Mold, imprinting device, evaluation method, and method for manufacturing an article

Abstract

To provide a mold capable of increasing the probability of particles in an imprint device adhering to a substrate.SOLUTION: A mold is held in an imprint device and arranged by opposing a substrate. Provided is a deep groove formed along a second direction perpendicular to a first direction on a surface of the mold. The groove has an opening part with a width larger than 2 mm and a depth deeper than 0.5 mm.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mold, an imprint apparatus, an evaluation method, and a method for manufacturing an article, which are suitable for evaluating cleanliness and the like.

Background Art

[0002] As one of lithography techniques for manufacturing articles such as semiconductor devices, an imprint technique is known. By using the imprint technique, a pattern on the order of nanometers can be formed by transferring the pattern of a mold onto an imprint material on a substrate. In a processing step employing the photocuring method of the imprint technique, first, the imprint material supplied onto the substrate is molded by pressing a mold thereon. Next, the molded imprint material is irradiated with light to cure the imprint material. Then, by releasing the mold from the cured imprint material, a pattern is formed on the substrate.

[0003] As described above, since the mold and the imprint material are brought into direct contact in the imprint apparatus, if particles are present in the process space, it may cause defects in the pattern formed on the substrate or damage the mold. Therefore, it is important to correctly evaluate the cleanliness inside the imprint apparatus and take measures based on the results. In Patent Document 1, after processing a substrate measured by an appearance defect inspection apparatus in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the particles attached to the substrate are measured again by the appearance defect inspection apparatus, and the cleanliness inside the apparatus is evaluated from the increase amount of the detected particles.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In Patent Document 1, the cleanliness inside the apparatus is evaluated based on the increase in the amount of particles adhering to the substrate processed by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. On the other hand, the cleanliness inside the imprint apparatus is evaluated by the increase in the amount of particles adhering to the substrate by causing the imprint apparatus to perform a movement simulating the imprint operation without performing the imprint process on the substrate.

[0006] However, it has been clarified in our study that the inside of the imprint apparatus is maintained at a certain high level of cleanliness, and the probability that minute particles in the air flow adhere to the substrate is as small as about 1%. Therefore, an enormous amount of time is required to correctly evaluate the cleanliness. Accordingly, if the probability that minute particles in the air flow inside the imprint apparatus adhere to the substrate can be increased, an accelerated evaluation proportional to the cleanliness inside the apparatus can be performed, and thus the time required to evaluate the cleanliness can be shortened.

[0007] One object of the present invention is to provide a mold capable of increasing the probability that particles inside an imprint apparatus adhere to a substrate.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, a mold as one aspect of the present invention is held by an imprint apparatus, Wafer and is a mold arranged to face 、 Open a groove having a width of the mouth portion greater than 2 mm and a depth greater than 0.5 mm Is provided and is characterized by this.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the mold of the present invention, the probability that particles inside the imprint apparatus adhere to the substrate can be increased, and the time required to evaluate the cleanliness can be shortened.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described using examples. In each figure, the same members or elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted or simplified. <Embodiment 1>

[0012] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the imprint apparatus of Embodiment 1. The imprint apparatus 10 is used for manufacturing articles such as semiconductor devices, and is an apparatus that brings the imprint material 21 on the substrate 13 into contact with the mold 11 to form a pattern of the imprint material 21 on the substrate 13. In this embodiment, a photocuring method of curing the imprint material 21 by irradiation with ultraviolet rays is adopted, but it is not limited thereto, and for example, a thermosetting method of curing the imprint material 21 by heat can also be adopted.

[0013] The imprinting apparatus 10 includes a head 12 that holds a mold 11. The head 12 is supported by a structure 18 and is driven by a drive source (not shown) and a control unit 50 in a direction to bring the substrate 13 and the mold 11 closer to or farther from each other. Thereby, imprinting and demolding between the mold 11 and the imprinting material 21 on the substrate 13 can be performed. Note that the control unit 50 incorporates a CPU or the like as a computer and functions as control means for controlling the operations of respective parts of the entire apparatus based on a computer program stored in a memory as a storage medium.

