light for the full-shot region 80, a structure without pattern collapse as shown in the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 5(a) could be obtained. In order to reduce the variation in pattern dimensions, for example, it is preferable to increase the amount of irradiation light for the partial-shot region 81 to 1.5 to 10 times the amount of irradiation light for the full-shot region 80. In order to minimize the variation in pattern dimensions, it is more preferable to increase the amount of irradiation light for the partial-shot region 81 to 1.5 to 3 times the amount of irradiation light for the full-shot region 80.

[0047] As described above, in the present embodiment, when performing the imprint process on the partial-shot region, compared with the case of performing the imprint process on the full-shot region, the supply amount of gas by the gas supply unit 10 is reduced, and the amount of irradiation light by the light irradiation unit 20 is increased. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the defects generated by the imprint process and the variation in pattern dimensions.

[0048] <Second Embodiment> Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described. Matters not mentioned in the second embodiment follow the above-described first embodiment.

[0049] In the second embodiment, the imprinting order for the plurality of shot regions on the substrate 2 will be described. As described in the first embodiment, for the full shot region 80, the imprinting process is performed under the condition that the gas 9 is sufficiently supplied. On the other hand, for the partial shot region 81, the imprinting process is performed by reducing the supply amount of the gas 9 compared to the full shot region 80 and increasing the light irradiation amount compared to the full shot region 80.

[0050] Experiments were conducted on the six types of imprinting orders shown below. In FIG. 6, the numerical values assigned to each of the plurality of shot regions indicate the imprinting order. The white-shot regions indicate full shot regions, the light gray-shot regions indicate partial shot regions, and the dark gray-shot regions indicate shot regions where distortion has occurred. The number of shot regions where distortion occurred as a result of performing the imprinting process in each imprinting order is shown in FIG. 7.

[0051] (Imprinting order a: FIG. 6(a)) First, the full shot regions were sequentially imprinted from the lower left, from left to right, and from bottom to top. Next, the partial shot regions were sequentially imprinted from the lower left, from left to right, and from bottom to top. As a result, among the 26 partial shot regions, thermal distortion occurred in 25 shot regions excluding the first partial shot region (the 59th shot region), and the overlay accuracy decreased. It can be seen that when the imprinting process is continuously performed on a partial shot region and the shot region adjacent to it, distortion occurs in that shot region.

[0052] (Imprinting order b: FIG. 6(b)) Regardless of whether it was a partial shot area or a full shot area, imprinting was performed in order from left to right and from bottom to top in the shot area at the lower left. As a result, distortion due to heat occurred in 17 shot areas, and the overlay accuracy decreased. Here too, it can be seen that when imprinting is continuously performed in a partial shot area and the shot area adjacent to it, distortion occurs in that shot area.

[0053] (Imprinting order c: Fig. 6(c)) First, imprinting was performed on the partial shot areas skipping one from the lower left. After that, imprinting was performed on the full shot areas in order from left to right and from bottom to top starting from the lower left. Since imprinting was continuously performed on the 26th shot area, which is the final shot area among the partial shot areas, and the 27th shot area, which is the starting shot area of the full shot area adjacent to it, distortion occurred in the 27th shot area.

[0054] (Imprinting order d: Fig. 6(d)) First, imprinting was performed on the partial shot areas starting from the lower left so as not to be continuous between adjacent shot areas. Next, imprinting was performed on the full shot areas in order from left to right and from top to bottom starting from the upper left. In this case, since imprinting was not continuously performed on the partial shot area and the shot area adjacent to it, no distortion occurred.

[0055] (Imprinting order e: Fig. 6(e)) First, imprinting was performed on the full shot areas in order from left to right and from bottom to top starting from the lower left. Next, imprinting was performed on the partial shot areas skipping one from the lower left. In this case too, since imprinting was not continuously performed on the partial shot area and the shot area adjacent to it, no distortion occurred.

[0056] (Imprint order f: Figure 6(f)) First, the full-shot area was imprinted in order from the lower left, from left to right, and from bottom to top. Next, the partial-shot area was imprinted starting from the left center so as not to be continuous between adjacent shot areas. Also in this case, since the imprinting process was not continuously performed on the partial-shot area and the shot area adjacent thereto, no distortion occurred.

[0057] From the above, it is advantageous in terms of overlay accuracy to perform the imprinting process on each of the plurality of shot areas in an order in which the imprinting process is not continuously performed on the partial-shot area and the shot area adjacent thereto.

[0058] <Third Embodiment> Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described. Matters not mentioned in the third embodiment follow the above-described first and second embodiments.

[0059] In this embodiment, for the full-shot area, the imprinting process is performed under the condition that the gas 9 is sufficiently supplied. On the other hand, for the partial-shot area, compared with the case where the imprinting process is performed on the full-shot area, the supply amount of the gas 9 is decreased (the gas supply may be turned off), and the irradiation light amount is increased. Also, as in the second embodiment, the imprinting process may be performed on each of the plurality of shot areas in an order in which the imprinting process is not continuously performed on the partial-shot area and the shot area adjacent thereto.

