Devices, systems, and methods for hybrid generation of drop patterns

Abstract

To generate a drop pattern for imprint lithography.SOLUTION: A method includes acquiring a material map of a region; dividing the region into a plurality of subregions; performing for each of one or more subregions of the plurality of subregions, a first drop-pattern-generation process, wherein the first drop-pattern-generation process generates an individual initial drop pattern for the subregion on the basis of, the material map; and performing, for each of the one or more subregions of the plurality of subregions, a second drop-pattern-generation process, wherein the second drop-pattern-generation process generates an individual revised drop pattern for the subregion on the basis of, the material map and the individual initial drop pattern for the subregion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

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

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

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

[0005] Some embodiments of a method for generating drop patterns are characterized by: obtaining a material map of a region; dividing the region into a plurality of sub-regions; performing a first drop pattern generation process for each of the plurality of sub-regions, wherein the first drop pattern generation process generates individual initial drop patterns for the sub-region based on the material map; and performing a second drop pattern generation process for each of the plurality of sub-regions, wherein the second drop pattern generation process generates individual revised drop patterns for the sub-region based on the material map and the individual initial drop patterns for the sub-region.

[0006] Some embodiments of the apparatus include one or more computer-readable storage media and one or more processors that communicate with and cooperate with the one or more computer-readable storage media, wherein the one or more processors cause the apparatus to acquire a material map of a region, divide the region into a plurality of sub-regions, perform a first drop pattern generation process for a first sub-region of the plurality of sub-regions, the first drop pattern generation process generating individual initial drop patterns for the first sub-region based on the material map, and perform a second drop pattern generation process for the first sub-region, the second drop pattern generation process generating individual revised drop patterns for the first sub-region based on the material map and the individual initial drop patterns for the first sub-region.

[0007] Some embodiments of one or more computer-readable storage media store instructions for causing one or more computer devices to perform an operation when executed by the computer devices, the operation comprising: obtaining a material map of a region; dividing the region into a plurality of sub-regions; performing a first drop pattern generation process for each of the plurality of sub-regions, wherein the first drop pattern generation process generates individual initial drop patterns for the sub-regions based on the material map; and performing a second drop pattern generation process for each of the plurality of sub-regions, wherein the second drop pattern generation process generates individual revised drop patterns for the sub-regions based on the material map and the individual initial drop patterns for the sub-regions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a nanoimprint lithography system. [Figure 2A] Figure 2A shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a nanoimprint lithography system. [Figure 2B] Figure 2B shows an exemplary embodiment of a fluid distribution head and a fluid distribution port. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows a plan view (along the z-axis) of an exemplary embodiment of the substrate, appliqué, fluid dispenser, template, and drop pattern. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of a field material map. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows exemplary embodiments of the drop pattern generation field and multiple sub-regions. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows exemplary embodiments of the drop pattern generation field and multiple sub-regions. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an exemplary embodiment of the optimal drop pattern for several sub-regions in Figure 10. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows an exemplary embodiment of the revised drop pattern for the sub-region in Figure 10. [Figure 13] An exemplary embodiment of a drop pattern generation device is shown. [Figure 14A] Figure 14A shows an exemplary embodiment of the residual layer. [Figure 14B] Figure 14B shows an exemplary embodiment of the top layer. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following paragraphs describe specific illustrative embodiments. Other embodiments may include alternatives, equivalents, and modifications. Additionally, the illustrative embodiments may include several features, and certain features may not be essential to some embodiments of the devices, systems, and orientations described herein. Furthermore, some embodiments include features from two or more of the following illustrative embodiments.

[0010] Further, as used herein, the conjunction "or" generally refers to an inclusive "or", but "or" may also refer to an exclusive "or" where explicitly stated, or where the context indicates that "or" must be an exclusive "or".

[0011] Furthermore, in this description and the drawings, alphabetic suffixes on reference numerals may be used to indicate specific examples of the features identified by the reference numerals. For example, imprint features in a group of imprint fields may be identified by reference numeral 141 when no specific imprint feature is distinguished. However, 141A may be used to identify a specific imprint feature when that specific imprint feature is distinguished from the remaining imprint features 141.