[0014] The imprinting apparatus 10 includes a dispenser 20 that includes a nozzle for disposing (coating) the imprinting material 21 on the substrate 13. Further, in order to cure the imprinting material 21, ultraviolet light from an ultraviolet light source 16 is transmitted through the mold 11 via an illumination optical system 17 and irradiated onto the imprinting material 21. Further, the substrate stage 14 includes a transfer mechanism 15 and holds the substrate 13 and moves it on a stage surface plate 19. Therefore, the substrate stage 14 can transfer the substrate 13 in a predetermined first direction along a transfer path between a position where the dispenser 20 disposes (coats) the imprinting material 21 and an imprinting position where the head 12 is driven downward in the drawing to imprint the mold 11.

[0015] The imprinting apparatus 10 includes a control unit 50, and the control unit 50 controls a series of imprinting processes from when the imprinting material 21 is disposed on the substrate 13 until the imprinting material 21 is cured by ultraviolet rays and demolded. Note that the imprinting material 21 is a photocurable composition having a property of curing by receiving ultraviolet rays and can be appropriately selected according to various conditions such as a semiconductor device manufacturing process. Further, the amount of the imprinting material 21 discharged from the nozzle and the distribution on the substrate 13 are also appropriately determined according to the desired thickness of the imprinting material 21 formed on the substrate 13, the density of the pattern to be formed, and the like.

[0016] The transfer mechanism 15 of the substrate stage 14 transfers the substrate 13 under the control of the control unit 50 so that the shot area where the imprint material 21 on the substrate 13 is disposed (applied) comes to the pressing position. At this time, the position of the substrate stage 14 is measured by the measuring unit 22, and the alignment of the substrate stage 14 is performed by a control mechanism and an alignment mechanism (not shown). Note that the measuring unit 22 uses, for example, a laser interferometer or an encoder. The control unit 50 drives the head 12 downward in the drawing, brings the pattern of the mold 11 into contact with the imprint material 21 in the shot area, irradiates ultraviolet rays in that state to cure the imprint material 21, and then moves the mold 11 upward to release it.

[0017] Through these series of imprint processes, the pattern of the mold 11 is transferred (formed) to the shot area on the substrate 13. When evaluating the cleanliness inside the imprint apparatus 10, using the substrate 13 measured by the appearance defect inspection apparatus, after causing the imprint apparatus 10 to perform a movement simulating the imprint operation, the substrate 13 is measured again by the appearance defect inspection apparatus. Comparing with the pre-measurement value before the substrate 13 is carried into the imprint apparatus 10, the increase amount of particles measured after the simulated operation can be regarded as the particles attached in the space for processing the substrate 13 of the imprint apparatus 10. Thereby, the cleanliness of the process space of the imprint apparatus 10 can be evaluated.

[0018] Here, the movement simulating the imprint operation of the imprint apparatus 10 is different in that the following operations are omitted or simplified as compared with the series of imprint process steps of the imprint apparatus 10. That is, not discharging the imprint material 21 from the dispenser 20, and not opening a shutter (not shown) for adjusting the irradiation amount of ultraviolet rays emitted by the ultraviolet light source 16. Further, the head 12 is only driven within a range where the mold 11 and the substrate 13 do not come into contact.

[0019] Thus, when evaluating the cleanliness of the imprint apparatus 10, no imprinting process is performed on the substrate 13. Therefore, even after the substrate 13 is loaded into the imprint apparatus 10, since the substrate 13 has not been processed, it can be directly compared with the results previously measured by the appearance defect inspection apparatus. (Example 1 and Example 2)

[0020] In FIG. 2, (A) shows the groove on the lower surface of the mold of Example 1, and (B) shows the groove on the lower surface of the mold of Example 2. These are diagrams showing the mold 111 and the mold 112 having the features of the present embodiment, respectively. Note that the molds 111 and 112 in the examples are molds that are held by the imprint apparatus and arranged to face the substrate, and can perform normal imprinting operations. They are also characterized in that they can be used as molds for the accelerated evaluation of the cleanliness of the imprint apparatus 10.

[0021] The lower surfaces of the molds 111 and 112 have mesa portions 211 on which imprint patterns are formed. Surrounding the mesa portions 211, dug-in grooves that are several digits deeper than the unevenness of the imprint pattern of a conventional mold are formed. That is, dug-in grooves 212 are provided along a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction (the first direction) of the line connecting the center p and the outer end q of the mold surface.

