IMPRINT APPARATUS, IMPRINT METHOD, AND PRODUCTION METHOD OF ARTICLE

Abstract

To provide an imprint device that can prevent a pattern defect in imprint processing.SOLUTION: An imprint device sequentially performs imprint processing on a plurality of imprint areas on a substrate coated with an imprint material by using a mold having a pattern part, and the imprint device has: an irradiation unit that irradiates the imprint material with light to cure the imprint material; a gas supply unit for supplying predetermined gas to a space between the mold and the substrate; and a control unit that, when bringing the pattern part and the imprint material in a predetermined imprint area into contact with each other and irradiating them with light from the irradiation unit, if a peripheral area in which the imprint material is intended to be cured is present on the periphery of the predetermined imprint area, controls supply of gas from the gas supply unit according to the position of the peripheral area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Imprint technology has been attracting attention, in which a pattern is formed on a substrate by bringing a mold into contact with an imprint material placed on the substrate and curing the imprint material.

[0003] As the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices increases, in addition to conventional photolithography technology, attention is being paid to a microfabrication technology in which an imprint material on a substrate is molded and hardened to form a pattern on the substrate. This technology is called imprint technology, and it is possible to form a fine pattern on the order of a few nanometers on the substrate.

[0004] One example of imprinting technology is the photocuring method. An imprinting device that uses the photocuring method brings a mold into contact with a photocurable imprinting material applied to a substrate (imprinting), irradiates light to harden the imprinting material, and then separates the mold from the hardened imprinting material (demolding), forming a pattern on the substrate. This series of processes is also called the imprinting process.

[0005] Furthermore, there is a technique for applying an imprint material to the entire surface of a substrate in advance in order to improve throughput. In this case, if light is irradiated onto an unprocessed imprint area where a pattern will be formed, the imprint material may harden before the mold comes into contact. This may result in damage to the mold or failure to form a pattern correctly in the imprint area. Patent Document 1 describes an advantageous technique for defining with high precision an irradiation area onto which light from a light source is irradiated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-41774 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Furthermore, when the imprint material is applied to the entire surface of the substrate in advance, if the imprint material in the non-imprint area where the imprint process is not to be performed is not cured, the uncured imprint material may enter the pattern that has already been imprinted, which may cause pattern defects.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an imprint apparatus capable of suppressing pattern defects and the like in imprint processing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, an imprint apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is an imprint apparatus that performs imprint processing sequentially on a plurality of imprint areas on a substrate to which an imprint material has been applied, using a mold having a pattern portion, the imprint apparatus comprising: light By irradiating Imprint material The space between the curing irradiation unit and the mold and substrate Care Supply the body Willingness A body supply unit; stomach The imprint material in the imprint area is brought into contact with the pattern portion. stomach R Time To, multiple Imprint area of Not included Depending on the location of the surrounding area 、 gas of supply Gas supply unit A control unit for controlling the The imprint material in the peripheral region is hardened by the light irradiated from the irradiation unit. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imprint apparatus capable of suppressing pattern defects and the like in an imprint process. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an imprint apparatus of a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a substrate according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an imprint material in a non-imprint region. [Figure 4] 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a gas supply and curing method by the imprint apparatus of the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart showing gas supply and curing processing by the imprint apparatus of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating light irradiation onto a non-imprint region by the imprint apparatus of the second embodiment. [Figure 7] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating light irradiation onto a non-imprint region by the imprint apparatus of the third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing an article. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, the same members or elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are omitted or simplified. In the following, the direction parallel to the optical axis of the light irradiation unit 20 that irradiates the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2 with the irradiation light 21 is defined as the Z axis, and the directions perpendicular to each other in a plane perpendicular to the Z axis are defined as the X axis and the Y axis.

[0013] <Example 1> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an imprint apparatus 1 of Example 1. Fig. 1(A) is a diagram showing the imprint apparatus 1 as viewed from the Y direction, and Fig. 1(A) is a diagram showing the periphery of a mold 4 as viewed from the -Z direction to the +Z direction.

[0014] The imprint apparatus 1 is used in the manufacture of devices such as semiconductor devices. The imprint apparatus 1 is an apparatus that forms a pattern of the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2 by transferring the pattern of the mold 4 to the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2 to be processed by imprint processing. Note that the imprint apparatus in this embodiment employs a photocuring method. The imprint processing (imprint process) refers to a series of processes in which the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is brought into contact with the imprint material 7 (contact process), the imprint material 7 is cured after the contact (curing process), and the mold 4 is then separated from the imprint material 7 after curing (mold release process). This imprint processing is performed for each imprint area on the substrate 2 where a pattern is to be formed.

[0015] The substrate 2 is, for example, a single crystal silicon substrate or an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrate, and the surface to be processed is coated with an imprint material 7 that is patterned by a pattern portion 5 formed on a mold 4. The substrate 2 may also be various substrates such as a gallium arsenide wafer, a composite adhesive wafer, a glass wafer containing quartz as a material, a liquid crystal panel substrate, a reticle, etc. The outer shape may also be not only circular but also rectangular, and in that case, the outer shape of the substrate chuck 200 described later may be formed to match the outer shape of the substrate 2.

