Liquid ejection device, liquid ejection method, forming device, and method for manufacturing an article

Abstract

To provide a configuration that enables droplets to land at desired positions even when liquid dispensing operation is performed with the relative movement between the substrate stage and the dispensing section driven at high speed and high acceleration.SOLUTION: The system acquires the position of the moving object at a predetermined timing when the substrate stage holding the substrate or the dispensing section having a nozzle that dispenses liquid is moving, and controls the timing of liquid dispensing from the dispensing section based on the difference between the acquired position of the moving object and the target position of the moving object at that timing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid ejection device, a liquid ejection method, a molding device, and a method for manufacturing an article.

Background Art

[0002] As the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices, MEMS, etc. progresses, in addition to conventional photolithography technology, an imprint technology that can form fine patterns (structures) on the order of several nanometers on a substrate has attracted attention. The imprint technology is a microfabrication technology in which an uncured imprint material is supplied onto a substrate, and the imprint material and a mold are brought into contact (imprinting step) to form a pattern of the imprint material corresponding to the fine concavo-convex pattern formed on the mold on the substrate.

[0003] In such a supply process of the imprint material onto the substrate, a discharge device that supplies the droplet-like imprint material from a nozzle (discharge port) using an inkjet method can be used. Specifically, while reciprocally driving a substrate stage so that a shot region on the substrate faces the discharge port surface of the dispenser, an imprint material (liquid) is discharged from the discharge port to place droplets on the substrate.

[0004] In order to form an accurate concavo-convex pattern on the substrate, it is necessary to land the droplets of the imprint material at desired positions. Specifically, it is necessary to keep the landing error of each droplet landing within the shot region within 1 μm to several μm. If the imprint process is performed in a state where the landing error of the imprint material exceeds the allowable value, the imprint material may protrude outside the mold region in the imprinting step, and there is a concern that the protruding imprint material may cause trouble as foreign matter. Alternatively, it is also possible that the imprint material does not spread over the entire imprint region in the imprinting step, resulting in unfilled defects.

[0005] Patent Document 1 proposes a method of correcting the deviation of the supply position of the imprint material on the substrate by adjusting the discharge timing of the imprint material according to the position and posture of the discharge unit (dispenser).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] By the way, in order to improve the throughput of the imprint apparatus, it is required to drive the substrate stage at a higher speed and higher acceleration. When the substrate stage is driven at such a high speed and high acceleration, it has been found that the imprint apparatus structure vibrates, and this vibration affects the dispensing and causes a positional deviation between the discharge port of the imprint material and the substrate.

[0008] However, with the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, although it is possible to correct the discharge timing according to the position and posture of the discharge unit (dispenser), it is not possible to correct the vibration as described above.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even when the discharge operation of the liquid is performed in a state where the relative movement between the substrate stage and the discharge unit is driven at a high speed and high acceleration, it is an object of the present invention to provide a configuration capable of landing droplets at a desired position.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, a liquid ejection device of the present invention includes a substrate stage that holds and moves a substrate, an ejection unit that ejects liquid, a control unit that controls the ejection unit, and a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the substrate stage. The control unit calculates the difference between the position of the substrate stage acquired by the position acquisition unit and the target position of the substrate stage Approximation formula approximated and controls the ejection unit Liquid discharge timing from based on the difference.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, even if a liquid ejection operation is performed on a substrate in a state where relative movement between the substrate stage and the ejection unit is driven at high speed and high acceleration, a configuration capable of landing a droplet at a desired position can be provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0014] <First Embodiment> In this embodiment, an imprint apparatus will be described as an example of a molding apparatus. The imprint apparatus according to this embodiment is a lithography apparatus that discharges (supplies) an uncured liquid imprint material (liquid) or ink onto a substrate and forms (transfers) a pattern on the substrate. Note that the liquid discharge apparatus of the present invention is not limited to an imprint apparatus, and is widely applicable to apparatuses having a mechanism for discharging droplets, including industrial apparatuses such as manufacturing apparatuses for semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices, and consumer products such as printers.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an imprint apparatus 100 including the liquid discharge apparatus according to this embodiment. The imprint apparatus 100 is used for manufacturing a semiconductor device or the like as an article, and forms a pattern of the imprint material 8 on the substrate 4 by bringing the uncured curable composition, that is, the imprint material 8 applied on the substrate 4 (on the object) into contact with the mold 1. Note that, as an example, the imprint apparatus 100 employs a photocuring method for curing the imprint material 8 by irradiation with ultraviolet light. In the following figures, the Z-axis is taken in the vertical direction (vertical direction), and the X-axis and the Y-axis orthogonal to each other are taken in a plane perpendicular to the Z-axis. The imprint apparatus 100 includes a light irradiation unit 7, a mold holding mechanism 2, a substrate stage 6, a dispenser 11, and a control unit 20. Further, FIG. 1 has a transport mechanism (not shown) for transporting the substrate 4 to the substrate stage 6.

