System and method for generating drop patterns

Abstract

In a drop pattern generation method, if droplets are distributed away from relatively large features, it takes longer than desired for the features to be filled. [Solution] A method comprising: receiving a predetermined fluid drop volume of a droplet; receiving information about an array of cells defining a desired filling set related to the predetermined fluid drop volume, wherein the information includes a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells and a predetermined position for each cell in the array of cells; determining the distance from the centroid of the array of cells to the predetermined position for each cell in a plurality of cells of the array of cells; identifying a cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume among the cells of the plurality of cells whose distance from the centroid is within a predetermined threshold distance; and assigning the predetermined position of the identified cell as the drop position of the droplet in the drop pattern.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application generally relates to the generation of drop patterns for imprint lithography. [Background technology]

[0002] Nanofabrication involves the fabrication of extremely small structures with features measuring 100 nanometers or less. One application of nanofabrication is the manufacturing of integrated circuits. The semiconductor process industry continues to pursue greater production yields while increasing the amount of circuitry per unit area formed on a substrate. Improvements in nanofabrication include providing greater process control and improving throughput, as well as enabling the continuous reduction of the minimum feature dimensions of the structures formed.

[0003] One nanofabrication technique is commonly referred to as nanoimprint lithography. Nanoimprint lithography is useful in a variety of applications, including, for example, the fabrication of one or more layers of integrated devices. Examples of integrated devices include CMOS logic, microprocessors, NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, DRAM memory, MRAM, 3D crosspoint memory, Re-RAM, Fe-RAM, STT-RAM, and MEMS. Examples of nanoimprint lithography systems and processes are described in detail in numerous publications, including U.S. Patent Nos. 8,349,241, 8,066,930, and 6,936,194.

[0004] The nanoimprint lithography techniques disclosed in each of the aforementioned patents describe the formation of a relief pattern in a moldable (polymerizable) layer and the transfer of a pattern corresponding to the relief pattern to or onto a substrate. The patterning process uses a template separated from the substrate, and a moldable liquid is applied between the template and the substrate. The moldable liquid is solidified to form a solid layer having a pattern that conforms to the shape of the surface of the template in contact with the moldable liquid. After solidification, the template is pulled away from the solidified layer so that the template and the substrate are separated. The substrate and the solidified layer are then subjected to additional processes, such as an etching process, to transfer a relief image corresponding to the pattern of the solidified layer onto the substrate. The patterned substrate is further subjected to known steps and processes for device (article) manufacturing, including, for example, curing, oxidation, layering, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, removal of moldable material, dicing, bonding, and packaging.

[0005] U.S. Patent No. 11,556,055 (hereinafter, "Patent No. 055") discloses a method for generating drop patterns for imprint lithography, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In the method of Patent No. 055, and other disclosed drop pattern generation methods, when droplets are distributed according to the drop patterns generated by the disclosed methods, in many cases the droplets are distributed relatively far away (e.g., 20 microns or more) from relatively large etched features (e.g., features with a width of 50 microns or more). When this situation occurs, i.e., when droplets are distributed extremely far from relatively large features, it takes longer than desired for the relatively large features to be filled. Long filling times negatively impact production time (i.e., throughput). Therefore, there is a need for a method for generating drop patterns that, at the time of distribution, places droplets closer to (e.g., less than 20 microns) relatively large features (e.g., features with a width of 50 microns or more). [Overview of the Initiative] [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A method for assigning the drop position of a droplet in a drop pattern includes receiving a predetermined fluid drop volume of a droplet, receiving information about an array of cells defining a desired filling set associated with the predetermined fluid drop volume, wherein the information includes a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells and a predetermined position for each cell in the array of cells, determining the distance from the centroid of the array of cells to the predetermined position for each cell in a plurality of cells of the array of cells, identifying a cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume among the cells of the plurality of cells whose distance from the centroid is within a predetermined threshold distance, and assigning the predetermined position of the identified cell as the drop position of the droplet in the drop pattern.

[0007] A system for imprinting or planarizing includes a substrate chuck configured to hold a substrate, a dispenser configured to supply a moldable material onto the substrate, and a controller configured to control the dispenser according to a drop pattern of the moldable material indicating the respective drop positions of droplets of the moldable material to be supplied onto the substrate. The controller is further configured to receive a predetermined fluid drop volume of droplets, and information relating to an array of cells defining a desired filling set associated with the predetermined fluid drop volume, the information including a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells, and a predetermined position for each cell in the array of cells, to determine the distance from the centroid of the array of cells to the predetermined position for each cell in a plurality of cells of the array of cells, to identify the cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume among the cells of the plurality of cells whose distance from the centroid is within a predetermined threshold distance, and to assign the predetermined position of the identified cell as the drop position of the droplet in the drop pattern.

[0008] A method for manufacturing an article is to a) receive a predetermined fluid drop volume of droplets; b) receive information about an array of cells defining a desired filling set related to the predetermined fluid drop volume, the information including a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells and a predetermined position for each cell in the array of cells; c) determine the distance from the centroid of the array of cells to the predetermined position for each cell in a plurality of cells of the array of cells; d) identify the cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume among the cells of the plurality of cells whose distance from the centroid is within a predetermined threshold distance; and e) drop The process includes: f) assigning the predetermined positions of the identified cells as the drop positions of the droplets in the drop pattern; g) repeating steps a) through e) until the drop pattern is completed; h) distributing droplets of the moldable material onto a substrate according to the completed drop pattern; i) bringing the distributed droplets into contact with a template or superstraight to form a film; i) exposing the film beneath the template or superstraight to a chemical beam; j) processing the substrate; and k) forming the article from the processed substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a nanoimprint lithography system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a nanoimprint lithography system. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows a plan view (along the z-axis) of an exemplary embodiment of the substrate, appliqué, fluid dispenser, template, and drop pattern. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of a field material map. [Figure 6]Figure 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of a set of cells overlaid on a field material map. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows exemplary embodiments of the volume index, scan sequence index, and flooding sequence index. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for assigning the position of a droplet in a drop pattern. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an exemplary embodiment of a set of cells overlaid on a field material map when performing the operation flow of Figure 10. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows another exemplary embodiment of a set of cells overlaid on a field material map when the operation flow of Figure 10 is performed, in which blur is applied to the field material map. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows another exemplary embodiment of a set of cells overlaid on a field material map when the operation flow of Figure 10 is performed, in which blur is applied to the field material map. [Figure 14] Figure 14 shows another exemplary embodiment of a set of cells overlaid on a field material map when the operation flow of Figure 10 is performed, in which blur is applied to the field material map. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows another exemplary embodiment of a set of cells overlaid on a field material map when the operation flow of Figure 10 is performed, in which blur is applied to the field material map. [Figure 16] Figure 16 shows an exemplary embodiment of a nanoimprint lithography control device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The following paragraphs describe specific descriptive embodiments. Other embodiments may include alternatives, equivalents, and modifications. Furthermore, the descriptive embodiments include several novel features, and certain features may not be essential to some embodiments of the devices, systems, and methods described herein. Additionally, some embodiments include features from two or more of the following descriptive embodiments.

[0011] Furthermore, as used herein, the conjunction "or" generally refers to an inclusive "or," but "or" may also refer to an exclusive "or" when explicitly indicated, or when the context indicates that "or" must be an exclusive "or."

[0012] Furthermore, in this description and drawings, the alphabetical suffix of the reference number is used to indicate specific examples of features identified by the reference number. For example, a cell in a group of cells is identified by reference number 165 if the particular cell is not distinguishable. However, 165A is used to identify a particular cell if it is distinguishable from the rest of cell 165.

[0013] Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a nanoimprint lithography system 100. In operation, the nanoimprint lithography system 100 deposits droplets 124 of formable material (e.g., resist) onto a substrate 102 (e.g., wafer) and uses a template 108 having a mesa (also called a mold) 110 with a patterning surface 112 to imprint the formable material on the substrate 102, thereby forming a pattern layer 125 having a relief pattern on the formable material in the imprint field of the substrate 102. A single mesa 110 may be used to imprint formable material in multiple imprint fields of a single substrate 102 or multiple substrates 102.