[0012] Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a nanoimprint lithography system 100. In operation, the nanoimprint lithography system 100 deposits a drop 124 of moldable material (e.g., a resist) onto a substrate 102 (e.g., a wafer), and uses a template 108 to imprint the moldable material on the substrate 102, so as to form a pattern layer 125 having a relief pattern in the moldable material in the imprint field on the substrate 102. The template 108 includes a mesa (also referred to as a mold) 110 having a patterning surface 112. Also, a single mesa 110 may be used to imprint moldable material in multiple imprint fields on a single substrate 102 or a plurality of substrates 102.

[0013] In the embodiment of the nanoimprint lithography system 100 of Figure 1, the periphery of the substrate 102 is surrounded by an appliqué 106. The appliqué 106 may be configured to stabilize the local gas environment under the template 108, or to help protect the patterning surface 112 from particles, for example when the template is not over the substrate surface 130. Further, the top surface of the appliqué 106 may be below (e.g., as shown in Figure 1), or may be coplanar with the substrate surface 130.

[0014] Further, the substrate 102 is coupled to a substrate chuck 104 that also supports the appliqué 106. Examples of the substrate chuck 104 include a vacuum chuck, a pin-type chuck, a groove-type chuck, an electrostatic chuck, and an electromagnetic chuck. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the appliqué 106 is placed on the substrate chuck 104 without any portion of the appliqué being sandwiched between the substrate chuck 104 and the substrate 102. The substrate chuck 104 is supported by a substrate positioning stage 107.

[0015] The substrate positioning stage 107 may provide translational or rotational motion along one or more of the x, y, z, θ, and φ axes. The substrate positioning stage 107, substrate 102, and substrate chuck 104 may be positioned on a base (not shown). The substrate positioning stage 107 may also be part of a positioning system or positioning subsystem.

[0016] The template 108 may include a body containing a mesa 110 (also referred to as a mold) extending toward the substrate 102 along the z-axis. The mesa 110 may have a patterning surface 112 thereon. Alternatively, the template 108 may be formed without a mesa 110. Thus, in some embodiments, the surface of the template 108 facing the substrate 102 functions as a mesa 110, and the patterning surface 112 is included in the surface of the template 108 facing the substrate 102. Examples of materials constituting the template 108 or mesa 110 include fused silica, quartz, silicon, organic polymers, siloxane polymers, borosilicate glass, fluorocarbon polymers, metals, and hardened sapphire.

[0017] The patterning surface 112 has features defined by a plurality of spaced template recesses 114 or template protrusions 116, although some embodiments include other structures (e.g., planes). The patterning surface 112 defines a pattern that forms the basis (e.g., inverse) of the relief pattern of the pattern layer 125 formed from drops 124 of the moldable material on the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the patterning surface 112 is featureless, in which case a plane is formed from the moldable material on the substrate 102. In some embodiments (for example, embodiments performing Inkjet-based Adaptive Planarization (IPA)), the patterning surface 112 is featureless and substantially the same size as the substrate 102, in which case a plane is formed from the moldable material over the entire substrate 102.

[0018] The template 108 may be coupled to a template chuck 118. Examples of template chucks 118 include vacuum chucks, pin chucks, groove chucks, electrostatic chucks, and electromagnetic chucks. The template chuck 118 may be configured to apply a force to the template 108 that varies across the template 108. The template chuck 118 may be coupled to the imprint head 119, which may then be movably coupled to a bridge 120, such that the template chuck 118, the imprint head 119, and the template 108 are movable in at least the z-axis direction. In some embodiments, the template chuck 118, the imprint head 119, and the template 108 are movable in one or more directions of the x-axis, y-axis, θ-axis, and φ-axis. The nanoimprint lithography system 100 may include one or more motors for moving the template 108, the template chuck 118, or the imprint head 119.