[0060] The imprinting process was carried out in the imprinting order shown in Fig. 6(b). That is, regardless of whether it is a partial shot area or a full shot area, the imprinting process was performed in order from left to right and from bottom to top in the shot area at the lower left. When distortion of 1 to 10 nm or more occurs per shot, the overlay accuracy decreases. Therefore, when continuously performing the imprinting process on a plurality of adjacent shot areas, after the imprinting process for one shot area, wait until the thermal deformation amount of the substrate becomes 10 nm or less, preferably 1 nm or less. Then, the imprinting process for the next shot area was performed. At this time, when the waiting time before performing the imprinting process for the full shot area and the waiting time before performing the imprinting process for the partial shot area were made the same, large thermal deformation occurred and distortion occurred. On the other hand, when the waiting time before performing the imprinting process for the partial shot area was made longer than the waiting time before performing the imprinting process for the full shot area, the distortion became 10 nm or less and the overlay accuracy improved.

[0061] Therefore, in the present embodiment, when sequentially performing the imprinting process on a plurality of shot areas, a waiting time is provided before each imprinting process. And it is preferable to set the waiting time before performing the imprinting process for the partial shot area to be longer than the waiting time before performing the imprinting process for the full shot area. By doing so, it becomes more advantageous in terms of overlay accuracy.

[0062] <Embodiment of article manufacturing method> The pattern of the cured product formed using the imprinting apparatus is permanently used for at least a part of various articles, or temporarily used when manufacturing various articles. Articles include electrical circuit elements, optical elements, MEMS, recording elements, sensors, or molds, etc. Examples of electrical circuit elements include volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memories such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, MRAM, and semiconductor elements such as LSI, CCD, image sensors, and FPGA. Examples of molds include molds for imprinting.

[0063] The pattern of the cured material is used as it is as at least a part of the constituent members of the above article, or is temporarily used as a resist mask. After etching, ion implantation, etc. are performed in the substrate processing step, the resist mask is removed.

[0064] Next, with reference to FIG. 8, a method for manufacturing an article will be described. In step SA, a substrate 1z such as a silicon substrate on which a workpiece 2z such as an insulator is formed on the surface is prepared. Subsequently, an imprint material 3z is applied to the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. Here, a state in which a plurality of droplet-shaped imprint materials 3z are applied on the substrate is shown.

[0065] In step SB, an imprint mold 4z is opposed with the side on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed facing the imprint material 3z on the substrate. In step SC, the substrate 1z on which the imprint material 3z is applied and the mold 4z are brought into contact with each other and pressure is applied. The imprint material 3z is filled in the gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. When light is irradiated through the mold 4z as energy for curing in this state, the imprint material 3z cures.

[0066] In step SD, after curing the imprint material 3z, when the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, a pattern of the cured product of the imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z. The pattern of this cured product has a shape in which the concave portion of the mold corresponds to the convex portion of the cured product and the convex portion of the mold corresponds to the concave portion of the cured product. That is, the concavo-convex pattern of the mold 4z is transferred to the imprint material 3z.

[0067] In engineering SE, when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured material as an etching mask, among the surfaces of the workpiece 2z, portions where the cured material is absent or remains thinly are removed to form grooves 5z. In engineering SF, when the pattern of the cured material is removed, an article having grooves 5z formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z can be obtained. Here, the pattern of the cured material has been removed, but it may not be removed after processing and may be used, for example, as a film for interlayer insulation included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a constituent member of the article.