[0014] In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the substrate 102 is surrounded by an appliqué 106. The appliqué 106 may be configured to stabilize the local gas environment beneath the template 108 and / or, for example, to help protect the patterning surface 112 from particles if the template is not on the substrate surface 130. Furthermore, the upper surface of the appliqué 106 may be downward (as shown in Figure 1, for example) or coplanar with the substrate surface 130.

[0015] Furthermore, the substrate 102 is coupled to a substrate chuck 104 that also supports the appliqué 106. Examples of the substrate chuck 104 include vacuum chucks, pin chucks, groove chucks, electrostatic chucks, and electromagnetic chucks. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the appliqué 106 is placed on the substrate chuck 104 without any part of the appliqué being sandwiched between the substrate chuck 104 and the substrate 102. The substrate chuck 104 is supported by a substrate positioning stage 107.

[0016] The substrate positioning stage 107 may provide translational or rotational motion along one or more of the x, y, z, θ, and φ axes. The substrate positioning stage 107, substrate 102, and substrate chuck 104 may be positioned on a base (not shown). The substrate positioning stage 107 may also be part of a positioning system or positioning subsystem.

[0017] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 also includes a template 108. The template 108 may include a body containing a mesa 110 (also called a mold) extending along the z-axis toward the substrate 102. The mesa 110 may have a patterning surface 112 thereon. Alternatively, the template 108 may be formed without a mesa 110. Thus, in some embodiments, the surface of the template 108 facing the substrate 102 functions as the mesa 110, and the patterning surface 112 is included in the surface of the template 108 facing the substrate 102. Examples of materials constituting the template 108 or mesa 110 include fused silica, quartz, silicon, organic polymers, siloxane polymers, borosilicate glass, fluorocarbon polymers, metals, and hardened sapphire.

[0018] The patterning surface 112 may have features defined by a plurality of spaced template recesses 114 or template protrusions 116, while some embodiments include other configurations (e.g., a plane). The patterning surface 112 defines a pattern that forms the basis (e.g., inverse) of the relief pattern of the pattern layer 125, which is formed from droplets 124 of the moldable material on the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the patterning surface 112 is featureless, in which case a plane is formed from the moldable material on the substrate 102. In some embodiments (embodiments performing inkjet-based adaptive planarization), the patterning surface 112 is featureless and substantially the same size as the substrate 102, in which case a plane is formed from the moldable material over the entire substrate 102.

[0019] The template 108 may be coupled to a template chuck 118. Examples of template chucks 118 include vacuum chucks, pin chucks, groove chucks, electrostatic chucks, and electromagnetic chucks. The template chuck 118 may be configured to apply a force to the template 108 that varies across the template 108. The template chuck 118 may be coupled to an imprint head 119 that is movably coupled to a bridge 120 such that the template chuck 118, the imprint head 119, and the template 108 are movable at least in the z-axis direction. In some embodiments, the template chuck 118, the imprint head 119, and the template 108 are also movable in one or more of the x, y, θ, and φ axes. The nanoimprint lithography system 100 may include one or more motors for moving the template 108, the template chuck 118, or the imprint head 119.

[0020] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 also includes a fluid dispenser 122. The fluid dispenser 122 may also be movably coupled to the bridge 120. In some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 and the template chuck 118 share one or more positioning components. In some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 and the template chuck 118 move independently of each other.

[0021] During operation, the fluid dispenser 122 deposits droplets 124 of liquid moldable material onto the substrate 102 according to a drop pattern. The moldable material may be, for example, a resist (e.g., photoresist) or another polymerizable material, and the moldable material may comprise a mixture containing monomers. The fluid dispenser 122 may include a plurality of nozzles (e.g., hundreds) offset from one another by a specific distance between adjacent nozzles. As a result of the structural layout of the nozzles, the dispenser head can distribute droplets at a specific distance from one another, for example, 35 microns. Examples of nozzle layouts for a fluid dispenser and distances between adjacent dispensable drop positions are described in U.S. Patent No. 11,215,921 (hereinafter, the "'921 Patent"), in particular in Figures 4A to 4D, column 12, row 4 to 15, row 63, and are incorporated herein by reference.

[0022] The droplets 124 of the moldable material may be distributed onto the substrate 102 before or after a desired volume is defined between the patterning surface 112 and the substrate 102, depending on the design considerations. Different fluid dispensers 122 may use different techniques to distribute the droplets 124. If the moldable material is sprayable, an inkjet-type fluid dispenser 122 may be used to distribute the droplets 124 of the moldable material. For example, thermal inkjet, microelectromechanical system-based (MEMS-based) inkjet, and piezoelectric inkjet are techniques for distributing sprayable liquids.

[0023] Furthermore, additional moldable material may be added to the substrate 102 using various techniques, such as drop dispensing, spin coating, dip coating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), thin film deposition, and thick film deposition.

[0024] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 also includes an energy source 126 that guides chemical ray energy along the exposure path 128. The imprint head 119 and substrate positioning stage 107 may be configured to position (e.g., overlay) the template 108 and substrate 102 on the exposure path 128. A camera 136 may similarly be positioned so that the imaging field of the camera 136 overlays at least a portion of the exposure path 128.

[0025] As droplets 124 of the moldable material are deposited on the substrate, either or both of the imprint head 119 and the substrate positioning stage 107 change the distance between the mesa 110 and the substrate 102 to define the desired field volume to be filled by the moldable material. For example, the imprint head 119 may apply force to the template 108 to move the mesa 110 in contact with the droplets 124 of the moldable material on the substrate 102. After the desired field volume is filled with the moldable material, the energy source 126 generates energy (e.g., chemical rays (UV)) directed to the moldable material along the exposure pass 128, causing the moldable material to harden, solidify, or crosslink to conform to the shape of the substrate surface 130 and the patterning surface 112, thereby forming a pattern layer 125 on the substrate 102. Thus, the nanoimprint lithography system 100 uses the imprint process to form a pattern layer 125 having recesses and protrusions that are the inverse of the pattern on the patterning surface 112.

[0026] The imprint process may be repeated over multiple imprint fields (e.g., imprint field 141 in Figure 2) that extend across the substrate surface 130. For example, each imprint field may be the same size as the mesa 110, or it may be the same size as only the pattern area 115 of the mesa 110. The pattern area 115 of the mesa 110 is the area of ​​the patterning surface 112 used to imprint the pattern onto the substrate 102 (e.g., the area including template recesses 114 and template protrusions 116). The pattern area 115 of the mesa 110 may include fluid control features used to prevent extrusion. In some embodiments, the substrate 102 has only one imprint field, and the imprint field is the same size as the substrate 102, or the same size as the area of ​​the substrate 102 that is patterned by the mesa 110. Also in some embodiments, the imprint fields are overlays. Some of the imprint fields may be partial imprint fields that intersect with the boundaries of the substrate 102.

[0027] The pattern layer 125 is formed such that, in each imprint field, it has a residual layer having a residual thickness (RLT) that is higher than the highest point on the substrate surface 130. The pattern layer 125 may also include one or more features, such as protrusions, that extend above the residual layer. These protrusions coincide with the recesses 114 of the patterning surface 112 of the mesa 110.

[0028] The pattern layer 125 can be subjected to known steps and processes for manufacturing articles (e.g., devices). An unspecified list of examples of processes for manufacturing articles includes curing, oxidation, layering, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, removal of moldable material, dicing, bonding, and packaging. An unspecified list of examples of articles includes CMOS logic, microprocessors, NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, DRAM memory, MRAM, 3D crosspoint memory, Re-RAM, Fe-RAM, STT-RAM, MOEMS, microfluidic devices, and MEMS.

[0029] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 is coordinated, controlled, or directed by one or more processors 132 (e.g., controllers) that communicate with one or more components or subsystems such as a substrate positioning stage 107, an imprint head 119, a fluid dispenser 122, an energy source 126, or a camera 136, and operates based on instructions from a computer-readable program stored in one or more non-temporary computer-readable media 134. In some embodiments, including the embodiment in Figure 1, one or more processors and one or more non-temporary computer-readable media 134 are included in a nanoimprint lithography control device 135. The nanoimprint lithography control device 135 coordinates, controls, or directs the operation of the nanoimprint lithography system 100.