[0016] Mold (die) 4 has a rectangular outer periphery, and has a pattern portion (mesa portion) 5 with a three-dimensional pattern (a concave-convex pattern to be transferred to substrate 2, such as a circuit pattern) formed on a surface (pattern surface) facing substrate 2. Mold 4 is made of a material capable of transmitting light, such as quartz. Mold 4 may have a cavity with a circular planar shape and a certain depth on a surface irradiated with irradiation light from an exposure light source (not shown).

[0017] The imprint material 7 is a curable composition (sometimes called uncured resin) that is cured by applying curing energy. Electromagnetic waves, heat, and the like are used as the curing energy. The electromagnetic waves are, for example, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, and other light having a wavelength selected from the range of 150 nm to 1 mm. The viscosity of the imprint material 7 (viscosity at 25° C.) is, for example, 1 mPa·s to 100 mPa·s. The application amount (supply amount) of the imprint material 7 can be adjusted in the range of 0.1 to 10 pL / drop, and may usually be used at about 1 pL / drop. The total application amount of the imprint material 7 is determined by the density of the pattern portion 5 and the desired remaining film thickness.

[0018] The curable composition is a composition that is cured by irradiation with light or by heating. Among them, the photocurable composition that is cured by light contains at least a polymerizable compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may contain a non-polymerizable compound or a solvent as necessary. The non-polymerizable compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of sensitizers, hydrogen donors, internal mold release agents, surfactants, antioxidants, and polymer components. When using a photocurable composition (photocurable resin), it is cured using a photocuring method, and when using a thermosetting composition (thermosetting resin), which is a composition that is cured by heating, it is cured using a thermosetting method.

[0019] The imprint apparatus 1 of the first embodiment includes a light irradiation unit 20, a mold holding unit 6, a substrate stage 3, a gas supply unit 10, a gas supply control unit 11, and a control unit 30.

[0020] During the imprint process, the light irradiation unit 20 irradiates the imprint material 7, 71 with irradiation light 21, such as ultraviolet light, etc. Although not shown, the light irradiation unit 20 is composed of an exposure light source, an optical element that adjusts the irradiation light 21 irradiated from the exposure light source to light appropriate for imprinting, and a light shielding plate (masking blade) that limits the irradiation area (irradiation range) of the irradiation light 21 irradiated from the exposure light source.

[0021] A plurality of such light-shielding plates are arranged, and the position of each light-shielding plate is controlled by a control unit 30 described later, and the irradiation range of the irradiation light 21 irradiated from the light irradiation unit 20 can be adjusted depending on the positions of the plurality of light-shielding plates. Each light-shielding plate can be provided with a drive unit capable of driving in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, or the θ direction of each axis. The control unit 30 can adjust the position of the light-shielding plate by controlling the drive unit.

[0022] The mold holding unit 6 has a drive mechanism for moving the mold 4 while holding the mold 4. The mold holding unit 6 is able to hold the mold 4 by attracting the outer circumferential area of ​​the surface of the mold 4 irradiated with the irradiation light 21 by vacuum suction force or electrostatic force.

[0023] The mold holding unit 6 moves the mold 4 in each axial direction so as to selectively press or separate the mold 4 and the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2. In addition, in order to accommodate high-precision positioning of the mold 4, the imprint apparatus 1 may be configured to have a plurality of drive systems, such as a coarse movement drive system and a fine movement drive system. Furthermore, the imprint apparatus 1 may have a position adjustment function not only in the Z-axis direction but also in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, or the θ direction of each axis, and a tilt function for correcting the inclination of the mold 4. The pressing and separating operations in the imprint apparatus 1 may be realized by moving the mold 4 in the Z-axis direction, or may be realized by moving the substrate stage 3 in the Z-axis direction, or both of them may be moved relatively.

[0024] The substrate stage 3 has a stage driving mechanism that allows it to move in each axial direction. The substrate stage 3 also holds the substrate 2, and aligns the mold 4 with the imprint area 8 on the substrate 2 when pressing the mold 4 against the imprint area 8 on the substrate 2. For alignment, an alignment measurement unit (not shown) measures a mark on the mold (alignment make) and a mark on the substrate 2, and the stage driving mechanism moves the substrate stage 3 based on the measurement results to perform alignment.

[0025] The stage driving mechanism may be composed of a plurality of driving systems, such as a coarse driving system and a fine driving system, for each of the X-axis and Y-axis directions. Furthermore, the stage driving mechanism may be configured to have a driving system for adjusting the position in the Z-axis direction, a function for adjusting the position of the substrate 2 in the θ direction, or a tilt function for correcting the inclination of the substrate 2.

[0026] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the substrate 2 of Example 1. Here, as shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of imprint regions 8 are set on the substrate 2, and a pattern can be formed by sequentially carrying out imprint processing on the plurality of imprint regions 8. Here, there can also be a plurality of non-imprint regions (peripheral regions) 70 on the substrate 2, which are regions where the imprint processing is not carried out, i.e., regions where no pattern is formed.