[0022] The dug-in grooves 212 only need to be in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction (the first direction) of the line connecting the center p and the outer end q, and may be straight grooves in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal or vertical direction in FIG. 2 like the mold 111. That is, in the mold 111, grooves are provided along a second direction (vertical direction) substantially perpendicular to the horizontal direction (the first direction) of the mold surface, and further, the mold 111 also has dug-in grooves 212 formed along the first direction (horizontal direction).

[0023] Alternatively, the dug-in groove 212 may have a curve (circumference) in a direction perpendicular to the radial direction (first direction) from the center of the mold toward the outside, such as the mold 112. That is, the groove may be a circumferential groove formed around the center of the mold. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B), a partition portion for partitioning the dug-in groove is formed in a direction, for example, 45 degrees diagonal to the horizontal and vertical directions of FIG. 2. By this partition portion, the dug-in groove is partitioned into four places. This partition portion is for making it easier to maintain turbulent flow in the dug-in groove, but the above-mentioned partition portion does not necessarily have to be provided. In addition, the height of the partition portion is the same as the height of the surface portion of the mold.

[0024] Hereinafter, the mold 11 having the characteristics of the present embodiment provided with the dug-in groove 212 will be described as the mold 111, but the mold 111 may be rephrased as the mold 112. In addition, the width of the opening of the dug-in groove 212 will be described as a, the width of the bottom as b, and the depth as c. When evaluating the cleanliness inside the imprint apparatus 10, the mold 111 provided with the dug-in groove is held by the head 12 of the imprint apparatus 10. Then, the substrate stage 14 on which the substrate 13 is mounted is moved on the stage surface plate 19 by the transfer mechanism 15 so as to face the mold 111.

[0025] In addition, the horizontal and vertical directions in FIG. 2 correspond to the direction in which the transfer mechanism 15 of the substrate stage 14 transfers the substrate 13 so that the shot region of the imprint material 21 on the substrate 13 comes to the imprint position under the control of the control unit 50. That is, the transfer mechanism 15 often moves the substrate in the horizontal or vertical direction of FIG. 2, and at least the first direction corresponds to the moving direction of the substrate disposed to face the mold in the imprint apparatus.

[0026] Between the mold 111 and the substrate 13, there are laminar flows of air generated by the movement of the substrate stage 14 on which the substrate 13 is mounted in the horizontal or vertical direction shown in FIG. 2, and gases for keeping the inside of the apparatus clean. Also, there may be flows caused by gases for the purpose of filling the imprint material 21.

[0027] At this time, by providing the dug-in groove 212 in the mold 111 as in the embodiment, a part of the air flow (laminar flow) generated by the relative movement between the mold 111 and the substrate 13 becomes a turbulent flow, and this turbulent flow collides with the substrate 13. Along with this, in proportion to the amount of particles in the air flow, the frequency of the particles colliding with the substrate 13 also increases, so the probability of the particles adhering to the substrate 13 also proportionally increases.

[0028] That is, in the embodiment, by using the mold 111 provided with a groove for generating a turbulent flow in the air flow generated by the relative movement between the substrate and the mold, the probability of particles adhering to the substrate 13 can be increased. And when evaluating the cleanliness inside the imprint apparatus 10, an acceleration evaluation proportional to the cleanliness inside the apparatus can be performed, so the time required for the evaluation can be shortened.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the air flow in the cross-sectional space between the dug-in groove 212 of the mold 111 of Example 1 and the substrate 13. The direction of the arrow represents the direction of the air flow, and the length of the arrow represents the velocity of the air flow. By providing the dug-in groove 212 in the mold 111, a part of the air flow (laminar flow) flowing through the narrow space between the mold 111 and the substrate 13 collides with the side wall d of the dug-in groove 212. And most of the air flow that has collided with the side wall d changes the flow from the side of the substrate 13 to the side of the mold 111 along the side wall d.

[0030] Here, since the air flow that has collided with the side wall d flows along the side wall d, by making the width b of the bottom smaller than the width a of the opening of the dug-in groove 212 and having a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 3, turbulent flow is likely to occur. That is, compared with the case where the width a of the opening and the width b of the bottom are the same, vortices are more likely to be formed in the cross-sectional space of the dug-in groove 212.