[0030] Each of the one or more processors 132 may be, or include, one or more of the following: a central processing unit (CPU) including 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), a specially configured computer, and other electronic circuits (e.g., other integrated circuits). For example, a processor 132 may be a dedicated controller or a general-purpose controller specially configured to be a nanoimprint lithography system controller.

[0031] Examples of non-temporary computer-readable media 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 memory (e.g., non-volatile memory cards, flash memory, solid-state drives, SRAM, DRAM, EPROM, EEPROM), network-attached storage (NAS), intranet-attached non-temporary computer-readable storage devices, and internet-attached non-temporary computer-readable storage devices.

[0032] In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the nanoimprint lithography control device 135 generates one or more drop patterns, and the nanoimprint lithography control device 135 retrieves one or more drop patterns from another device (e.g., a drop pattern generation device) that generated the one or more drop patterns. For example, one or more processors 132 communicate with a networked computer where analysis is performed and control files, such as drop patterns, are generated. The drop patterns indicate where the fluid dispenser 122 should deposit droplets 124 of liquid moldable material onto the substrate 102. The drop patterns may be generated based on field volume and imprint field features. The field volume indicates the volume of moldable material required to generate all of the desired features of the pattern layer 125 (e.g., all of the features of the pattern layer 125 in the imprint field). Also, taking into account the imprint field features, the density of the drop patterns may vary across the imprint field. Furthermore, the drop pattern may have a uniform drop density across regions of the imprinted field that have a uniform density (for example, blank regions or regions where the imprinted field features have a uniform feature density).

[0033] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the nanoimprint lithography system 100. This embodiment of the nanoimprint lithography system 100 includes a substrate 102, an appliqué 106, a fluid dispenser 122, a mesa 110, a template chuck 118, and an imprint head 119. Figure 2 also shows a plurality of imprint fields 141 on the substrate 102. The fluid dispenser 122 is depositing droplets 124 of moldable material onto one of the imprint fields 141.

[0034] Figure 3 shows a plan view (along the z-axis) of an exemplary embodiment of a substrate 102, appliqué 106, fluid dispenser 122, template 108, and drop pattern 142. The template 108 includes a mesa 110. The substrate 102 in Figure 3 includes a plurality of imprint fields 141. On each of the imprint fields 141, each pattern is formed from moldable material (e.g., a pattern layer or a planar layer). A substrate positioning stage supporting the appliqué 106 and substrate 102 can move the appliqué 106 and substrate 102 along both the x and y axes. This allows the substrate positioning stage to position each of the imprint fields 141 under the fluid dispenser 122 that deposits droplets of moldable material onto the imprint fields 141, and then under the template 108 that forms a pattern (e.g., a pattern layer) on the moldable material deposited on the imprint fields 141. In some embodiments, only one imprint field exists on the substrate surface.

[0035] When the imprint field 141 is positioned below the fluid dispenser 122, the fluid dispenser 122 can deposit droplets 124 of the moldable material onto the imprint field 141. For example, Figure 3 shows an imprint field 141A where droplets 124 of the moldable material have been deposited by the fluid dispenser 122 according to a drop pattern 142. In some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 deposits droplets 124 onto each of the imprint fields 141A-C according to the same drop pattern 142. However, in some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 uses different drop patterns for some of the imprint fields 141.

[0036] Figure 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of an operation flow for generating a drop pattern. This operation flow and other operation flows described herein are each presented in a specific order, however, some embodiments of these operation flows perform at least some of the operations in an order different from the order in which they are presented. Examples of different orders include simultaneous, parallel, overlapping, sorted, synchronous, incremental, and interleaved orders. Also, some embodiments of these operation flows include more operations (e.g., blocks) than one of the operation flows described herein. Thus, some embodiments of operation flows may omit blocks, add blocks (e.g., including blocks from other operation flows described herein), change the order of blocks, combine blocks, or divide blocks into more blocks compared to the exemplary embodiment of the operation flows described herein.

[0037] Furthermore, while this operation flow and other operation flows described herein are performed by a drop pattern generation device, some embodiments of these operation flows are performed by two or more drop pattern generation devices, or by one or more other specially configured computing devices (e.g., nanoimprint lithography control devices).

[0038] In Figure 4, the flow starts in block B400 and then proceeds to block B405, where the drop pattern generation device sets or acquires (e.g., collects, receives) the volume of a droplet of moldable material (drop volume), which indicates the volume of moldable material in a single droplet. The volume of a single droplet may be, for example, 0.3 picoliters to 3 picoliters. Depending on the components of the corresponding nanoimprint lithography system (e.g., fluid dispenser), the drop volume may have a range of possible volumes (e.g., adjustable), or the drop volume may have a fixed volume. Next, in block B410, the drop pattern generation device acquires a material map (field material map) of one or more imprint fields. The field material map may cover the entire substrate, describe only a single imprint field, or describe multiple imprint fields. For example, the field material map may be an image (e.g., bitmap, PNG) in which each value of each tile (e.g., pixel) indicates the volume of imprint material (e.g., the thickness of a pattern layer, such as pattern layer 125 in Figure 1). The field material map may also include information about the direction of droplet spread, which is influenced by the average orientation of the features within each tile. Figure 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of the field material map 160. Different shades in the field material map 160 indicate the respective volumes of imprint material at the location of the tile.

[0039] Next, in block B415, the drop pattern generation device partitions the field material map into multiple cells. For example, some embodiments of the drop pattern generation device overlay a set of cells (e.g., array, grid, tessellation) on the field material map. The size of the cells affects the resolution of the drop pattern and the speed at which the drop pattern generation device can generate the drop pattern. The cells may also have various shapes (e.g., square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, octagon, irregular polygon), but in the exemplary embodiments below, the cells have a hexagonal shape. In some embodiments, not all cells have the same shape, but different shapes are used together.

[0040] Figure 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of a set of cells overlaid on a field material map. The field material map 160 includes 15 × 16 tiles 161, and the black and white backgrounds of each tile 161 in the field material map 160 indicate the volume of moldable material at the location of the tile 161. The black tiles 161 in the field material map represent the minimum volume requirement, and the white tiles 161 represent the maximum volume requirement.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, each cell 165 in the set of cells 165 has a hexagonal shape. The hexagonal shape improves the quality of the resulting drop pattern because rectangular and rhombus shapes are suboptimal representations of the droplet spread geometry that are closer to circular than rectangular shapes. By using hexagonal cells instead of rectangular or rhombus-shaped cells, the circular nature of droplet spread is better reproduced. Also, in some drop patterns, the vast majority of droplets have exactly six adjacent droplets, which naturally occurs when each droplet region is composed of a set of consecutive hexagonal-shaped cells.

[0042] Furthermore, block B415 includes block B420. In block B420, the drop pattern generation device determines the volume of material for each cell (cell volume) and marks each cell as an unassigned cell. The cell volume indicates the volume of moldable material to be assigned to the cell (for example, assigned in block B430 or block B440). In some embodiments, the cell volume of a cell is determined to be the sum of the volumes of moldable material in the area of ​​the tile in the field material map overlaid by the cell. For example, referring to Figure 6, if the area of ​​cell 165A is completely filled with white tiles, that cell has the maximum volume of moldable material. The area of ​​cell 165B is completely filled with black cells and has the minimum volume of moldable material. The area of ​​cell 165C is filled with both black and white cells and has an intermediate volume of moldable material. Thus, for tiles overlaid by multiple cells, the volume of moldable material is distributed among all the overlaid cells, and the proportion of the volume of moldable material is equal to the proportion of the area of ​​the tile overlaid by a particular cell. Furthermore, the total volume assigned to all cells is equal to the total volume of all tiles (and therefore equal to the total volume in the field material map). The volume of a single cell may range from 0.02 femtoliters to 300 femtoliters.

[0043] The flow then moves to block B425, where the drop pattern generation device selects an unassigned cell, which is a cell to which no part of the drop volume has been assigned.

[0044] Next, in block B430, the drop pattern generation device assigns at least a portion of the drop volume to the selected cell and marks the selected cell as assigned. The drop volume assigned to the selected cell is the cell volume of the selected cell (for example, from block B420). The cell volume is smaller than the drop volume (the cell volume may be set such that the maximum cell volume is smaller than the drop volume, and the drop volume may effectively be larger than the maximum cell volume), a portion of the drop volume equal to the cell volume is assigned to the selected cell, and a portion of the drop volume remains unassigned.