[0027] When the imprint material is also supplied onto the non-imprint region 70, the uncured imprint material 71 supplied onto the non-imprint region 70 is not subjected to the imprint process, and therefore remains uncured on the substrate 2. Note that the uncured imprint material 71 is the same as the uncured imprint material 7, except that the region to which it is supplied is different.

[0028] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of uncured imprint material 71 supplied onto a non-imprint region 70. Fig. 3(A) is a diagram showing a state in which there is uncured imprint material 71 on the non-imprint region 70, and a pattern 40 is formed in the imprint material 7 in an adjacent imprint region. Fig. 3(B) is a diagram showing a state in which, in the state of Fig. 3(A), the uncured imprint material 71 has infiltrated into the adjacent region over time, causing a portion of the pattern 40 to be lost.

[0029] For example, when forming a pattern of the imprint material 7 on the substrate 2, the imprint material 7 may be supplied to the entire surface of the substrate 2 before starting the imprint process, and then the imprint process may be performed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3A, the uncured imprint material 71 remains supplied to the non-imprint region 70 where no pattern is to be formed. As shown in FIG. 3B, the uncured imprint material 71 on the non-imprint region 70 may infiltrate into the pattern (resin pattern) 40 of the adjacent imprint region over time. As shown in FIG. 3B, the infiltrated uncured imprint material 71 may cause pattern defects in some of the patterns 40.

[0030] In order to prevent such pattern defects, it is important to harden the unhardened imprint material 71 on the non-imprint region 70 where no pattern is formed. One method for hardening the imprint material 71 is to perform an imprint process on the non-imprint region 70 in the same manner as on the imprint region 8 where a normal pattern is formed. However, the non-imprint region 70 is an area where the imprint process is not performed. Therefore, if the imprint process is performed on the non-imprint region 70 as described above, the processing time for pattern formation on the entire substrate 2 increases compared to the normal processing time, resulting in poor efficiency and a deterioration in throughput.

[0031] There is also a method in which the imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 is irradiated with light to harden it without performing the imprint process. Here, in an oxygen-containing environment, the uncured imprint material 7, 71 cannot be efficiently hardened even if it is irradiated with light because the hardening reaction is inhibited by oxygen. Therefore, the oxygen concentration between the mold 4 and the substrate 2 has a much greater effect on hardening of the uncured imprint material 7, 71 than the amount of irradiation (exposure). In a normal imprint process, when the mold 4 and the uncured imprint material 7 are brought into contact with each other, the oxygen concentration decreases to a level that does not impede hardening, and therefore the imprint material 7 is hardened when it is irradiated with light in this state.

[0032] However, since the imprint process is not performed on the non-imprint region 70 as described above, in order to cure the uncured imprint material 71 by light irradiation, it is necessary to separately supply an oxygen-free gas to the non-imprint region 70. In this case, if various processes are performed to newly irradiate the non-imprint region 70 with light for curing, the processing time for pattern formation on the entire substrate 2 increases compared to the normal processing time, resulting in poor efficiency and a poor throughput. Furthermore, if gas is also supplied to the periphery of the imprint region that has not yet been processed, the curing of the imprint material 7 in the unprocessed imprint region is accelerated when the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 is newly irradiated with light for curing. This may result in poor pattern formation when the region is subsequently imprinted.

[0033] Therefore, in the imprint apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the control unit 30 controls the gas 9 supplied from the gas supply unit 10 in accordance with the positions of the non-imprint region 70 and the positions of the unprocessed imprint region. This makes it possible to efficiently cure the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 without deteriorating the throughput. Furthermore, when curing the uncured imprint material 71, it is also possible not to cure the uncured imprint material 7 in the imprint region (other surrounding region) adjacent to the non-imprint region 70 or a specific imprint region (prescribed imprint region) 80 described later.

[0034] The gas 9 in the first embodiment is preferably a gas that does not contain oxygen and does not inhibit the curing of the uncured imprint materials 7 and 71. For example, a rare gas such as helium gas may be used. Furthermore, the gas may be a gas that contains at least one of nitrogen gas and a condensable gas (e.g., pentafluoropropane (PFP)). Although the gas 9 is preferably a gas that does not contain oxygen, it may contain a trace amount of oxygen as long as it does not inhibit the curing of the uncured imprint materials 7 and 71.

[0035] The gas supply unit 10 is disposed on the outer periphery of the mold 4 so as to surround the mold 4. As shown in FIG. 1(B), the gas supply unit 10 in the first embodiment is divided into a plurality of gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d. Furthermore, the plurality of gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d each have a gas supply port for supplying the gas 9. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, which will be described later, in the first embodiment, one gas supply unit 10 has a plurality of gas supply ports. It is preferable that one gas supply unit 10 has a plurality of gas supply ports, but it is sufficient that one or more gas supply ports are provided.

[0036] The gas supply unit 10 can have a suction function that can not only supply the gas 9 but also suck in surrounding gas including the gas 9. When sucking in surrounding gas including the gas 9, a gas supply port provided in the gas supply unit 10 may be used as a suction port, or a separate suction port may be provided in the gas supply unit 10 so as not to be in the same flow path as the gas supply port.