[0016] Furthermore, the imprint apparatus 100 has a distance sensor 14 capable of measuring the distance between the dispenser 11 provided in the dispenser 11 and the substrate 4, and a position sensor 13 for measuring the absolute position of the stage. An encoder can be used for the position sensor 13.

[0017] The light irradiation unit 7 is a curing unit that adjusts the light emitted from a light source (not shown) to light (ultraviolet light 9) suitable for curing the imprint material 8, passes it through the mold 1, and irradiates the imprint material 8. Here, as the light source, for example, a mercury lamp that generates i-line or g-line can be used. However, the light source is not limited to ultraviolet rays, and any light source that can transmit through the mold 1 and has a wavelength at which the imprint material 8 can be cured may be used. When the thermosetting method is adopted, as the curing means, instead of the light irradiation unit 7, for example, heating means for curing the curable composition may be installed in the vicinity of the substrate stage 6.

[0018] The mold (die) 1 is rectangular and has a fine uneven pattern formed three-dimensionally at the center of the surface facing the substrate 4. The material of the mold 1 is a material that can transmit ultraviolet rays, such as quartz.

[0019] The mold holding mechanism (die holding unit) 2 is supported by the structure 3 and, although not shown, includes a mold chuck that holds the mold 1 and a mold driving mechanism that supports and moves the mold chuck. The mold chuck holds the mold 1 by attracting the outer peripheral region of the irradiation surface of the ultraviolet light 9 in the mold 1 by means of vacuum adsorption force or electrostatic force. The mold driving mechanism moves the mold 1 (mold chuck) in the Z-axis direction in order to bring the mold 1 into contact with or separate it from the imprint material 8 on the substrate 4. Note that the contact and separation operations during the imprint process may be realized by driving the substrate stage 6 to move the substrate 4 in the Z-axis direction, or both the mold 1 and the substrate 4 may be relatively moved.

[0020] The substrate 4 is a substrate (object) to be processed made of, for example, single crystal silicon. For manufacturing applications of articles other than semiconductor devices, as the material of the substrate, for example, optical glass such as quartz for optical elements or GaN, SiC, etc. for light emitting elements may be adopted.

[0021] The substrate stage (substrate holding part) 6 holds the substrate 4 and is movable on the stage surface plate 5 within the XY plane, and performs alignment between the mold 1 and the substrate 4 when the mold 1 comes into contact with the imprint material 8 on the substrate 4.

[0022] The imaging unit 10 is configured (arranged) to include the pattern region of the mold 1 held by the mold chuck in the field of view, and images at least one of the mold 1 and the substrate 4 to acquire an image. The imaging unit 10 can be used as a camera (spread camera) for observing the contact state between the mold 1 and the imprint material on the substrate 4 in the imprint process.

[0023] The dispenser 11 applies (ejects droplets of) the uncured imprint material 8 in a desired coating pattern onto a preset shot region (pattern formation region) on the substrate 4. Specifically, the dispenser 11 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 31 that eject the uncured imprint material 8 in a droplet form and apply it onto the substrate 1. Each nozzle 31 is provided with a portion that forms a region where ink exists, and a discharge energy generating element that generates discharge energy for discharging the ink in the region from an opening (discharge port). By driving and controlling each of these discharge energy generating elements, droplets are discharged from each nozzle.

[0024] The imprint material 8 is required to have fluidity when being filled between the mold 1 and the substrate 4, and to be a solid that maintains its shape after molding. In particular, in this embodiment, the imprint material 8 is an ultraviolet curable resin (photo-curable resin) having the property of curing by receiving ultraviolet light 9, but depending on various conditions such as the manufacturing process of the article, a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, etc. may be used instead of the photo-curable resin.