[0045] The flow then moves to block B435, where the drop pattern generation device determines whether any of the drop volumes from block B430 remain unassigned. If the drop pattern generation device determines that some of the drop volumes from block B430 remain unassigned (B435=Yes), the flow moves to block B440. In block B440, the drop pattern generation device assigns at least some of the remaining drop volumes to unassigned adjacent cells and marks the adjacent cells as assigned. From block B440, the flow returns to block B435. In blocks B435-B440, the drop pattern generation device assigns a portion of the drop volume equal to the cell volume of an adjacent cell, and if any portion of the drop volume remains unassigned, it moves to another adjacent cell, thereby visiting numerous adjacent cells until all of the drop volume is assigned to a cell.

[0046] Furthermore, if the drop pattern generation device determines that none of the drop volumes from block B430 remain unassigned (B435=No), the flow moves to block B445.

[0047] In block B445, the drop pattern generation device determines whether there are any remaining unassigned cells. If the drop pattern generation device determines that there are one or more unassigned cells remaining (B445=Yes), the flow returns to block B425. If the drop pattern generation device determines that there are no remaining unassigned cells (B445=No), the flow moves to block B450.

[0048] In block B450, the drop pattern generation device calculates (or otherwise determines) the location of each droplet in cells that are assigned a portion of the droplet's drop volume. These cells, assigned a portion of the droplet's drop volume, are sometimes called drop regions. For example, if three cells are assigned a portion of the droplet's drop volume (the three cells constitute a drop region), the drop pattern generation device calculates the location of the droplet within the three cells. This location indicates where the droplet will be placed in the drop pattern. The drop pattern generation device outputs or stores the droplet locations that define the drop pattern. Additional details on how droplet locations are assigned in the overall drop pattern are described below with reference to Figure 10. The flow then ends in block B455.

[0049] Figure 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. The flow starts in block B700 and then moves to block B705, where the drop pattern generating device acquires a field material map. Next, in block B710, the drop pattern generating device sets or acquires the drop volume (e.g., received from user input and retrieved from a memory device), acquires a scan sequence, and acquires a flooding sequence.

[0050] The scanning sequence defines the sequence or order that a drop pattern generating device uses to scan a set of cells for any unassigned cell. An exemplary scanning sequence is disclosed in the '055 patent, in particular in Figures 8A–9D and the corresponding description, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0051] Referring again to Figure 7, after block B710, the flow moves to block B715. In block B715, the drop pattern generation device partitions the field material map into cells. Block B715 includes block B720, where the drop pattern generation device determines the respective cell volume for each cell. The flow then moves to block B725, where the drop pattern generation device selects the starting cell for the scan sequence acquired in block B710. The cell selected according to the scan sequence is referred to herein as the source cell. Then, in block B730, the drop pattern generation device assigns at least a portion of the drop volume to the source cell and marks the source cell as assigned. If the drop volume is less than or equal to the cell volume, the drop pattern generation device assigns the entire drop volume to the source cell. If the drop volume is greater than the cell volume, the drop pattern generation device assigns a portion of the drop volume equal to the cell volume to the source cell. The drop pattern generation device also calculates the remaining drop volume by subtracting the cell volume of the source cell from the drop volume. The flow then moves to block B735, where the drop pattern generation device determines whether the remaining drop volume is greater than zero. If the drop pattern generation device determines that the remaining drop volume is greater than zero (B735=Yes), the flow moves to block B740.

[0052] In block B740, the drop pattern generation device selects the next unassigned adjacent cell to the source cell of the flooding sequence. Then, in block B745, the drop pattern generation device assigns at least a portion of the remaining drop volume to the selected adjacent cell and marks the selected adjacent cell as assigned. If the remaining drop volume is less than or equal to the cell volume of the selected adjacent cell, the drop pattern generation device assigns all of the remaining drop volume to the selected adjacent cell. If the remaining drop volume is greater than the cell volume of the selected adjacent cell, the drop pattern generation device assigns a portion of the remaining drop volume equal to the cell volume of the selected adjacent cell to the selected adjacent cell. The drop pattern generation device also calculates the remaining drop volume by subtracting the cell volume of the selected adjacent cell from the remaining drop volume. The flow then returns to block B735.

[0053] If the drop pattern generation device determines that the remaining drop volume is not greater than zero (B735=No), the flow moves to block B750. In block B750, the drop pattern generation device scans for unassigned cells according to the scan sequence. Next, in block B755, the drop pattern generation device determines whether it found an unassigned cell while scanning cells according to the scan sequence. If the drop pattern generation device determines that it found an unassigned cell (B755=Yes), the flow moves to block B760. Starting from the source cell selected in block B725, or in the most recent iteration before block B760, the unassigned cell is the first unassigned cell in the scan sequence. In block B760, the drop pattern generation device selects an unassigned cell, which becomes the source cell. The flow then returns to block B730.

[0054] If the drop pattern generation device determines that it could not find an unassigned cell in block B755 (B755=No), the flow moves to block B765. In block B765, for each droplet, the drop pattern generation device calculates the droplet's location within the drop region (a cell to which some of the droplet's drop volume is allocated). The drop pattern generation device also outputs or stores the droplet locations that define the drop pattern. Additional details on how droplet locations are assigned in the overall drop pattern are described below with reference to Figure 10. The flow then terminates in block B770.

[0055] Figure 8 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. The flow starts in block B1000 and then moves to block B1005, where the drop pattern generating device acquires a field material map. Next, in block B1010, the drop pattern generating device acquires a drop volume D, a volume sequence, a scan sequence, and a flooding sequence. The volume sequence defines the order in which the drop pattern generating device determines the volume of each cell. Then, the flow moves to block B1015, where the drop pattern generating device initializes the volume index x to 1 (x=1), the scan sequence index y to 1 (y=1), the flooding sequence index z to 1 (z=1), and the droplet count n to 1 (n=1). The droplet count n is an index used to identify a particular droplet in the drop pattern.

[0056] Next, in block B1020, the drop pattern generation device partitions the field material map into N cells (where N is a positive integer). Block B1020 includes blocks B1025 to B1035, and the drop pattern generation device determines the cell volume of the cells according to the volume sequence. In block B1025, the drop pattern generation device determines the cell volume of cell c vx The cell volume vvx to determine (where the subscript vx refers to the cell at index x in the volume sequence v).

[0057] Both the volume index and the scan sequence index identify N cells (thus, each volume index has a corresponding scan sequence index that refers to the same cell), but the volume sequence may proceed through the cells in a different sequence (e.g., order, path) than the scan sequence, as shown in FIG. 9 which illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a volume index, a scan sequence index, and a flooding sequence index. In FIG. 9, the volume sequence proceeds through the cells of set 164 of cells in a different order than the scan sequence. Some cells (e.g., cell c v1 / c s1 , cell c v32 / c s32 ) have the same volume index and scan sequence index. However, some cells have a volume index different from the scan sequence index of the cell.

[0058] Thus, if volume index x is the same as scan sequence index y, cell c vx may not be the same cell as c sy (the subscript sy refers to the cell at index y in the scan sequence s). Also, since cell c vx is not the same cell as c[[ID=2,4]] sy (repeated for clarity), to distinguish the volume of the cell referred to according to volume index x from the volume of the cell referred to according to scan sequence index y, the volume of the cell referred to according to volume index x is denoted as v vx , and the volume of the cell referred to according to scan sequence index y is denoted as v sy . However, if cell c vx is the same cell as cell c sy for specific values of volume index x and scan sequence index y...If it is the same cell (even if the volume index x is not the same as the scan sequence index y), the cell volume v vx is the cell volume v sy It is the same as. For example, in Figure 9, cell c v12 The cell volume v s12 is cell c s16 The cell volume v s16 It is the same as this.

[0059] Furthermore, the flooding sequence progresses through cells in a different order than the scan sequence and the volume sequence. Additionally, if the flooding sequence is based on selected cells (e.g., used as a reference point), and the flooding sequence is based on different selected cells, it progresses through cells in a different order. Moreover, depending on the selected cells underlying the flooding sequence, each cell may be referenced by a number of indices in the flooding sequence.