[0037] The gas supply control unit 11 can control the supply amount and supply time of the gas 9 supplied from each gas supply port of the gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, as well as control the start and stop of the supply of the gas 9. This makes it possible to control the gas 9 supplied from the gas supply unit 10 even when there are other surrounding areas (unprocessed imprint areas) around the specific imprint area 80 where the imprint material is not desired to be cured. In other words, the supply of the gas 9 from the gas supply unit 10 can be controlled according to the positions of the non-imprint areas 70 and the unprocessed imprint areas. The gas supply control unit 11 also controls the suction function described above.

[0038] The control unit 30 includes a CPU, a memory (storage unit), and the like, and is configured by at least one computer, and the control unit 30 is connected to each component of the imprint apparatus 1 via a line. The control unit 30 also performs overall control of the adjustment of the operations of each component of the entire imprint apparatus 1 according to a program stored in the memory. The control unit 30 may also be configured integrally with other parts of the imprint apparatus 1 (in a common housing). Furthermore, the control unit 30 may also be configured separately from other parts of the imprint apparatus 1 (in a different housing), or may be installed in a location separate from the imprint apparatus 1 and controlled remotely. The control unit 30 also controls the gas supply control unit 11.

[0039] An example of a method for curing the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a diagram showing a method for supplying the gas 9 by the imprint apparatus 1 in the first embodiment and a method for curing the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70.

[0040] FIG. 4(A) is a diagram showing a state in which the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is in contact with the imprint material 7 in the immediately preceding imprint region 81. FIG. 4(B) is a diagram showing a state in which the mold 4 is being separated from the immediately preceding imprint region 81. FIG. 4(C) is a diagram showing a state in which the supplied gas 9 is being drawn in the movement direction of the mold 4. FIG. 4(D) is a diagram showing a state in which the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is in contact with the imprint material 7 in the specific imprint region 80. FIG. 4(E) is a diagram showing a state in which the imprint material 7 in the specific imprint region 80 and the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 are being irradiated with irradiation light 21.

[0041] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a supply process of the gas 9 and a hardening process of the unhardened imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 by the imprint apparatus 1 of the embodiment 1. Note that each operation (process) shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5 is controlled by the control unit 30 executing a computer program.

[0042] In the first embodiment, while imprint processing is performed sequentially on a plurality of imprint regions excluding the non-imprint region 70, if the region to be imprint processed next is the specific imprint region 80, a pattern is formed in the immediately preceding imprint region 81 before that region. Thereafter, the supply of gas 9 supplied from the gas supply unit 10 is controlled according to the position of the non-imprint region 70, which is a region present around the specific imprint region 80 and to which the imprint material 71 to be cured is applied. Thereafter, simultaneously with the pattern formation operation on the specific imprint region 80, the uncured imprint material 7 in the specific imprint region 80 and the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 are cured.

[0043] The specific imprint region 80 is a region where imprint processing is performed to form a pattern. The specific imprint region 80 is also a region arranged around the non-imprint region 70. Specifically, the specific imprint region 80 is an imprint region adjacent (adjacent) to the non-imprint region 70, and is a region where imprint processing is performed immediately after the immediately preceding imprint region 81, which will be described later. Note that the specific imprint region 80 does not have to be an imprint region adjacent to the non-imprint region 70. However, according to the curing process of Example 1 described below, in order to sufficiently cure the uncured imprint material 71 on the non-imprint region 70, it is desirable for the specific imprint region 80 to be adjacent to the non-imprint region 70.

[0044] The previous imprint region 81 is a region (previous imprint region) that has been subjected to imprint processing immediately before imprint processing is performed on the specific imprint region 80, while imprint processing is sequentially performed on a plurality of imprint regions excluding the non-imprint region 70. Note that a plurality of non-imprint regions 70, specific imprint regions 80, and previous imprint regions 81 are set on the substrate 2.

[0045] In forming a pattern in the imprint process of Example 1, after the mold 4 and the substrate 2 are positioned in a predetermined positional relationship, the mold holding portion 6 is moved in the -Z direction and the pattern portion 5 is pressed against the imprint material 7 in any of the imprint regions where a pattern is to be formed. Thereafter, the imprint material 7 is cured, and then the pattern portion 5 is separated to form a pattern 40 of the imprint material on the substrate 2. This imprint process is sequentially performed on a plurality of imprint regions on the substrate 2 where a pattern is to be formed. The process from step (process) S101 shown below shows an example of a process in which a pattern is formed in a specific imprint region 80 while sequentially performing imprint processes. In this example, the entire surface of the substrate 2 is coated with the imprint material when the substrate 2 is carried in.

[0046] First, in step S101, the control unit 30 drives the stage driving mechanism to move and align the substrate stage 3 so that directly below the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is directly above the immediately preceding imprint area 81. Next, as illustrated in Fig. 4(A), the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is brought into contact with the uncured imprint material 7 in the immediately preceding imprint area 81, and then the imprint material 7 is irradiated with irradiation light 21 to cure the imprint material 7 (curing step), thereby forming a pattern.