[0019] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 also includes a fluid dispenser 122. The fluid dispenser 122 may include a fluid distribution head 127 and fluid distribution ports. Figure 2B shows an exemplary embodiment of the fluid distribution head 127 and fluid distribution ports 129. The fluid distribution ports 129 may have a fixed structure so that the fluid distribution head 127 and the fluid distribution ports 129 move as a unit and not move independently of each other. Thus, the fluid distribution ports 129 may be fixed to each other on the fluid distribution head 127. The number of fluid distribution ports 129 can vary among embodiments. The embodiment in Figure 2B has six fluid distribution ports 129, but some embodiments have different numbers of fluid distribution ports 129, such as at least two, at least three, at least four, at least five, at least ten, and at least twenty. In some embodiments, the fluid distribution port 129 includes a set of at least three fluid distribution ports 129 located along a line. In some embodiments, the fluid distribution head 127 includes hundreds of fluid distribution ports located along a number of parallel lines.

[0020] Furthermore, the fluid dispenser 122 may be movably coupled to the bridge 120. In some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 and the template chuck 118 share one or more positioning components. In some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 and the template chuck 118 move independently of each other. In some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 and the template chuck 118 are located in different subsystems of the nanoimprint lithography system 100, and the substrate 102 is moved between different subsystems.

[0021] During operation, the fluid distribution port 129 of the fluid dispenser 122 deposits drops 124 of liquid moldable material onto the substrate 102 according to a drop pattern. The moldable material may be, for example, a resist (e.g., photoresist) or another polymerizable material, and the moldable material may comprise a mixture containing monomers.

[0022] Furthermore, several embodiments of the nanoimprint lithography system 100 are, The nanoimprint lithography system 100 has a distribution pitch fixed in either the x-direction, the y-direction, or both, and some embodiments of the nanoimprint lithography system 100 have a distribution pitch that is not fixed in either the x-direction or the y-direction. As used herein, the term “pitch” is the distance from the center of one feature to the center of an adjacent feature. Thus, the distribution pitch is the distance from the center of a location where the nanoimprint lithography system 100 can distribute a drop 124 to the center of an adjacent location where the nanoimprint lithography system 100 can distribute a drop 124. In Cartesian coordinates, a two-dimensional pattern (a pattern viewed from above) can have a pitch in the x-direction corresponding to the distance between the centers of features measured in the x-direction, and a pitch in the y-direction corresponding to the distance between the centers of features measured in the y-direction. In some embodiments of the nanoimprint lithography system 100, the distribution pitch in the y-direction is fixed by the distance between the centers of adjacent fluid distribution ports 129, and therefore the distribution pitch in the y-direction is determined by the physical layout of the fluid distribution ports 129 in the fluid distribution head 127. The distribution pitch in the x-direction may be the same as or different from the distribution pitch in the y-direction. Furthermore, the distribution pitch in the x-direction may be based on the physical layout of the fluid distribution port 129 in the fluid distribution head 127, the physical function of other components of the nanoimprint lithography system 100, or the software controlling the nanoimprint lithography system 100. For example, in some embodiments, the distribution pitch in the x-direction can be adjusted by controlling the relative velocity between the substrate 102 and the fluid distribution port 129 during a distribution where the fluid drop distribution rate from the fluid distribution port 129 (e.g., distributions per millisecond) is known. Assuming the fluid drop distribution rate remains constant, the distribution pitch in the x-direction increases as the relative velocity between the substrate 102 and the fluid distribution port 129 increases, and decreases as the relative velocity between the substrate 102 and the fluid distribution port 129 decreases.In some embodiments (for example, the embodiment in Figure 2B), adjusting the y-direction distribution pitch is more difficult than adjusting the x-direction distribution pitch because the y-direction distribution pitch depends on the spacing and integration of the fluid distribution ports 129. In some embodiments, the fluid distribution ports 129 can be rotated while they remain in fixed positions relative to each other in order to achieve various different y-direction distribution pitches.

[0023] Depending on the embodiment, the drop 124 of the moldable material may be distributed onto the substrate 102 before or after a desired field volume is defined between the patterning surface 112 and the substrate 102. The field volume represents the volume of moldable material required to produce all of the desired features of the pattern layer 125 (e.g., all of the features of the pattern layer 125 in the imprint field). Different fluid dispensers 122 may use different techniques to distribute the drop 124. If the moldable material is sprayable, an inkjet-type fluid dispenser 122 may be used to distribute the drop 124 of the moldable material. For example, thermal inkjet, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based inkjet, and piezoelectric inkjet are techniques for distributing sprayable liquids.