[0060] For example, in Figure 9, cell c v21 / c s17 If cell c (which is the 21st cell in the volume sequence and the 17th cell in the scan sequence) is the selected cell (e.g., the source cell), then cell c vv22 / c s24 Also, cell c in flooding sequences f6 However, if a different cell is selected, then cell c v22 / c s24 The flooding sequence may have different indices.

[0061] Therefore, in order to distinguish the volume of a cell referenced according to the flooding sequence index z, volume index x, and scan sequence index y, the volume of a cell referenced according to the flooding sequence index z is v fz This is shown by (where the subscript fz refers to the cell at index z in the flooding sequence f). For example, cell c in Figure 9. v22 / cs24 / c f6 The volume of v22 v s24 and v f6 is referred to by any one of them.

[0062] And in block B1030, the drop pattern generation device determines whether there are cells that do not have the determined cell volume (for example, when x < N). If there are cells that do not have the determined cell volume (B1030 = YES), the flow proceeds to block B1035. In block B1035, the drop pattern generation device increases the volume index x by 1, and the flow returns to block B1025. If there are no cells that do not have the determined volume (B1030 = No), the flow proceeds to block B1040.

[0063] In block B1040, the drop pattern generation device selects the cell c sy (the cell at index y in the scan sequence s). Therefore, the cell c sy is called the source cell.

[0064] And in block B1045, the drop pattern generation device assigns at least some of the drop volume D n of the droplet d n to the cell c sy . In block B1045, the drop pattern generation device marks the cell c sy as allocated, adds the cell c sy to the fill set l n which is a list of cells to which a part of the drop volume D n of the droplet d n has been allocated, and calculates the remaining drop volume D n of the droplet d n-rem . In block B1045, the drop volume D n of the droplet d n is equal to the drop volume D obtained in block B1010. And the droplet d nDrop volume D n is cell c sy The cell volume v sy If the above is true, the drop pattern generation device will have a cell volume v sy Drop volume D equal to n The amount in cell c sy Assign to droplet d. n Drop volume D n is cell c sy The cell volume v sy If it is less than the drop pattern generation device, the drop volume D n All of the above, cell c sy Assign it to.

[0065] Next, in block B1047, the drop pattern generation device, according to the flooding sequence, generates a pattern in cell c sy The unassigned adjacent cells are added to the adjacency list. Thus, the cells in the adjacency list are ordered in the same order they are visited by the flooding sequence. For example, if the flooding sequence is the flooding sequence in Figure 9A, then cell c in Figure 9 is added. s17 The selected cell c sy And cell c s12 , c s10 , c s13 , c s20 , c s24 and c s19 If all are unassigned, then cell c s12 , c s10 , c s13 , c s20 , c s24 and c s19 They are added to the adjacency list in that order. Also, for example, cell c s10 If cell c is already assigned, but the other 5 cells are unassigned, then cell c s12 , c s13 , c s20 , c s24 and c s19 They are added to the adjacency list in that order.

[0066] Then, the flow proceeds to block B1050, and the drop pattern generation device determines whether the remaining drop volume D n-rem is greater than 0. If the remaining drop volume D n-rem is greater than 0 (B1050 = Yes), the flow moves to block B1055. In block B1055, the drop pattern generation device selects the adjacent cell c sy of cell c fz . For example, using the example from the previous paragraph, if cells c s12 , c s10 , c s13 , c s20 , c s24 and c s19 are added to the adjacency list in that order, and cell c s12 is the first cell in the adjacency list, then cell c f1 will be cell c

[0067] Next, in block B1060, the drop pattern generation device allocates at least some of the remaining drop volume D n of droplet d n-rem to the adjacent cell c fz . In block B1060, the drop pattern generation device marks the adjacent cell c fz as allocated, adds cell c fz to the fill set l n , and calculates the remaining drop volume D n of droplet d n-rem . If the remaining drop volume D n of droplet d n-rem is greater than or equal to the cell volume v fz of the adjacent cell c fz , the drop pattern generation device allocates an amount of the remaining drop volume D fz equal to the cell volume v n-rem to the adjacent cell c fz . If the remaining drop volume D n-rem is less than the cell volume v fz of the adjacent cell c fz , the drop pattern generation device allocates all of the remaining drop volume D n-rem to cell cfz Assign it to.

[0068] Then, in block B1065, the drop pattern generator, according to the flooding sequence, generates cell c fz Add the unassigned adjacent cell to the adjacency list. In block B1065, cell c fz Unassigned adjacent cells may be added to the end of the adjacency list. fz The adjacent cell is cell c fz Cells may be added to the adjacency list in an order determined by a flooding sequence that is based on the source cell S, rather than on the source cell S. Furthermore, the flooding sequences do not have to be identical (in a relative sense) for each cell. Thus, in some embodiments, the drop pattern generation device obtains two or more flooding sequences and information indicating which flooding sequence is used for each cell. In some such embodiments, adjacent cells of adjacent cells are added to the adjacency list in an order determined by the flooding sequence of the source cell S. Alternatively, in some such embodiments, adjacent cells of adjacent cells are added to the adjacency list in an order determined by the flooding sequence of the adjacent cell (e.g., cell c fz The adjacent cell is cell c fz (The cells are added to the adjacency list in the order determined by the flooding sequence of the source cell.) Furthermore, in some such embodiments, the adjacent cells of an adjacent cell are added to the adjacency list in the order determined by the flooding sequences of both the source cell and the adjacent cell (for example, cell c fz The adjacent cells are cells S and c fz (Added to the adjacency list in the order determined by the flooding sequence.)

[0069] The flow then moves to block B1070. In block B1070, the drop pattern generation device increments the flooding sequence index z by 1, and the flow returns to block B1050.

[0070] In block B1050, the remaining drop volume D n-rem If the value is not greater than 0 (B1050=No), the process moves to block B1071. In block B1071, the drop pattern generation device increments the scan index y by 1. Next, in block B1073, the drop pattern generation device determines whether all cells have been scanned (for example, if the scan index y is greater than N). If the drop pattern generation device determines that not all cells have been scanned (B1073=No), the process moves to block B1075. In block B1075, the drop pattern generation device determines cell c sy Determine whether it is unassigned. The drop pattern generation device determines whether cell c sy If it is determined that it is not unassigned (B1075=No), the process returns to B1071. The drop pattern generation device is located at cell c sy If it is determined that it is unassigned (B1075=Yes), the flow moves to block B1077, where the drop pattern generation device increments the droplet count n by 1, sets the flooding sequence index z to 1, and clears the adjacency list. Then the flow returns to block B1040.

[0071] In block B1073, if the drop pattern generation device determines that all cells have been scanned (B1073=Yes), the flow moves to block B1081. In block B1081, the drop pattern generation device sets the droplet index i to 1.

[0072] Next, in block B1083, the drop pattern generation device generates a droplet d i Define a drop area for the fillset l i A droplet d in a cell located iSelect the location. Figure 10 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for assigning drop locations in a drop pattern. The operation flow for assigning drop locations in a drop pattern begins in block B102, where a predetermined fluid drop volume of the droplet is received. This drop volume has already been retrieved in block B1010 in the operation flow of Figure 8. That is, the drop volume received in block B102 is the drop volume D described above with respect to block B1010. After receiving the drop volume, the operation flow of Figure 10 proceeds to block B104, where information is received about an array of cells that define a desired fillset associated with the predetermined fluid drop volume. This information includes a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells and a predetermined location for each cell in the array of cells. The information received in block B104 is the same information established in blocks B1020-B1081 in the operation flow of Figure 8. That is, the same steps described above for blocks B1020-B1081 provide an array of cells having specific locations, and each cell in the array of cells has an assigned fluid volume. An example of an array of cells having known locations and volumes is shown in Figure 6. As described above and shown in Figure 6, each cell 165A, 165B in the array of cells 165 is located on the field material map 160. Also, as described above, the color of each tile 161 in the field material map 160 indicates the volume of moldable material at the location of tile 161. Thus, each specific cell 165 overlaid on tile 161 in the field material map 160 has a different volume assigned to the cell, as indicated by the different color shading within each cell 165.