[0047] Next, in step S102, the control unit 30 controls the gas supply unit 10 to start supplying the gas 9 in a state in which the imprint material 7 in the immediately preceding imprint region 81 and the pattern portion 5 are in contact with each other (gas supplying step). Note that the gas 9 may be supplied either before or during the irradiation with the irradiation light 21, so long as the imprint material 7 in the immediately preceding imprint region 81 and the pattern portion 5 are in contact with each other.

[0048] At this time, the gas 9 is supplied from the gas supply port of the gas supply unit 10 that is located closest to the non-imprint region 70 among the gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d in accordance with the position of the non-imprint region 70 adjacent to the specific imprint region 80. Furthermore, at this time, the control unit 30 controls the gas supply unit 10 to supply the gas 9 from the gas supply port of the gas supply unit 10 that is located closest to the non-imprint region 70, and not to supply the gas 9 from the gas supply ports of the other gas supply units 10 (control step).

[0049] 4(A), for example, gas 9 is supplied from the gas supply port of gas supply unit 10a, but is not supplied from the gas supply ports of gas supply units 10b, 10c, and 10d. When supplying gas 9, control unit 30 controls gas supply unit 10 to adjust the supply amount of gas 9 and then supply gas 9, taking into consideration operations during processing in steps S103 and S104, which will be described later.

[0050] Next, in step S103, the control unit 30 controls the mold holding unit 6 to separate the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 from the immediately preceding imprint region 81, as illustrated in FIG. 4B. The gap between the mold 4 and the substrate 2 while the pattern portion 5 and the immediately preceding imprint region 81 are in contact is very narrow, and the fluid resistance is large, so that the gas 9 can hardly enter. Then, when the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is separated from the immediately preceding imprint region 81 in a state in which the space around the mold 4 is filled with the gas 9, the volume of the gap between the mold 4 and the substrate 2 increases. As a result, a negative pressure is created relative to the space around the mold 4, and the gas 9 is drawn into the space between the mold 4 and the substrate 2. In step S103, the gas 9 is drawn into the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70, as illustrated in FIG. 4B.

[0051] Next, in step S104, the control unit 30 drives the stage driving mechanism to move and align the substrate stage 3 so that directly below the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 is directly above the specific imprint region 80. At this time, the gas 9 is further drawn in the opposite direction to the movement of the substrate stage 3 by the Couette flow that accompanies the movement of the substrate stage 3.

[0052] For example, in the case of Fig. 4(C), the gas 9 is drawn in the +X-axis direction by the Couette flow accompanying the movement of the substrate stage 3 from the state in Fig. 4(B). As a result, the gas 9 is sufficiently supplied to the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70. At this time, as illustrated in Fig. 4(C), the gas 9 may be supplied to part of the space between the mold 4 and the specific imprint region 80. At this time, the gas supply unit 10 is controlled in the above step S102 so that the gas 9 is not supplied to the space between the unprocessed imprint regions in which no pattern has been formed at this point, which are regions that will be sequentially imprinted.

[0053] 4(D), the control unit 30 controls the mold holding unit 6 to bring the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 into contact with the imprint material 7 of the specific imprint region 80, which is the imprint region where imprint processing will be performed. At this time, the pattern portion 5 is brought into contact with the imprint material 7 while gas 9 is supplied to the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70 adjacent to the specific imprint region 80, and gas 9 is not supplied to the space between the mold 4 and the unprocessed imprint region. Furthermore, at this time, it is desirable that the space above the non-imprint region 70 in contact with the specific imprint region 80 has been sufficiently replaced with gas 9.

[0054] Next, in step S106 (irradiation step), the control unit 30 controls the light irradiation unit 20 as exemplified in Fig. 4(E). Then, the uncured imprint material 7 in the specific imprint region 80 and the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region are irradiated with irradiation light 21 to cure them. During the curing, the uncured imprint materials 7, 71 applied to these two regions are cured simultaneously (at the same timing). When curing the uncured imprint materials 7, 71 applied to these two regions, the control unit 30 controls the position of the light shielding plate, and adjusts the irradiation range of the irradiation light 21 so as to include the specific imprint region 80 and the non-imprint region 70.

[0055] The control unit 30 may control the position of the light shielding plate so that the two regions and the regions surrounding the two regions are irradiated with the irradiation light 21 as described above. That is, the irradiation range may be controlled so that in addition to the specific imprint region 80 and the non-imprint region 70, a portion of the irradiation light 21 is irradiated to the unprocessed imprint region surrounding these regions. By irradiating the irradiation light 21 after adjusting the position of the light shielding plate in this manner, the irradiation light 21 can be uniformly irradiated to the imprint material 7 in the specific imprint region 80 and the imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70.

[0056] At this time, the irradiation light 21 is also irradiated to a part of the unprocessed imprint region where the uncured imprint material 7 is applied. However, as described above, the oxygen concentration in the space between the mold 4 and the imprint region has a much larger effect on the curing than the amount of irradiation (exposure amount) from the light irradiation unit 20.

[0057] Therefore, for example, unless the mold 4 and the uncured imprint material 7 are not in contact with each other, or unless an oxygen-free gas is supplied to the space between the mold 4 and the unprocessed imprint region to reduce the oxygen concentration to a predetermined level or more, the curing reaction is inhibited and curing is not promoted. That is, even if the irradiation light 21 is irradiated to a part of the unprocessed imprint region where the gas 9 is not supplied and the mold 4 and the uncured imprint material 7 of the unprocessed imprint region are not in contact with each other, curing of the imprint material 7 is not promoted. Even if the imprint material 7 in this state is later subjected to an imprint process, a pattern can be formed in the same way as in normal pattern formation.