[0031] And, since turbulent flow such as eddy currents is likely to occur in the space of the dug groove 212, the eddy current on the side away from the side wall d flows from the side of the mold 111 to the side of the substrate 13, so the frequency of particles in the air flow colliding with the substrate 13 also increases. Therefore, if the width b of the bottom is smaller than the width a of the opening of the dug groove 212, particles are likely to adhere to the substrate 13. Incidentally, the width b of the bottom may be larger than the width a of the opening, and it has been confirmed by simulation that turbulent flow is likely to occur in a groove where the width of the opening and the width of the bottom are different.

[0032] To make it easier for particles to adhere to the substrate 13, the dug groove 212 provided in the mold 111 may have a size such that the air flow flowing between the mold 111 and the substrate 13 transitions from laminar flow to turbulent flow. According to the simulation, when the width a of the opening of the dug groove 212 is, for example, 2 mm and the depth c is about 0.5 mm in a direction substantially perpendicular to the line connecting the center p and the outer end q of the mold 111, it has been confirmed that eddy currents can be formed in the space of the dug groove 212. Generally, the depth of the concavo-convex pattern for imprinting is on the micron order, whereas the depth of the dug groove in the embodiment is several digits deeper than that.

[0033] However, the flow velocity of the eddy current at this time is slower than the flow velocity of the air flow flowing between the mold 111 and the substrate 13, and the force of the air flow from the eddy current colliding with the substrate 13 may not always be sufficient. Therefore, as the size of the dug groove 212 provided in the mold 111, it is desirable that the width a of the opening of the dug groove 212 is larger than 2 mm and the depth c is deeper than 0.5 mm.

[0034] Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 3, it is desirable that the cross-sectional shape of the dug groove is substantially symmetric about the left and right. This is because turbulent flow is likely to occur in both cases where the substrate moves in the right direction and the left direction in the horizontal direction (the first direction) of FIG. 3, for example. That is, turbulent flow is likely to occur in both left and right movements of the substrate, and acceleration evaluation can be promoted. As shown in FIG. 3, the cross section of the dug groove is trapezoidal, but even if the dug groove has a V-shaped or U-shaped cross section, a certain degree of turbulent flow can be obtained. (Examples 3 and 4)

[0035] FIG. 4(A) is a view showing the groove on the lower surface of the mold of Example 3, and (B) is a view showing the groove on the lower surface of the mold of Example 4. FIG. 4(A) shows the mold 113 of Example 3, and FIG. 4(B) shows the mold 114 of Example 4. In the molds 113 and 114, dug grooves 212 are provided on the entire lower surface of the mold in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the line connecting the center p and the outer end q (the first direction). Here, the dug groove 212 may be a groove in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the line connecting the center p and the outer end q (the first direction), and may be a straight groove like the mold 113 or a curved (circular or arc-shaped) groove like the mold 114.

[0036] In the mold 113 of Example 3 and the mold 114 of Example 4, there is no mesa portion 211 on which an imprint pattern is formed, and a normal imprint operation of pressing to form a pattern cannot be performed. However, dug grooves 212 are also arranged around the center of the mold, and more vortices can be formed in the dug grooves 212 instead of the mesa portion 211. As a result, the frequency of particles in the air flow colliding with the substrate 13 becomes higher, so the probability of the particles adhering to the substrate 13 also increases. Therefore, when evaluating the cleanliness of the imprint apparatus 10 using the mold 113 or the mold 114 provided with the dug groove, a more accelerated evaluation proportional to the cleanliness inside the apparatus can be performed, and the evaluation time can be further shortened. (Example 5)

[0037] FIG. 5 is a view showing the groove on the lower surface of the mold 115 of Example 5. The mold 115 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal digging grooves 212 in the drawing along a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the line connecting the center p and the lateral end q (the first direction). Similar to the molds 113 and 114, the mold 115 does not have a mesa portion 211 formed with an imprint pattern, and a normal imprint operation of pressing to form a pattern cannot be performed.