[0073] Figure 11 shows the same set of cells overlaid on the field material map of Figure 6, along with additional information regarding the operation flow of Figure 10. In particular, as shown in Figure 11, each cell in the array of cells is V cxIt has a specific volume indicated by . "X" indicates the number of a specific cell, i.e., in the illustrated example, "1" means cell 1, "2" means cell 2, and so on up to cell 17. In the illustrated example, X is a positive integer from 1 to 17, but for example, X may be a positive integer from 1 to 200 or from 1 to 1500. C refers to a "cell" and "V" refers to the volume. Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, "V c1 " refers to the volume of the cell designated as the first cell, V c2 This refers to the volume of the cell designated as the second cell, V c17 Up to this point, it refers to the volume of the cell designated as the 17th cell. Each individual cell in the fillset is identified by CX, so C1 refers to the cell designated as the 1st cell, and C17 refers to the cell designated as the 17th cell.

[0074] Figure 11 also shows the geometric center of each cell, as indicated by the circle at the center of each cell. The four exemplary centers are C C1 , C C11 , C C12 and C C15 It is labeled as C. C1 C is the center of the cell designated as the first cell. C11 This is the center of the cell designated as the 11th cell, C C12 This is the center of the cell designated as the 12th cell, C C15 C is the center of the cell designated as the 15th cell. Although not shown in the diagram, using similar notation, the center of each cell, i.e., C, is the center of the cell. CX X can be specified, and X has the same definition as provided above. The geometric center of each cell, also known as the centroid, can be considered as a predetermined location for each cell. That is, the predetermined location for each cell can be defined as the location of the geometric center of the cell on the field material map 160. In an alternative embodiment, the volume weighted center of a cell may be used as the geometric center to consider cells containing volumes from different tiles.

[0075] Figure 11 further illustrates the centroid CM of the cell array. The centroid CM of the cell array can be determined using standard methods. The mass density of the droplets is constant, and volume may be used instead of mass in the standard methods. For example, the summation method may be used to calculate the centroid by taking the volume-weighted sum of the geometric centers of each cell and dividing by the total volume of the cell array. Alternatively, the integration technique may be used to calculate the centroid by integrating over the region of the field material map defined by the position-weighted cell array and dividing by the volume within the volume of the material map defined by the cell array.

[0076] If the predetermined location of each cell is known (i.e., the location of the center of each cell in the field material map 160) and the centroid of the cell array 165 is known, the operation flow in Figure 10 may proceed to block B106. In block B106, the distance from the centroid of the cell array to the predetermined location of each cell in the array of cells is determined. The array of cells may be all the cells in the cell array, or a subset of the cells in the cell array. Thus, in some embodiments, the number of cells in the array of cells may be less than the number of cells in the cell array, and in other embodiments, the number of cells in the array of cells may be equal to the number of cells in the cell array. In the example shown below, for the sake of understanding, the cell array contains only 17 cells. However, in practice, the cell array may contain hundreds or thousands of cells. For example, the number of cells in each cell array may be between 100 and 1500 cells. In some embodiments, when the cell array contains hundreds or thousands of cells, the number of cells in a plurality of cells may be, for example, 10 to 200 cells. The plurality of cells may be a subset of the cells closest to the centroid. Thus, in embodiments where the cell array has thousands of cells, the 10 to 200 cells surrounding the centroid may be the cells used in step B106, and all the remaining cells are excluded from the determination.

[0077] Figure 11 shows four exemplary distances from the center of four different cells to the centroid CM. The illustrated example is d C1 d C11 d C12 and d C15 The distance is d. C1 This is the distance from the center of the cell designated as the first cell (C1) to the centroid CM (i.e., C C1 (The distance between and CM), and d C11 This is the distance from the center of the cell designated as the 11th cell (C11) to the centroid CM (i.e., d C11 (The distance between and CM), and d C12 This is the distance from the center of the cell designated as the 12th cell (C12) to the centroid CM (i.e., C C12 (The distance between and CM), and d C15 This is the distance from the center of the cell designated as the 15th cell (C15) to the centroid CM (i.e., C C15 This is the distance between the center and the centroid CM. Although not shown in the diagram, the distance of each cell (or subset of cells) from the center and centroid CM is determined as part of executing block B106. A similar notation is used for the distance from the center of each cell to the centroid CM, i.e., d CX It can be used to specify, and X has the same definition as provided above.

[0078] Once the distance from the center of gravity of the cell array to a predetermined location of each cell in the array of cells is determined, the operation flow in Figure 10 proceeds to block B108, where the cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume among the cells in the array of cells whose distance from the center of gravity is within a predetermined threshold distance is identified. In block B108, a subset of cells in the array of cells may be selected by a) comparing the distance between the center of each cell in the array of cells and the center of gravity with b) a predetermined threshold distance. The predetermined threshold may be based on the distance between two adjacent locations that can be dispensed by the dispenser. That is, as described above and as described in the '921 patent, there exists a set distance between adjacent dispensable locations for the dispenser. The predetermined threshold distance can be based on this set distance, and more preferably less than the set distance. For example, the predetermined threshold distance is 50 to 150 microns, more preferably greater than 25 microns and less than 35 microns (25 microns < predetermined threshold distance < 35 microns). If the distance from a particular cell to the centroid CM is greater than a predetermined threshold distance, those cells are excluded from the subset. The threshold distance may be a multiple of a specific distance between adjacent nozzles of the fluid dispenser 122. The threshold distance may be a number of distributable locations on the substrate. The number of distributable locations may be a function of the specific distance between adjacent nozzles and the number of scans of the dispenser on the substrate. Such non-restrictive examples of a number of locations are 0.3, 0.5, 1, 1.4, 2, 3.5, 4.2, and 7.

[0079] Figure 11 shows an example of a predetermined threshold d. T This illustrates the predetermined threshold d shown in Figure 11. T The cells in Figure 11 are selected for illustrative purposes only, so that some of them fall outside the threshold. As mentioned above, in reality, there are hundreds or thousands of cells in an array of cells, and in that case, if the given threshold is 50-150 microns, more cells will be within the threshold. In the example in Figure 11, there are only 17 cells, so the given threshold interval d is illustrative. T In reality, it's not that size.

[0080] For example, d C1 d C11 d C12 and d C15 (Similarly, the distance between the center of a cell and the centroid of all other cells) is d T It is compared with the distance from the center of gravity CM which is a predetermined threshold distance d. T Each cell larger than d is excluded from the candidate subset, and all of those cells whose distance from the centroid CM is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold distance are included in the candidate subset. In the example in Figure 11, cells C1, C2, C3, C4, C7, C10, C11, C14, C15, C16 and C17 are all less than or equal to the predetermined threshold distance d T Cells C5, C6, C8, C9, C12, and C13 all have a distance from the center of the cell to the centroid CM that is greater than a predetermined threshold distance d T The distances are as follows. Therefore, in the example in Figure 11, cells C5, C6, C8, C9, C12, and C13 are included in the subset of possible candidates, while cells C1, C2, C3, C4, C7, C10, C11, C14, C15, C16, and C17 are excluded from the subset of possible candidates. As mentioned above, for the sake of understanding, only 17 cells exist in the example in Figure 11, but a real array can contain hundreds or even thousands of cells. The process of generating a subset of candidates can be applied to the entire array of cells, or to a smaller selection of cells surrounding the centroid. If a smaller selection (e.g., 20-50 cells) is used, all other cells are excluded from the subset of candidates without determining how far those cells are from the centroid.

[0081] Next, as part of block B108, the cell with the largest predetermined fluid volume is selected from a subset of candidate cells. As shown in Figure 11, each cell has a predetermined fluid volume, as indicated by the black and white background of the cell. Thus, the fluid volume of each cell in the subset of candidate cells is known. Block B108 is completed by identifying the cell in the subset of candidate cells that has the largest predetermined fluid volume. In some cases, there may be multiple cells in the subset of candidate cells that have the same predetermined fluid volume. In that case, the identified cell may be randomly assigned from among those cells that have the same predetermined fluid volume. In the example shown in Figure 11, the cell with the largest volume among the cells located within a predetermined threshold distance is cell C12. That is, the predetermined threshold d T Of the cells C5, C6, C8, C9, C12, and C13 within the cell, cell C12 has the highest volume in this exemplary embodiment. White represents high volume, and black represents low volume. While this exemplary embodiment shows only black and white for simplicity, the same principle can be applied to volume gradients represented by shades of gray.