[0058] As described above, when the light irradiation unit 20 irradiates the irradiation light 21, the irradiation light 21 is irradiated in a state in which the gas 9 is supplied to the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70. This makes it possible to suppress the influence of oxygen, which inhibits the curing reaction, and to efficiently cure the uncured imprint material 71 on the non-imprint region 70 without deteriorating the throughput.

[0059] Next, in step S107, the control unit 30 controls the mold holding unit 6 to separate the pattern portion 5 of the mold 4 from the specific imprint region 80. In performing the imprint process of sequentially forming patterns in a plurality of imprint regions, the processes of steps S101 to S107 are performed as many times as the number of non-imprint regions 70. That is, the processes of steps S101 to S107 are repeated according to the number of non-imprint regions 70.

[0060] The order of imprint processing to form a pattern is a typical example in which imprint processing is performed sequentially on adjacent imprint regions, which is advantageous in terms of throughput. For example, imprint processing is performed sequentially in the +X direction, and when imprint processing is performed up to the imprint region forming the pattern at the end of the +X direction, next, the imprint region moves one column in the +Y direction or -Y direction from the imprint region at the end of the +X direction to the +X direction end. Similarly, imprint processing is performed sequentially on the imprint region forming the pattern on the -X direction side, and this is repeated to achieve this. In the first embodiment, as described above, even when imprint processing is performed sequentially on adjacent regions, a pattern is formed in the imprint region 81 before (just before) imprint processing is performed on the specific imprint region 80.

[0061] The order in which the imprint processes are performed is not limited to the above-mentioned order, and it is possible to set an order such as a staggered order, a random order, etc. The order in which the imprint processes are performed in the first embodiment is stored in advance as a recipe in a memory or the like included in the control unit 30.

[0062] As described above, by using the method of Example 1, it is possible to efficiently harden the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70 when performing the imprint process for sequentially forming patterns in a plurality of imprint regions on the substrate 2. This makes it possible to provide an imprint apparatus 1 that prevents the uncured imprint material 71 from entering the pattern 40 that has already been imprinted, thereby suppressing the occurrence of pattern defects.

[0063] <Example 2> Hereinafter, a description will be given of the imprint apparatus 1 of the embodiment 2. The various configurations of the imprint apparatus 1 themselves are similar to those of the embodiments 1 and 2, and matters not mentioned in the embodiment 2 follow the embodiment 1.

[0064] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a method for supplying the gas 9 by the gas supply unit 10 in the second embodiment and curing the uncured imprint material 71. In the second embodiment, the supply of the gas 9 by each of the gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d is controlled according to the positions of the unprocessed imprint region and the processed imprint region arranged around the specific imprint region 80.

[0065] 6, imprint regions 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e, and non-imprint regions 70a and 70b are arranged around the specific imprint region 80 in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the imprint regions 8a and 8b are processed imprint regions in which a pattern has been formed, and the imprint regions 8c, 8d, and 8e are unprocessed imprint regions in which a pattern has not been formed. In this case, the non-imprint region 70 in which a curing process is performed first is the non-imprint region 70a. Furthermore, the imprint region 81 immediately before the pattern forming operation is performed before the specific imprint region 80 is the imprint region 8b. Also, a pattern is formed in the imprint region 8b, but the mold 4 is not yet separated from the imprint region 8b.

[0066] Under the above conditions, the control unit 30 performs control so as not to supply gas 9 from the gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c arranged on the side of imprint regions 8c, 8d, 8e, which are unprocessed imprint regions, to the specific imprint region 80. Then, the control unit 30 performs control so as to supply gas 9 from gas supply unit 10d arranged on the side of non-imprint region 70a while imprint region 8b is in contact with pattern unit 5, as in the first embodiment.

[0067] Next, the control unit 30 draws the gas 9 into the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70a by moving the pattern unit 5 away from the imprint region 8b. Next, the control unit 30 moves the substrate stage 3 so that the area directly below the pattern unit 5 is directly above the specific imprint region 80, and performs a pattern forming operation. At this time, the gas 9 drawn into the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70a is in a state of sufficiently filling (replacing) the area above the non-imprint region 70a. In this state, as in the first embodiment, the light irradiation unit 20 and a light shielding plate (not shown) are controlled to harden the unhardened imprint material 7 in the specific imprint region 80 and the unhardened imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70a at the same time. The irradiation region (irradiation range) 22 to which the irradiation light 21 is irradiated at this time is the range indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 6.

[0068] Under the above conditions, it is assumed that gas 9 is also supplied from the gas supply units 10b and 10c in order to simultaneously cure the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70b. In this case, curing of a part of the uncured imprint material 7 in the imprint regions 8c, 8d, and 8e, which are unprocessed regions overlapping the irradiation region 22, is accelerated, which causes defective pattern formation when the imprint regions 8c, 8d, and 8e are imprinted later. Therefore, when supplying gas 9 during the above-mentioned processing, the control unit 30 controls the gas supply unit 10 to supply the gas 9 to the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70a and not to supply the gas 9 to the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70b.