[0025] The control unit (control means) 20 can control the operations and corrections of each component of the imprint apparatus 100. The control unit 20 is composed of, for example, a computer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and various arithmetic processes are performed by the CPU. The control unit 20 is connected to each component of the imprint apparatus 100 via a line, and executes the control of each component according to a program stored in the ROM and the like.

[0026] Note that the control unit 20 may be integrally configured with other parts of the imprint apparatus 100, or may be configured separately from other parts of the imprint apparatus 100. Also, it may be configured to include a plurality of computers instead of one computer, and an ASIC or the like.

[0027] (Imprint process) Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an imprint process of forming a pattern on a substrate by the imprint apparatus 100 and processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed, and an article manufacturing for manufacturing an article from the substrate on which the process has been performed will be described.

[0028] First, as shown in FIG. 2(a), a substrate 1z such as a silicon wafer on which a workpiece 2z such as an insulator is formed on the surface is prepared, and then an imprint material 3z is discharged onto the surface of the workpiece 2z. Here, a state in which a plurality of droplet-shaped imprint materials 3z are applied onto the substrate is shown.

[0029] At this time, the control unit 20 controls a substrate transfer mechanism (not shown), places and fixes the substrate 4 on the substrate stage 6, and then moves the substrate stage 6 to the application position of the dispenser 11. Next, the control unit 20 controls the nozzle 31 of the dispenser 11 and the substrate stage 6, and executes a discharge process (application process) of discharging a predetermined amount of droplets of the imprint material 8 onto the substrate 4 while moving the substrate stage 6.

[0030] Next, as shown in Fig. 2(b), the imprint mold 4z is opposed to the substrate with the side on which the concavo-convex pattern is formed facing the imprint material 3z on the substrate. At this time, the control unit 20 moves the substrate 4 so that the portion where the droplets of the imprint material 8 are applied faces the concavo-convex pattern of the mold 1.

[0031] Next, as shown in Fig. 2(c), the substrate 1z provided with the imprint material 3z is brought into contact with the mold 4z and pressure is applied. The imprint material 3z is filled in the gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. When light is irradiated through the mold 4z as energy for curing in this state, the imprint material 3z cures.

[0032] At this time, as a pressing step, the control unit 20 drives the mold drive mechanism to bring the mold 1 close to the imprint material 8 on the substrate 4. In this state, an alignment scope (not shown) detects the alignment marks on the mold 1 and the alignment marks on the substrate 4, and the substrate stage 6 moves based on the detection results to perform superposition and adjust the relative positions of both. Further, the control unit 20 drives the mold drive mechanism to move so as to narrow the distance between the mold 1 and the substrate 4, and brings the imprint material 8 on the substrate 4 into contact with the concavo-convex pattern of the mold 1 (contact step). Thereby, the imprint material 8 closely adheres to the concave and convex portions of the pattern of the mold 1. Further, the control unit 20 drives the light irradiation unit 7 as a curing process step. The ultraviolet rays emitted from the light irradiation unit 7 pass through an optical element or the like and are irradiated onto the upper surface of the mold 1. The ultraviolet rays irradiated on the mold 1 pass through the light-transmissive mold 1 and are irradiated onto the imprint material 8. Thereby, the imprint material 8 cures (curing step).

[0033] Next, as shown in Fig. 2(d), after the imprint material 3z is cured, when the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, a pattern of the cured product of the imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z (demolding step). 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, which means that the concavo-convex pattern of the mold 4z has been transferred to the imprint material 3z.

[0034] At this time, the control unit 20 drives the mold drive mechanism to raise the mold chuck and performs a separation process of separating the mold 1 from the cured imprint material 8. Through the above processing, the imprint process in the imprint apparatus is completed. The substrate 4 on which the imprint process has been completed is carried out from the substrate stage 6 by a transport mechanism (not shown).

[0035] When the substrate 4 on which the imprint process has been completed is etched using the cured pattern as an etching mask as shown in FIG. 2(e), among the surfaces of the workpiece 2z, the portions where no cured material remains or where the cured material remains thinly are removed, resulting in grooves 5z. As shown in FIG. 2(f), when the cured pattern is removed, an article having grooves 5z formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z can be obtained. Here, the cured pattern has been removed, but it may not be removed after processing and may be used, for example, as a film for interlayer insulation included in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, as a component of the article.