[0038] However, since the digging grooves 212 in one direction can be arranged almost entirely on the lower surface of the mold, unlike the molds 113 and 114, all the digging grooves 212 can be arranged along a direction substantially perpendicular to the lateral direction in FIG. 5. Therefore, when the substrate stage 14 on which the substrate 13 is mounted is moved in the first direction in a direction substantially perpendicular to the digging grooves 212 provided in the mold 115, that is, in the lateral direction in FIG. 5, a large number of eddy currents can be efficiently formed. In addition, when switching the imprint area on the substrate in the imprint apparatus, most of the movement corresponds to the lateral direction (the first direction) in FIG. 5. Therefore, by providing the longitudinal digging grooves as shown in FIG. 5, the acceleration evaluation can be efficiently performed.

[0039] Normally, when evaluating the cleanliness of the imprint apparatus 10, an operation of simulating the approach of the mold to the entire shot area of the substrate 13 for pressing or the movement left and right is performed. At this time, without contacting the mold with the substrate, the substrate stage 14 moves in various directions on the stage surface plate 19. However, when the mold 115 is held by the head 12 and the substrate stage 14 is repeatedly moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to the digging grooves 212 of the mold 115 (the first direction), more eddy currents can be formed.

[0040] As a result, the frequency of particles in the air flow colliding with the substrate 13 becomes even higher, so the probability of the particles adhering to the substrate 13 also further increases. Therefore, when evaluating the cleanliness of the imprint apparatus 10 using the mold 115 provided with the digging grooves, it becomes a further accelerated evaluation proportional to the cleanliness inside the apparatus, so the evaluation time can be further shortened. (Other embodiments)

[0041] In FIG. 5, a large number of vertically dug grooves are provided. However, not only vertically but also a large number of horizontally dug grooves may be provided. That is, a large number of grid-shaped dug grooves in the vertical and horizontal directions may be provided. In that case, in order to make it difficult for the formed turbulent flow to escape, a partition portion for partitioning the grooves in the vertical and horizontal directions may be provided. In that case, the height of the partition wall shall be the same as the height of the surface portion of the mold. In addition, the dug grooves in the above embodiments were straight grooves in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal or vertical direction from the center of the mold, or circumferential grooves having the same diameter. However, when these grooves are viewed in an enlarged manner, fine patterns or the like may be provided on the edges or surfaces of the grooves to make it easier for turbulent flow to occur.

[0042] Further, in the above embodiments, both ends of each dug groove are closed. This is to make it easier for turbulent flow to occur stably. However, at least one end of the groove may not be closed. In addition, in the above embodiments, an example of a dug groove is described as the groove, but the groove formation method may be any method. <Other Embodiments>

[0043] Next, a method for manufacturing an article (such as a semiconductor IC element, a liquid crystal display element, MEMS, etc.) using the above-described mold will be described. First, the above-described molds 111 to 114, etc. are mounted on an imprint apparatus, and the cleanliness in the imprint apparatus 10 is evaluated. At that time, using the substrate 13 measured by the appearance defect inspection apparatus, after causing the imprint apparatus 10 to perform a movement simulating an imprint operation, the substrate 13 is measured again by the appearance defect inspection apparatus.

[0044] Comparing with the pre-measurement value before the substrate 13 is carried into the imprint apparatus 10, the increase amount of particles measured after the simulation operation can be regarded as the particles attached in the space for processing the substrate 13 of the imprint apparatus 10. By such an evaluation method, the cleanliness of the process space of the imprint apparatus 10 can be acceleratedly evaluated. After improving the cleanliness of the process space of the imprint apparatus 10 according to the evaluation results, an imprint process will be performed. At this time, the above-described molds 111 and 112 may be used as they are for the imprint process, or may be replaced with other molds for imprinting. On the other hand, since the molds 113 to 115 are dedicated molds for accelerating the evaluation of cleanliness, they are removed from the imprint apparatus, and a mold for imprinting is attached to the imprint apparatus.

[0045] Thereafter, an imprint process is performed on the imprint material on the substrate using the mold for imprinting. That is, an imprint step of bringing the curable composition disposed on the substrate into contact with the mold is executed. Then, a final article is manufactured by performing a manufacturing step of manufacturing an article using the substrate having the imprint material on which the imprint has been performed by the imprint step.

[0046] The pattern of the cured product formed using the imprint apparatus is used permanently for at least a part of various articles, or temporarily when manufacturing various articles. An article is an electric circuit element, an optical element, a MEMS, a recording element, a sensor, or a mold, etc. Examples of the electric circuit element include a volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memory such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, MRAM, and semiconductor elements such as LSI, CCD, image sensor, and FPGA. Examples of the mold include a mold for imprinting.