[0069] In the second embodiment, after the uncured imprint material 71 in one non-imprint region 70a has been cured, when the uncured imprint material 71 in the other non-imprint region 70b is to be cured, the curing process is performed under the following conditions. In this case, since the imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70a has already been cured by the above-mentioned process, the imprint region 8d, which is an unprocessed region, is set as the immediately preceding imprint region 81. Furthermore, the imprint region 8e, which is an unprocessed region, is set as the specific imprint region 80.

[0070] Then, similar to the above process, a pattern is formed in the imprint region 8d, and while the imprint region 8d and the pattern portion 5 are in contact with each other, gas 9 is supplied from the gas supply unit 10b arranged on the non-imprint region 70b side.

[0071] Next, the pattern portion 5 is moved away from the imprint region 8d to draw the gas 9 into the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70b. Next, the substrate stage 3 is moved so that the area directly below the pattern portion 5 is directly above the imprint region 8e, and a pattern forming operation is performed. At this time, the gas 9 drawn into the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint region 70b has sufficiently filled (replaced) the area above the non-imprint region 70b. In this state, as in the first embodiment, the light irradiation unit 20 and a light shielding plate (not shown) are controlled to harden the uncured imprint material 7 in the imprint region 8e and the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint region 70b at the same time.

[0072] As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to efficiently cure the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint regions 70a and 70b, similarly to the first embodiment. This makes it possible to provide an imprint apparatus 1 that prevents the uncured imprint material 71 from entering the pattern 40 that has already been imprinted, thereby suppressing the occurrence of pattern defects.

[0073] <Example 3> Hereinafter, a description will be given of the imprint apparatus 1 of the embodiment 3. The various configurations of the imprint apparatus 1 themselves are similar to those of the embodiments 1 and 2, and matters not mentioned in the embodiment 3 follow those of the embodiments 1 and 2.

[0074] 7 is a diagram showing an example of a method for supplying the gas 9 by the gas supply unit 10 and curing the uncured imprint material 71 in Example 3. In Example 3, a pattern is formed in the imprint regions 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e arranged around the specific imprint region 80, and all of them are turned into processed imprint regions, and then the gas 9 is supplied to the space between the mold 4 and the non-imprint regions 70a and 70b. Then, the uncured imprint material 7 in the specific imprint region 80 and the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint regions 70a and 70b are cured simultaneously.

[0075] 7, imprint regions 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e are arranged around the specific imprint region 80. When the imprint regions 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e are all processed imprint regions as described above, the gas 9 may be supplied from any of the gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d. The gas 9 may also be supplied from all of the gas supply units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d. In either case, the gas 9 is supplied so that the non-imprint regions 70a and 70b around the specific imprint region 80 are sufficiently filled with the gas 9 (so as to replace the gas 9).

[0076] If the entire periphery of the specific imprint region 80 is a processed imprint region as in the third embodiment, there is no unprocessed imprint region that overlaps with the irradiation region 22 of the irradiation light 21. Therefore, no pattern formation defects occur due to the uncured imprint material 7 curing before the pattern formation operation.

[0077] As described above, according to the embodiment 3, it is possible to efficiently cure the uncured imprint material 71 in the non-imprint regions 70a, 70b, as in the embodiment 1. This makes it possible to provide an imprint apparatus 1 that prevents the uncured imprint material 71 from entering the pattern 40 that has already been imprinted, thereby suppressing the occurrence of pattern defects.

[0078] <Example of article manufacturing method> The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment is suitable for manufacturing an article such as a microdevice such as a semiconductor device or an element having a fine structure. The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment includes a step of forming a pattern on a composition applied to a substrate using the above-mentioned imprinting apparatus 1 (a step of processing the substrate), and a step of processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in this step. Furthermore, this manufacturing method includes other well-known steps (oxidation, film formation, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, composition peeling, dicing, bonding, packaging, etc.). The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment is advantageous in at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of the article compared to conventional methods.

[0079] The pattern of the cured product formed using the imprint apparatus 1 is used permanently for at least a part of various articles, or temporarily when manufacturing various articles. The articles include electric circuit elements, optical elements, MEMS, recording elements, sensors, molds, etc. Examples of electric circuit elements include volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memories such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, and MRAM, and semiconductor elements such as LSI, CCD, image sensors, and FPGAs. Examples of molds include molds for substrate processing such as imprinting.

[0080] The pattern of the cured product may be used as it is as at least a part of a component of the article, or may be used temporarily as a composition mask, which is removed after etching or ion implantation is performed in a substrate processing step.

[0081] Next, a specific method for manufacturing an article will be described with reference to Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 8(A), a substrate 1z such as a silicon substrate having a workpiece 2z such as an insulator formed on its surface is prepared, and then a composition 3z is applied to the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. Here, a state in which the composition 3z in the form of multiple droplets is applied onto the substrate 1z is shown.