[0036] The method for manufacturing an article also includes a step of forming a pattern on an imprint material supplied (applied) to a substrate using the above-described imprint apparatus (imprint method), and a step of processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in such a step. Further, such a manufacturing method includes other well-known steps (oxidation, film formation, vapor deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist stripping, dicing, bonding, packaging, etc.).

[0037] Next, the coating step in the present embodiment will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of rectangular shot regions 21 are set at predetermined positions on the substrate 4. In the imprint apparatus 100, a coating step, a contact step, a curing step, and a release step are sequentially performed on these shot regions 21. By repeating these steps for all the shot regions, the entire imprint process of the substrate 4 is completed.

[0038] In the coating process, the substrate stage 6 is driven so that the shot area 21 to be processed is positioned at a location facing the nozzle 31, and at the same time, the imprint material 8 is discharged from the nozzle 31, whereby the imprint material can be applied to the desired shot area 21.

[0039] Fig. 4(a) shows a state in which droplets of the imprint material 8 are discharged onto the shot area 21. In the example of Fig. 4(a), a simple state is shown in which the substrate stage 6 is driven in the -X direction while using a dispenser 11 having 14 nozzles arranged in a row in the Y direction, and the imprint material 8 is discharged 10 times (n = 10) at predetermined time intervals. That is, it shows a state in which droplets numbered 1, 2, 3 ··· n are discharged onto the substrate.

[0040] In an actual imprint apparatus 100, for example, a dispenser 11 having several hundred nozzles arranged in a row is used, and the imprint material 8 is discharged several hundred times while reciprocally driving the substrate stage 6. That is, an array of several hundred × several hundred imprint materials 8 is applied in the shot area in each of the X and Y directions.

[0041] In order to form an accurate pattern on the shot area 21, it is necessary to keep the landing error of each imprint material 8 within the shot area within 1 μm to several μm. If the landing error is larger than such an allowable range, there is a possibility that the imprint material 8 will protrude outside the mold 1 during pressing and foreign matter will be generated, or there is a possibility that the imprint material 8 will not spread over the entire shot area and unfilled defects will occur.

[0042] On the other hand, the driving of the substrate stage 6 is performed at high speed and high acceleration in order to improve the apparatus throughput. When the substrate stage 6 is moved at such high speed and high acceleration, the apparatus structure including the dispenser 11 vibrates, and a positional deviation occurs between the discharge part of the dispenser 11 and the shot area 21 of the substrate.

[0043] In particular, when the substrate stage 6 is driven in the X-axis direction (the moving direction), it is known that significant vibrations occur in the device structure in the X-axis direction. When droplets of the imprint material 8 are ejected from the dispenser 11 in such a state, the imprint material will be ejected while the substrate stage 6 is displaced from the target position. Therefore, for each droplet 1, 2, 3, ..., n, a landing error in the X-axis direction will occur.

[0044] Therefore, in order to prevent the generation of foreign matter and unfilled defects due to the displacement of the landing position of the droplets as described above, it is required to control the displacement from such a landing target position to be reduced. In the present embodiment, the amount of displacement of the substrate stage at a predetermined timing is obtained in advance, and based on the result, the landing position is corrected by controlling the ejection timing during the imprint process.

[0045] The process performed to correct such a landing position will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 5. The process for correcting such a landing position can be performed at a timing different from the actual imprint process. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is realized by the control unit 20 controlling each component of the imprint apparatus 100.

[0046] In step S501, the control unit 20 controls the drive of the substrate stage 6 so that the shot area of the substrate on the substrate stage 6 is directly below the nozzle 31 of the dispenser 11, in the same manner as during the imprint process. Then, while moving the substrate stage 6 at a constant target speed, the position information of the substrate stage 6 at a predetermined timing at regular intervals corresponding to the ejection timing is acquired by the position sensor 13. At this time, it is not necessary to actually eject the imprint material 8 from the dispenser 11.

[0047] In step S502, the control unit 20 obtains the differences (position deviation amounts) between the position of the substrate stage 6 acquired in S501 and the target position of the substrate stage 6 at a predetermined timing, respectively. The plot of this position deviation amount is shown in the figure of Fig. 4(b). Even if the substrate stage 6 is controlled to move at a constant target speed in this way, it can be seen that the substrate stage deviates from the target position due to vibration caused by acceleration and deceleration of the substrate stage 6. When droplets are ejected from the dispenser 11 in a state where such a substrate stage is displaced, it is known that a landing position deviation amount almost the same as the stage deviation amount shown in Fig. 4(b) occurs. Therefore, by shifting the ejection timing by an amount corresponding to the deviation amount obtained from the position sensor 13 of the substrate stage 6 at the same timing, it is possible to land at a desired landing position.