[0047] The pattern of the cured product is used as it is as at least a part of the constituent members of the above article, or temporarily used as a resist mask. After etching or ion implantation or the like is performed in the substrate processing step, the resist mask is removed. In addition, other processes for manufacturing an article include dicing, bonding, packaging, and the like.

[0048] A specific example of the manufacturing method of such an article will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a method for manufacturing an article according to Embodiment 2. As shown in FIG. 6(A), a substrate 13 such as a silicon substrate on which a workpiece 139 such as an insulator is formed on the surface is prepared. Subsequently, an imprint material 21 is applied (coated) onto the surface of the workpiece 139 by an inkjet method or the like. Here, a state where a plurality of droplet-shaped imprint materials 21 are applied onto the substrate is shown.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 6(B), an imprint mold 11 is opposed to the substrate 13 with the side on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed facing the imprint material 21 on the substrate. As shown in FIG. 6(C), the substrate 13 to which the imprint material 21 is applied and the mold 11 are brought into contact with each other and pressure is applied. The imprint material 21 is filled into the gap between the mold 11 and the workpiece 139. When light as energy for curing is irradiated through the mold 11 in this state, the imprint material 21 cures.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 6(D), after the imprint material 21 is cured, when the mold 11 and the substrate 13 are separated (released), a pattern of the cured product of the imprint material 21 is formed on the substrate 13. The pattern of this cured product has a shape in which the concave portion of the mold corresponds to the convex portion of the cured product and the convex portion of the mold corresponds to the concave portion of the cured product. That is, the concavo-convex pattern of the mold 11 is transferred to the imprint material 21.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 6(E), when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured product as an etching mask, portions of the surface of the workpiece 139 where no cured product remains or where the cured product remains thinly are removed, resulting in grooves 119. As shown in FIG. 6(F), when the pattern of the cured product is removed, an article having grooves 119 formed on the surface of the workpiece 139 can be obtained.

[0052] Here, the pattern of the cured product is removed, but it may not be removed after processing and may be used, for example, as a film for interlayer insulation included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a constituent member of the article. As described above, in the method for manufacturing an article according to the present embodiment, by causing a movement (simulation operation) that simulates an imprint operation using molds 111 to 114 etc. having grooves as in the examples, the evaluation and management of the cleaning process can be made more precise and in a shorter time, so that an article of higher quality than before can be manufactured.

[0053] As described above, the present invention has been described in detail based on its preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible based on the gist of the present invention, and they are not excluded from the scope of the present invention. In addition, part or all of the control in the present embodiment may be supplied to an evaluation device for evaluating cleanliness, an imprint device, etc. via a network or various storage media by a computer program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments. And a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) in the evaluation device, imprint device, etc. may read and execute the program. In that case, the program and the storage medium storing the program will constitute the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0054] 11 Mold 111 Mold 13 Substrate 21 Imprint Material 211 Mesa Portion 212 Dug-in Groove

Claims

1. A mold held by an imprint apparatus and disposed opposite to a wafer, wherein a groove having a width of more than 2 mm and a depth of more than 0.5 mm is provided.

2. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the groove generates a turbulent flow in an air flow generated by a relative movement between the wafer and the mold.

3. The mold according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a mesa portion on which a pattern for imprint is formed.

4. The mold according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the groove is provided along a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the wafer moves.

5. The mold according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a groove provided along a direction in which the wafer moves.

6. The mold according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the groove includes a circumferential groove formed around the center of the mold.

7. The mold according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the groove has a different width at an opening and a bottom.

8. An imprint apparatus having a transport mechanism for moving the wafer disposed at a position facing the mold according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An evaluation method characterized by evaluating the cleanliness of an imprint apparatus using the mold according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. After evaluating the cleanliness of the imprint apparatus using the mold according to any one of claims 1 to 7, an imprint mold different from the mold is attached to the imprint apparatus, and an imprint process of imprinting an imprint material on the wafer using the imprint mold, And a manufacturing process of manufacturing an article from the wafer on which the imprint process has been performed, wherein the method for manufacturing an article is characterized by comprising the steps.

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