[0082] After identifying the cell with the largest fluid volume that is within a predetermined threshold distance, the operational flow can proceed to block B110. In block B110, the predetermined location of the identified cell is assigned as the drop location of the droplet in the drop pattern. That is, regardless of which cell is selected after the completion of block B108, the location of that cell becomes the location of the droplet to be distributed as part of the drop pattern. More specifically, the center or centroid of the assigned cell is the location of the droplet to be distributed. In the example in Figure 11, the location of cell C12 is the location of the droplet to be distributed, and more specifically, the geometric center of cell C12. The completion of block B110 is also the completion of block B1083 in Figure 11 (similarly, block B450 in Figure 4 and B765 in Figure 7).

[0083] Returning to Figure 8, after completing block B1083, the operation flow proceeds to block B1085, where the drop pattern generation device increments the drop index i by 1. Then, in block B1087, the drop pattern generation device determines whether the droplet index i is greater than the droplet count n. If the drop pattern generation device determines that the droplet index i is not greater than the droplet count n (B1087=No), the flow returns to block B1083. Thus, each time the flow returns to block B1083, the same process as in Figure 10 is executed for each droplet that should be placed throughout the drop pattern. In other words, as part of the execution of block B1083, the drop d is generated until the drop pattern is completed in block B1090. i Each time, the same operation as described in Figure 10 is performed. This process can be performed tens of thousands or millions of times to generate a single final drop pattern. That is, the final drop pattern may be tens of thousands or millions of drop positions, each arranged in a pattern following the operation flow of Figure 10. For example, the drop pattern may have 10,000 to 6 million drop positions. In some embodiments, the drop volumes may be different (i.e., at least one droplet has a different drop volume from at least one other droplet). In another embodiment, all droplets have the same volume.

[0084] If the drop pattern generation device determines that droplet index i is greater than droplet count n (B1087=Yes), the flow proceeds to block B1090. That is, the flow reaches block B1090 when all droplets are placed throughout the entire drop pattern. In block B1090, the drop pattern generation device outputs or stores the drop positions that define the drop pattern. The flow then terminates in block B1095. At the completion shown in Figure 8, a full drop pattern has been generated.

[0085] Figures 12 to 15 show another exemplary embodiment illustrating how the volume of each individual cell is predetermined. As described above, in the exemplary embodiment of Figure 11, the volume of each cell 165 is obtained from the field material map 160 on which the cell 165 is overlaid. That is, as described above, the predetermined volume of each cell is based on the volume information in the field material map 160. However, in the exemplary embodiments of Figures 12 to 15, the field material map 160 is blurred, and the predetermined volume of each cell is based on the blurred field material map.

[0086] Figure 12 shows a larger set of cells 165 overlaid on the field material map 160 before blurring is applied. Figure 12 is essentially the same as Figure 6, but with more cells 165 overlaid on a larger field material map 160. The larger field material map and more cells help to demonstrate the blurring of the field material map.

[0087] Figure 13 shows the same cell 165 and field material map 160 from Figure 12 during the first step of blurring. As shown in Figure 13, a first set of tiles 161 in the field material map 160 is selected using a box filter 162. In an exemplary embodiment, the size of the box filter is 5 × 5 tiles. However, any odd × odd number of tiles may be selected depending on the desired width A (or height B) of the filter. The desired width / height of the filter may be based on a given drop volume of droplets. That is, the size of the box filter is A × B, where A is odd and B is odd, and the selection of A and B is based on a given drop volume. A may be 3 to 21 tiles. B may be 3 to 21 tiles. Once selected, the total volume of tiles 161 in the box filter 162 is averaged. Generally, A is typically equal to B, but may not be equal depending on the size of the largest feature in the map in the volume requirement direction of A and B. Generally, A and B should be at least half the size of the largest feature in the direction of A and B.

[0088] Figure 14 shows the same cell 165 from Figure 12 overlaid on the modified field material map after the first blurring step described above is complete. As shown in Figure 14, the average volume contained by the box filter 162 is assigned to the central tile 163 of the box filter 162. That is, the field material map in Figure 14 has been modified so that one tile (tile 163) is assigned a new volume which is the average volume of the surrounding 5x5 box filters. This blurring step is performed over the entire field material map until each tile has an updated volume which is the average of the surrounding 5x5 box filters.

[0089] Figure 15 shows the same cell 165 from Figure 12 overlaid on a fully modified (blurred) field material map. As shown in Figure 15, every tile in the field material map has a new assigned volume compared to the pre-blurred field material map in Figure 12. When the blurred field material map of Figure 15 is generated, the given volume of each cell 165 is based on the blurred field material map instead of the original field material map. That is, in an exemplary embodiment where the field material map is blurred, the given fluid volume of the cell used in the operation flow of Figure 10 is based on the blurred field material map instead of the unblurred field material map. In other words, the operation flow described above with respect to Figures 8 and 10 is the same as in the blurred case, except that the given fluid volume of the cell is different.

[0090] A drop pattern is generated as a result of following the operation flows in Figures 4, 7, and 8 (selecting drop locations in the drop pattern according to the operation flow in Figure 10). Distribution of droplets according to this drop pattern places droplets closer (e.g., less than 20 microns) to relatively large features (e.g., features with a width of 50 microns or more). Specifically, by following the operation flow in Figure 10, drop locations are assigned to the cell with the largest volume that is within a specific threshold distance from the centroid of the cell array. Therefore, droplet locations are assigned to patterns closer to larger features than if the operation flow in Figure 10 were not performed. By positioning droplets in this drop pattern, relatively large features are filled more quickly compared to droplets distributed according to a drop pattern that does not follow the operation flow in Figure 10, thereby improving productivity (throughput).

[0091] Furthermore, by blurring the field material map and using the blurred field material map to set a predetermined fluid volume for the cell in the operation flow of Figure 10, the drop position moves closer to the center of the etched feature. In other words, by blurring the field material map, the placement of droplets using the operation flow described above moves towards the center of the feature rather than the edge. Having droplets located in the center of the etched feature improves filling with fewer non-filling defects.

[0092] Figure 16 shows an exemplary embodiment of a drop pattern generation device. The drop pattern generation device 2235 includes one or more processors 2232, one or more I / O components 2238, and storage 2234. The hardware components of the drop pattern generation device 2235 communicate via one or more buses or other electrical connections. Examples of buses include the Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394 bus, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus, Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) bus, Serial AT Attachment (SATA) bus, and Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus.

[0093] One or more processors 2232 are or include one or more central processing units (CPUs) such as microprocessors (e.g., single-core microprocessors, multi-core microprocessors), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more tensor processing units (TPUs), one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or other electronic circuits (e.g., other integrated circuits). The I / O component 2238 includes a communication component that communicates with one or more of the board positioning stage, imprint head, fluid dispenser, energy source, and camera. The I / O component 2238 also includes a communication component (e.g., a graphics card, a network interface controller) that communicates with a network or other input or output devices (not shown), which include display devices, keyboards, mice, printing devices, touchscreens, light pens, optical memory devices, scanners, microphones, drives, and controllers (e.g., joysticks, control pads).

[0094] The storage 2234 includes one or more computer-readable storage media. As used herein, computer-readable storage media include manufactured articles, such as magnetic disks (e.g., floppy disks®, hard disks), optical disks (e.g., CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays), magneto-optical disks, magnetic tapes, and semiconductor memory (e.g., non-volatile memory cards, flash memory, solid-state drives, SRAM, DRAM, EPROM, EEPROM). The storage 2234, including both ROM and RAM, can store computer-readable data or computer-executable instructions.

[0095] The drop pattern generation device 2235 also includes an initialization module 2234A, a field partition module 2234B, a scanning module 2234C, a drop assignment module 2234D, an adjacent selection module 2234E, a droplet placement module 2234F, a lithography control module 2234G, and a communication module 2234H. The modules include logic, computer-readable data, or computer-executable instructions. In the embodiment shown in Figure 22, the modules are implemented in software (e.g., Assembly, C, C++, C#, Java, BASIC, Perl, Visual Basic). However, in some embodiments, the modules are implemented in hardware (e.g., customized circuitry), or alternatively, in a combination of software and hardware. If the modules are implemented at least partially in software, the software may be stored in storage 2234. Furthermore, some embodiments of the drop pattern generation device 2235 include additional modules, some of which may be omitted, some may be combined into fewer modules, or some may be divided into more modules. In addition, the drop pattern generation device 2235 includes a fillset repository 2234I and a drop pattern repository 2234J. The fillset repository 2234I stores fillsets, and the drop pattern repository 2234J stores drop patterns.