[0048] That is, in step S503, the control unit calculates a correction amount at each ejection timing during the dispensing movement by using the position deviation amounts at each timing during the driving of the substrate stage obtained in step S502. Then, such a correction amount is stored in a storage means or the like as correction information for the ejection timing. Note that the calculation of the correction value of the ejection timing may be performed each time at the timing of the imprint process. However, since it takes time to acquire, it is preferably performed each time a wafer is exchanged, when the substrate stage is exchanged, when the dispenser is exchanged, or during maintenance.

[0049] Then, during the ejection process of the imprint process, by referring to information such as the correction amount stored in the storage means and controlling so that the ejection operation is performed at the corrected desired ejection timing, the landing position of the droplet can be corrected to an optimal position. That is, it is possible to suppress and prevent the formation of a good pattern on the substrate 4 from being inhibited.

[0050] Correction of the ejection timing may be achieved by rewriting the coordinates targeted for ejection before correction, or by changing the frequency of the operation clock of the control unit 20 that controls the ejection timing according to the extrusion amount. Also, when ejecting onto a plurality of shots on the substrate 4, since the conditions of the relative movement between the substrate stage 6 and the dispenser 11 are different, a difference may occur in the value to be corrected. Therefore, a method may be considered in which the value to be corrected for all shot positions is measured and held in advance, and when actually ejecting, the correction value for the corresponding shot position is read and the ejection timing is changed. Further, since the arrangement of the imprint material 8 ejected onto the substrate 4 can be changed according to the imprint conditions, it is desirable that the correction value of the ejection timing be obtained with a fineness of at least 1 / 10 or less of the minimum grid of the imprint material arranged on the substrate 4.

[0051] Note that the amount of displacement at each timing during the drive of the substrate stage 6 does not necessarily have to be obtained by the position sensor 13, and may be obtained using the imaging unit 10 or the like. Specifically, while moving the substrate stage 6 at a constant target speed, droplets formed by the imprint material 8 ejected at regular time intervals are acquired as image information, and the landing position of the droplets on the substrate obtained by image processing the acquired images is obtained. Thereby, the position of the substrate stage at each timing during the drive of the substrate stage and the amount of displacement from the landing target position can be obtained. Also, the amount of deviation from the landing target position may be obtained by measuring the positional relationship with marks previously formed on the substrate 4 by a semiconductor process at a plurality of points.

[0052] Also, in the present embodiment, an example in which the substrate stage is moved for dispensing has been described, but the dispenser 11 provided with a position sensor may be driven to apply the imprint material onto the substrate on the substrate stage. In that case, the position sensor that functions as the position acquisition unit acquires the position of the dispenser at regular time intervals and obtains the amount of displacement from that position. That is, it is only necessary that the substrate on the substrate stage and the dispenser can move relatively, and the position acquisition unit acquires the position of the object to be moved.

[0053] <Modification Example of the First Embodiment> In the first embodiment, the discharge timing was adjusted based on the amount of displacement obtained by the position sensor 13. However, in order to adjust it more precisely, in addition to the value of the position sensor 13, the distance between the dispenser 11 and the substrate 4 during relative movement may be adjusted using the value of a distance sensor 14 (distance acquisition unit). As shown in FIG. 1, the distance sensor 14 can measure the desired distance when mounted on the dispenser 11. However, if it is difficult to mount it on the dispenser 11, it may be mounted on the dispenser holding unit 12 that holds the dispenser 11. Here, the description will focus on the parts different from the first embodiment, and the description of the similar parts will be omitted.

[0054] In this modification example, at the timing of step S501 in FIG. 5, the stage position is measured by the position sensor 13, and at the same timing as that measured by the position sensor 13, the distance between the dispenser 11 and the substrate 4 is measured by the distance sensor 14.

[0055] Then, at the timing of step S502, based on the measured values of the distance sensor 14 and the position sensor 13 during relative movement, the amount of displacement that appears in the arrangement of the imprint material on the substrate 4 is calculated. The calculation of such an amount of displacement will be specifically described. The amount of displacement that appears in the distance sensor 14 affects the time until the discharged imprint material 8 lands on the substrate.