[0082] As shown in FIG. 8(B), the mold 4z is placed so that the side on which the concave-convex pattern is formed faces the composition 3z on the substrate 1z. As shown in FIG. 8(C), the substrate 1z to which the composition 3z is applied is brought into contact with the mold 4z, and pressure is applied (contact step). The composition 3z fills the gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. When light is irradiated through the mold 4z in this state as energy for curing, the composition 3z is cured (curing step). At this time, in this embodiment, it is possible to irradiate the composition with light at an irradiation amount that results in an optimal degree of photopolymerization based on the spectral sensitivity characteristics acquired within the device.

[0083] As shown in Fig. 8(D), after the composition 3z is cured, the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, and a pattern of the cured product of the composition 3z is formed on the substrate 1z (pattern formation step, molding step). In this cured product pattern, the recesses of the mold 4z correspond to the protruding parts of the cured product, and the recesses of the mold 4z correspond to the protruding parts of the cured product, that is, the concave and convex pattern of the mold 4z is transferred to the composition 3z.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 8(E), when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured material as an etching-resistant mask, the portion of the surface of the workpiece 2z where there is no cured material or where only a thin portion remains is removed, forming a groove 5z. As shown in FIG. 8(F), when the pattern of the cured material is removed, an article having grooves 5z formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z can be obtained. Here, the pattern of the cured material is removed, but it may be used as an interlayer insulating film included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, a component of an article, without being removed after processing. Note that, although an example of using a mold for transferring a circuit pattern provided with a concave-convex pattern as the mold 4z has been described, a flat template having a flat portion without a concave-convex pattern may also be used.

[0085] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0086] Furthermore, a computer program that realizes part or all of the control in each of the above-described embodiments may be supplied to the imprinting apparatus 1 or the like via a network or various storage media. Then, a computer (or a CPU, MPU, or the like) in the imprinting apparatus 1 or the like may read and execute the program. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1 Imprinting device 2. Board Type 4 5 Pattern section 7 Imprint material 8 Imprint Area 9. Gas 10 Gas supply section 11 Gas supply control unit 30 Control section

Claims

1. An imprint apparatus that performs imprint processing sequentially on a plurality of imprint areas on a substrate to which an imprint material has been applied, using a mold having a pattern portion, an irradiation unit that irradiates light to harden the imprint material; a gas supply unit that supplies a gas to a space between the mold and the substrate; a control unit that controls the gas supply unit to supply the gas in accordance with a position of a peripheral region that is not included in the plurality of imprint regions when the imprint material in the imprint region is in contact with the pattern portion; having The imprint material in the peripheral region is hardened by the light irradiated from the irradiation unit.

1. An imprint apparatus comprising:

2. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the gas does not contain oxygen.

3. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the light from the irradiation unit is also irradiated to a periphery of the imprint region.

4. An imprint apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when there are other imprint areas around the imprint area in which the imprint material is not desired to be hardened, the control unit controls the gas supply unit to supply the gas depending on the position of the peripheral area and the position of the other imprint area.

5. 5. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral region is a region adjacent to the imprint region.

6. The gas supply unit has a plurality of gas supply ports, An imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the control unit controls which of the multiple gas supply ports to supply the gas from depending on the position of the imprint area on the substrate.

7. The imprint apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the plurality of gas supply ports are arranged on an outer periphery of the mold.

8. 8. The imprint apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the gas supply unit to supply the gas from one of the plurality of gas supply ports that is located closest to the peripheral region.

9. The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the control unit controls the gas supply unit so as not to supply the gas from one of the multiple gas supply ports that is located on the side of an imprint region where the imprint processing has not been performed.

10. 10. The imprint apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control unit controls the gas supply unit so that the gas is not supplied to a space between the mold and an imprint region where the imprint process has not been performed.

11. The imprint apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the control unit controls the gas supply unit to supply the gas between the peripheral region and the mold while the mold is in contact with the imprint region immediately before the imprint process is performed on the imprint region.

12. The imprint apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the control unit controls the gas supply unit so that the gas is supplied to a space between the mold and the peripheral region by pulling the mold away from the previous imprint region.

13. An imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, when there are two peripheral areas around the imprint area, the control unit controls the gas supply unit to supply the gas to the space between the mold and one of the peripheral areas, and not to supply the gas to the space between the mold and the other peripheral area.

14. 14. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the periphery of the imprint area includes a part of an area adjacent to the imprint area.

15. An imprinting method for sequentially performing imprint processing on a plurality of imprint regions on a substrate to which an imprint material has been applied, using a mold having a pattern portion, the method comprising the steps of: an irradiation step of irradiating light from an irradiation unit to harden the imprint material; a gas supplying step of supplying a gas into a space between the mold and the substrate; a control step of controlling the supply of the gas in the gas supply step in accordance with a position of a peripheral region not included in the plurality of imprint regions when the imprint material in the imprint region is in contact with the pattern portion; having In the irradiation step, the imprint material in the peripheral region is cured by the light irradiated from the irradiation unit.

1. An imprint method comprising:

16. A pattern forming step of forming a pattern on the substrate using the imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14; a processing step of processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in the pattern forming step; manufacturing an article from the substrate processed in the processing step; A method for producing an article, comprising:

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