[0096] The initialization module 2234A includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to acquire (e.g., set, receive) the drop volume, acquire the field material map, acquire the scan sequence, acquire the flooding sequence, and initialize variables. For example, some embodiments of the initialization module 2234A include instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to perform at least some of the operations described in blocks B405-B410 in Figure 4, blocks B705-B710 in Figure 7, or blocks B1005-B1015 in Figure 8.

[0097] The field partitioning module 2234B includes instructions to the drop pattern generation device 2235 to partition the field material map into cells and determine the volume of each cell. For example, some embodiments of the field partitioning module 2234B include instructions to the drop pattern generation device 2235 to perform at least some of the operations described in blocks B415-B420 in Figure 4, blocks B715-B720 in Figure 7, or blocks B1020-B1035 in Figure 8.

[0098] The scanning module 2234C includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to scan a set of unassigned cells or to select a source cell according to a scanning sequence. For example, some embodiments of the scanning module 2234C include instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to perform at least some of the operations described in blocks B425 and B445 in Figure 4, blocks B725 and B750-B760 in Figure 7, or blocks B1040 and B1071-B1077 in Figure 8.

[0099] The drop assignment module 2234D includes instructions that cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to assign drop volumes to cells, mark assigned cells, add cells to a fillset, or calculate the remaining drop volumes. For example, some embodiments of the drop assignment module 2234D include instructions that cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to perform at least some of the operations described in blocks B430-B440 of Figure 4, blocks B730 and B745 of Figure 7, or blocks B1045 and B1060 of Figure 8. The fillset may also be stored in the fillset repository 2234I.

[0100] The adjacent selection module 2234E includes instructions that cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to add one or more adjacent cells to the adjacent list, which are to be executed according to a flooding sequence. For example, some embodiments of the adjacent selection module 2234E include instructions that cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to perform at least some of the operations described in block B440 of Figure 4, blocks B735-B740 of Figure 7, or blocks B1047-B1055 and B1065-B1070 of Figure 8.

[0101] The droplet placement module 2234F includes instructions to the drop pattern generation device 2235 to determine the drop locations of each droplet based on the cells in each fill set (cells assigned to the droplet) of the droplet, and to generate a drop pattern based on the drop locations. For example, some embodiments of the droplet placement module 2234F include instructions to the drop pattern generation device 2235 to perform at least some of the operations described in block B450 in Figure 4, block B765 in Figure 7, or blocks B1081-B1090 in Figure 8.

[0102] The lithography control module 2234G includes commands to the drop pattern generation device 2235 to adjust, control, or instruct other components or subsystems of the nanoimprint lithography system, such as a substrate positioning stage, imprint head, fluid dispenser, energy source, and camera.

[0103] The communication module 2234H includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 2235 to communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., nanoimprint lithography control devices), a substrate positioning stage, an imprint head, a fluid dispenser, an energy source, a camera, a monitoring device, or another computing device.

[0104] At least some of the devices, systems, and methods described above are implemented, at least in part, by providing one or more computer-readable media containing computer-executable instructions for performing the operations described above to one or more computing devices configured to read and execute computer-executable instructions. When a system or device executes a computer-executable instruction, it performs the operations of the embodiments described above. An operating system on one or more systems or devices may also implement at least some of the operations of the embodiments described above.

[0105] Furthermore, some embodiments implement the devices, systems, and methods described above using one or more functional units. Functional units may be implemented in hardware only (e.g., customized circuits) or in a combination of software and hardware (e.g., a microprocessor running software).

Claims

1. A method for assigning the drop position of a droplet in a drop pattern, To receive a predetermined fluid drop volume of the aforementioned droplet, Receiving information about an array of cells defining a desired filling set related to the predetermined fluid drop volume, wherein the information includes a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells and a predetermined position for each cell in the array of cells. Determining the distance from the centroid of the array of cells to the predetermined position of each of the multiple cells in the array of cells, Identifying the cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume among the plurality of cells whose distance from the center of gravity is within a predetermined threshold distance, Assigning the predetermined position of the identified cell as the drop position of the droplet in the drop pattern, A method characterized by comprising:

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined fluid volume of each cell in the array of cells is based on a field material map.

3. The method according to the 2nd, characterized in that the field material map is blurred using a filter.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the filter is a box filter.

5. The method according to 4, characterized in that the width or height of the box filter is based on the predetermined fluid drop volume.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined position of each cell coincides with the center or centroid of each cell.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the array of cells includes 100 to 1500 cells.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plurality of cells have fewer cells than the array of cells.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plurality of cells and the array of cells have the same number of cells.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined threshold distance is based on the distance between two adjacent locations that can be dispensed by the dispenser.

11. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined threshold distance is 50 microns to 150 microns.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined fluid drop volume is between 0.3 picoliters and 3 picoliters.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined fluid volume of each cell is between 0.02 femtoliters and 300 femtoliters.

14. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined fluid volume of the identified cell is between 0.01 picoliters and 0.3 picoliters.

15. A method for generating drop patterns, Assigning one or more drop positions for one or more droplets in the drop pattern according to the method of claim 1, A method characterized by comprising:

16. Assigning one or more drop positions for one or more droplets in the drop pattern includes, according to the method of claim 1, assigning a first droplet to a first drop position in the drop pattern and assigning a second droplet to a second drop position in the drop pattern. The predetermined fluid drop volume of the first droplet is different from the predetermined fluid drop volume of the second droplet. The method according to the present invention, characterized by the present invention.

17. Assigning one or more drop positions for one or more droplets in the drop pattern includes, according to the method of claim 1, assigning a first droplet to a first drop position in the drop pattern and assigning a second droplet to a second drop position in the drop pattern. The predetermined fluid drop volume of the first droplet is the same as the predetermined fluid drop volume of the second droplet. The method according to the present invention, characterized by the present invention.

18. A method of imprinting or flattening, The method of distributing droplets of moldable material onto a substrate, based on the drop pattern generated according to claim 15, To form a film, the distributed droplets are brought into contact with a template or superstraight, A method characterized by comprising:

19. A system for imprinting or flattening, A substrate chuck configured to hold a substrate, A dispenser configured to supply a moldable material onto the substrate, A controller configured to control a dispenser according to a drop pattern of the moldable material, which indicates the drop positions of each droplet of the moldable material to be supplied onto the substrate, Equipped with, The aforementioned controller, Receiving a predetermined fluid drop volume of liquid droplets, Information is received regarding an array of cells that defines a desired filling set related to the predetermined fluid drop volume, the information including a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells and a predetermined position for each cell in the array of cells, The distance from the centroid of the array of cells to the predetermined position of each of the multiple cells in the array of cells is determined. Among the plurality of cells whose distance from the center of gravity is within a predetermined threshold distance, the cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume is identified. The predetermined position of the identified cell is assigned as the drop position of the droplet in the drop pattern. A system characterized by being further configured in such a way.

20. A method for manufacturing articles, a) Receiving a predetermined fluid drop volume of liquid droplets, b) Receiving information relating to an array of cells that defines a desired filling set relating to a predetermined fluid drop volume, wherein the information includes a predetermined fluid volume for each cell in the array of cells and a predetermined position for each cell in the array of cells. c) Determining the distance from the centroid of the cell array to the predetermined position of each of the multiple cells in the cell array, d) Identifying the cell having the largest predetermined fluid volume among the plurality of cells whose distance from the center of gravity is within a predetermined threshold distance, e) Assigning the predetermined position of the identified cell as the drop position of the droplet in the drop pattern, f) Repeat steps a) through e) until the drop pattern is completed, g) Distributing droplets of the moldable material onto the substrate according to the completed drop pattern, h) To form a film, the distributed droplets are brought into contact with a template or superstraight, i) Exposing the film located beneath the template or the superstraight to chemical radiation, j) Processing the substrate, k) Forming the article from the processed substrate, A method characterized by comprising:

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