[0056] Therefore, the moving speed of the substrate stage 6 is Vstage [m] / [sec] the speed of the discharged imprint material 8 is Vdrop [m] / [sec] the difference between the value of the distance sensor 14 at a certain timing during discharge and the value of the distance sensor 14 at rest is Zerror [μm] Then, the change amount X [μm] at the landing position is X [μm]=Zerror [μm]×Vstage [m / sec] / Vdrop [m / sec] … Equation (1) and can be calculated as such.

[0057] In step S503, the control unit calculates a timing correction amount for each discharge timing during the dispensing movement by using the amount of change X at each timing during the driving of the substrate stage. Then, such a correction amount is stored in a storage means or the like as information for discharging at the discharge timing.

[0058] Then, during the discharge process of the imprint process, by referring to information such as the correction amount stored in the storage means and controlling so that the discharge operation is performed at the corrected desired discharge timing, the landing position of the droplet can be corrected to be an optimal position. That is, it is possible to suppress and prevent the formation of a good pattern on the substrate 4 from being inhibited.

[0059] <Second Embodiment> In the first embodiment, when correcting the discharge timing, it was necessary to measure the stage position at that position. However, in this embodiment, a form in which the discharge timing can be corrected even at positions other than the measured stage position will be described. Here, the description will focus on the parts different from the first embodiment, and the description of the similar parts will be omitted.

[0060] The substrate stage 6 desirably has a constant speed during dispensing in order to reduce the arrangement error of the imprint material 8. However, in order to improve the throughput, in areas other than dispensing, it moves at a higher speed than during dispensing, and the productivity can be increased by performing dispensing immediately after decelerating. Also, when dispensing back and forth, in order to eliminate the unnecessary stage run, it accelerates after turning back and starts dispensing when it reaches the target speed, so dispensing is performed immediately after acceleration.

[0061] As described above, the amount of displacement from the target position of the substrate stage 6 immediately after deceleration or immediately after acceleration is mainly due to the deformation of the substrate stage 6, and the change in this displacement amount has a damped vibration component as can be seen from FIG. 4(b). Also, although this damped vibration varies depending on the shot position on the substrate, by considering the positional relationship between the center of gravity of the stage and the center of each shot, the relationship of the damped vibration between shots can be calculated. That is, if the displacement amount of one or more shot regions on the substrate is measured, the correction value for the ejection timing of other shots can be calculated in the same way and can be used for correcting the landing position.

[0062] Regarding the calculation process of the correction value for correcting such a landing position, an explanation will be given using the flowchart of FIG. 6. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is realized by the control unit 20 controlling each component of the imprint apparatus 100.

[0063] In step S601, the control unit 20 drives and controls the substrate stage 6 so that the shot region of the substrate on the substrate stage 6 is directly below the nozzle 31 of the dispenser 11, in the same manner as during the imprint process. Then, while moving the substrate stage 6 at a constant target speed, the control unit 20 acquires the position of the substrate stage 6 at predetermined timings at regular intervals using the position sensor 13. At this time, it is not necessary to actually eject the imprint material 8 from the dispenser 11. Also, it is expected that the target shot region being near the center of the substrate stage will result in fewer error components when calculating the correction values for other shots.

[0064] In step S602, the control unit 20 obtains the difference (displacement amount) between the position of the substrate stage 6 acquired in S601 and the target position of the substrate stage 6 at a predetermined timing, and approximates them to the wave formula of the damped vibration.

[0065] In step S603, the control unit 20 acquires each parameter such as the phase, amplitude, damping rate, and frequency component from the approximate formula of the damped vibration approximately obtained in step S604.

[0066] In step S604, the control unit 20 corrects each parameter acquired in step S603 in consideration of the positional relationship with the shot area measured in S601, and reconstructs the equation of damped vibration for each of the other shot areas. Note that the processes of steps S601 and 602 may be performed for a plurality of shot areas within the wafer surface, and the equation of damped vibration for a shot area where position measurement is not performed may be reconstructed using the parameters of these plurality of shot areas.