[0068] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0069] The disclosure of this specification includes at least the following technical ideas. (Item 1) An imprint apparatus that performs an imprint process of forming a pattern on each of a plurality of shot regions of a substrate by curing an imprint material by light irradiation in a state where the imprint material above the shot region is in contact with a mold, a supply unit that supplies a gas to a space between the imprint material above the shot region and the mold, an irradiation unit that performs the light irradiation, a control unit that controls the supply unit and the irradiation unit, and having, the plurality of shot regions include a full-shot region having a size such that all of the pattern regions of the mold are transferred, and a partial-shot region located at an outer peripheral portion of the substrate where only a part of the pattern region is transferred. When the control unit performs the imprint process on the partial shot area, compared with the case of performing the imprint process on the full shot area, the control unit reduces the supply amount of the gas by the supply unit and increases the irradiation light amount by the irradiation unit. An imprint apparatus characterized by the above. (Item 2) The control unit performs the imprint process on each of the plurality of shot areas in an order in which the imprint process is not continuously performed on the partial shot area and the shot area adjacent thereto. The imprint apparatus according to Item 1, characterized by this. (Item 3) The gas includes a permeable gas that permeates at least one of the mold and the imprint material. The imprint apparatus according to Item 1 or 2, characterized by this. (Item 4) Reducing the supply amount of the gas by the supply unit includes turning off the supply of the gas by the supply unit. The imprint apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3, characterized by this. (Item 5) When the control unit sequentially performs the imprint process on the plurality of shot areas, a waiting time is provided before each imprint process, and the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the partial shot area is set to be longer than the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the full shot area. The imprint apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 4, characterized by this. (Item 6) An imprint method for performing an imprint process to form a pattern of an imprint material using a mold on each of a plurality of shot areas of a substrate, The imprint process for one shot area is A supply step of supplying gas to the space between the imprint material and the mold above the shot area, A contact step of bringing the imprint material and the mold above the shot area into contact with each other in a state where the gas is supplied to the space. A curing step of curing the imprint material by irradiating light while the imprint material is in contact with the mold; including; The plurality of shot regions include a full shot region having a size capable of transferring all of the pattern regions of the mold, and a partial shot region located at the outer peripheral portion of the substrate and transferring only a part of the pattern region; When performing the imprint process on the partial shot region, as compared with the case of performing the imprint process on the full shot region, the supply amount of the gas in the supply step is decreased, and the irradiation light amount of the light irradiation in the curing step is increased; An imprint method characterized by the above. (Item 7) The imprint process is performed on each of the plurality of shot regions in an order in which the imprint process is not continuously performed on the partial shot region and the shot region adjacent thereto. The imprint method according to Item 6, characterized by the above. (Item 8) The gas includes a permeable gas that permeates at least one of the mold and the imprint material. The imprint method according to Item 6 or 7, characterized by the above. (Item 9) Reducing the supply amount of the gas includes turning off the supply of the gas. The imprint method according to any one of Items 6 to 8, characterized by the above. (Item 10) When sequentially performing the imprint process on the plurality of shot regions, a waiting time is provided before each imprint process, and the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the partial shot region is set to be longer than the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the full shot region. The imprint method according to any one of Items 6 to 9, characterized by the above. (Item 11) A step of forming a pattern on a substrate using the imprint apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5; A step of processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed; Having, manufacturing an article from the processed substrate, An article manufacturing method characterized by that.

[0070] The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, claims are appended to disclose the scope of the invention.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0071] 1: Imprinting apparatus, 2: Substrate, 4: Mold, 7: Imprinting material, 10: Gas supply unit, 20: Light irradiation unit

Claims

1. An imprint apparatus that performs an imprint process of forming a pattern on each of a plurality of shot regions of a substrate by curing an imprint material by light irradiation while bringing the imprint material above the shot region into contact with a mold, a supply unit that supplies a gas into a space between the imprint material above the shot region and the mold, an irradiation unit that performs the light irradiation, and a control unit that controls the supply unit and the irradiation unit, wherein the plurality of shot regions include a full-shot region having a size such that all of the pattern regions of the mold are transferred, and a partial-shot region located at an outer peripheral portion of the substrate where only a part of the pattern region is transferred, when performing the imprint process on the partial-shot region, the control unit reduces the supply amount of the gas by the supply unit and increases the irradiation light amount by the irradiation unit as compared with when performing the imprint process on the full-shot region, characterized in that it is an imprint apparatus.

2. The control unit performs the imprint process on each of the plurality of shot regions in an order in which the imprint process is not continuously performed on the partial-shot region and an adjacent shot region, the imprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. The gas includes a permeable gas that permeates at least one of the mold and the imprint material, the imprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

4. Reducing the supply amount of the gas by the supply unit includes turning off the supply of the gas by the supply unit, the imprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

5. When sequentially performing the imprint process on the plurality of shot regions, the control unit provides a waiting time before each imprint process, and the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the partial-shot region is set to be longer than the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the full-shot region, the imprint apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

6. An imprint method of performing an imprint process of forming a pattern of an imprint material using a mold on each of a plurality of shot regions of a substrate, wherein the imprint process for one shot region is A supply step of supplying gas to a space between the imprint material and the mold above the shot area; A contact step of bringing the imprint material above the shot area into contact with the mold in a state where the gas is supplied to the space; A curing step of curing the imprint material by light irradiation in a state where the imprint material and the mold are in contact; comprising; The plurality of shot areas include a full shot area having a size capable of transferring all of the pattern areas of the mold, and a partial shot area located at an outer peripheral portion of the substrate where only a part of the pattern area is transferred. When performing the imprint process on the partial shot area, compared with the case of performing the imprint process on the full shot area, the supply amount of the gas in the supply step is reduced, and the irradiation light amount of the light irradiation in the curing step is increased. An imprint method characterized by the above.

7. The imprint process is performed on each of the plurality of shot areas in an order in which the imprint process is not continuously performed on the partial shot area and an adjacent shot area. The imprint method according to claim 6, characterized by the above.

8. The gas includes a permeable gas that permeates at least one of the mold and the imprint material. The imprint method according to claim 6, characterized by the above.

9. Reducing the supply amount of the gas includes turning off the supply of the gas. The imprint method according to claim 6, characterized by the above.

10. When sequentially performing the imprint process on the plurality of shot areas, a waiting time is provided before each imprint process, and the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the partial shot area is set to be longer than the waiting time before performing the imprint process on the full shot area. The imprint method according to claim 6, characterized by the above.

11. A step of forming a pattern on a substrate using the imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5; A step of processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed; having, and manufacturing an article from the processed substrate. An article manufacturing method characterized by the above.

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