[0067] In step S605, the control unit 20 calculates the correction amount for each ejection timing during the dispense movement of each shot area using the approximate equation of damped vibration approximated in step S602 or the approximate equation of damped vibration reconstructed in step S604. By using the approximate equation of damped vibration to calculate the correction amount, the ejection timing described later can be corrected even at positions other than the position where the stage position is measured. Also, by using the reconstructed approximate equation of damped vibration, the correction of the amount of positional deviation of each shot can be performed without measuring all the shots. Then, such a correction amount is stored in a storage means or the like as correction information for the ejection timing.

[0068] Then, during the ejection process of the imprint process, by referring to information such as the correction amount stored in the storage means and controlling so that the ejection operation is performed at the corrected desired ejection timing, the landing position of the droplet can be corrected to an optimal position. That is, it is possible to suppress and prevent the formation of a good pattern on the substrate 4 from being hindered. Note that, without performing the reconstruction process of step S603, the stage position may be measured for all the shot areas, and correction may be performed using the approximate equation of damped vibration at each shot position.

[0069] In the embodiment described above, the description has been made using an imprint apparatus (molding apparatus) provided with a droplet ejection device. As another embodiment, a droplet ejection device to which the present invention is applied may be provided separately from the imprint apparatus, and an imprint process may be performed on a substrate coated with an imprint material using the imprint apparatus.

[0070] Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a planarization apparatus (a molding apparatus for planarization) that provides a planarization layer made of a cured product of a curable composition on a substrate by curing the curable composition in a state where a member without a pattern (a planarization member) is in contact with the curable composition.

Explanation of Signs

[0071] 6 Substrate stage 11 Dispenser (discharge part) 13 Position sensor 20 Control unit 100 Imprint apparatus

Claims

1. a substrate stage that holds and moves a substrate, a discharge unit that discharges liquid, a control unit that controls the discharge unit, a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the substrate stage, and having, wherein the control unit controls the discharge timing of the liquid from the discharge unit based on an approximate expression approximating the difference between the position of the substrate stage acquired by the position acquisition unit and the target position of the substrate stage. A liquid discharge device characterized by that.

2. The liquid discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the difference is the amount of deviation in the moving direction of the substrate stage.

3. further having a distance acquisition unit that acquires the distance between the discharge unit and the substrate on the substrate stage, wherein the control unit, based on the position acquired in advance at a predetermined timing while moving the substrate stage by the position acquisition unit and the distance acquired by the distance acquisition unit at the same timing as the position, controls the discharge timing from the discharge unit. The liquid discharge device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that.

4. the position acquisition unit is an imaging unit, the position is acquired from an image obtained by imaging an image of droplets on the substrate with the imaging unit while discharging liquid from the discharge unit onto the substrate on the substrate stage while moving the substrate stage at a constant target speed. The liquid discharge device according to claim 1, characterized by that.

5. The control unit stores information for discharging at a discharge timing determined based on the position, and controls the discharge timing from the discharge unit based on the stored information. The liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that.

6. a plurality of shot regions are provided on the substrate held by the substrate stage, the control unit controls the discharge timing of each shot region based on the difference obtained for each shot region. The liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by that.

7. a substrate stage that holds a substrate, a discharge unit that discharges liquid, a control unit that controls the discharge unit, and having, wherein the control unit controls the discharge timing of the liquid from the discharge unit based on an approximate expression obtained by approximating the relative position between the substrate stage and the discharge unit to damped vibration. A liquid discharge device characterized by that.

8. a liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a mold holding unit that holds a mold, A film forming apparatus having a curing part for curing a curable composition, The liquid discharged from the discharge part is a curable composition, The control part cures the curable composition by the curing part in a state where the substrate and the mold are in contact with each other via the curable composition. The film forming apparatus is characterized by this.

9. A step of forming a film on a substrate using the film forming apparatus according to claim 8, A step of processing the substrate formed in the above step, A method for manufacturing an article, characterized by manufacturing an article from the processed substrate.

10. A position acquisition step of acquiring the position of a substrate stage holding a substrate, A control step of controlling the discharge timing of the liquid from the discharge part based on an approximate expression approximating the difference between the position of the substrate stage acquired in the position acquisition step and the target position of the substrate stage. A liquid discharge method having this.

11. A position acquisition step of acquiring the relative position between a substrate stage holding a substrate and a discharge part for discharging liquid, A control step of controlling the discharge timing of the liquid from the discharge part based on an approximate expression obtained by approximating damped vibration from the relative position acquired in the position acquisition step. A liquid discharge method having this.

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