[0024] Furthermore, additional moldable materials may be added to the substrate 102 using various techniques, such as drop dispensing, spin coating, dip coating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), thin film deposition, and thick film deposition.

[0025] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 also includes an energy source 126 that guides chemical ray energy along the exposure path 128. The imprint head 119 and substrate positioning stage 107 may be configured to position the template 108 and substrate 102 on the exposure path 128 (for example, overlapping them). The camera 136 may similarly be positioned so that the imaging field of view of the camera 136 overlaps with at least a portion of the exposure path 128.

[0026] As a drop 124 of the moldable material is deposited on the substrate, either or both of the imprint head 119 and the substrate positioning stage 107 vary the distance between the mesa 110 and the substrate 102 to define the desired field volume to be filled by the moldable material. For example, the imprint head 119 may apply force to the template 108 to move the mesa 110 so that it contacts the drop 124 of the moldable material on the substrate 102. After the desired field volume has been filled with the moldable material, the energy source 126 is directed towards the moldable material along the exposure pass 128, coinciding with the shape of the substrate surface 130 and the patterning surface 112, generating energy (e.g., chemical rays (UV)) to cure, solidify, or crosslink the moldable material, thereby defining a pattern layer 125 on the substrate 102. The moldable material is cured while the template 108 is in contact with the moldable material, thereby forming the pattern layer 125 on the substrate 102. Thus, the nanoimprint lithography system 100 uses an imprint process to form a pattern layer 125 having recesses and protrusions that are the reverse of the pattern on the patterning surface 112.

[0027] The imprint process may be repeated over multiple imprint fields (e.g., imprint field 141 in Figure 2A) that extend across the substrate surface 130. For example, each imprint field may be the same size as the mesa 110, or it may be the same size as only the pattern area of ​​the mesa 110. The pattern area of ​​the mesa 110 is the area of ​​the patterning surface 112 used to imprint a pattern onto the substrate 002 (e.g., the area including the recess 114 and the protrusion 116 of the template). The pattern area of ​​the mesa 110 may include fluid control features used to prevent extrusion. In some embodiments, the substrate 102 has only one imprint field, and such imprint field is the same size as the area of ​​the substrate 102 that is patterned on the substrate 102 or the mesa 110. Also in some embodiments, the imprint fields overlap. Some of the imprint fields may be partial imprint fields that intersect with the boundary of the substrate 102.

[0028] The pattern layer 125 may be formed to have a residual layer having a residual thickness (RLT). For example, Figure 14A shows an exemplary embodiment of the residual layer. The pattern layer 125 may include one or more features, such as protrusions, extending over the residual layer. These protrusions coincide with recesses 114 in the patterning surface 112 of the mesa 110.

[0029] The pattern layer 125 may further undergo known procedures and processes for the manufacture of devices (articles), including, for example, curing, oxidation, layer formation, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, removal of moldable material, dicing, bonding, and packaging. Examples of articles include CMOS logic, microprocessors, NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, DRAM memory, MRAM, 3D crosspoint memory, Re-RAM, Fe-RAM, STT-RAM, and MEMS.

[0030] Furthermore, in embodiments of the nanoimprint lithography system 100 performing IAP, the substrate 102 may have a pattern on its surface, and the moldable material drops 124 may form a pattern layer 125 that fills the pattern on the substrate 102, and the pattern layer 125 may extend on the substrate 102 and have an uppermost layer having a top layer thickness (TLT). The top surface of the uppermost layer may be featureless and planar. For example, Figure 14B shows an exemplary embodiment of the uppermost layer.

[0031] The nanoimprint lithography system 100 may be coordinated, controlled and / or directed by one or more processors 132 (e.g., controllers) that communicate with one or more components or subsystems such as a substrate positioning stage 107, an imprint head 119, a fluid dispenser 122, an energy source 126, or a camera 136, and may operate based on instructions of a computer-readable program stored in one or more computer-readable storage media 134. In some embodiments, including the embodiment in Figure 1, one or more processors 132 and one or more computer-readable storage media 134 are included in a nanoimprint lithography control device 135. The nanoimprint lithography control device 135 coordinates, controls, or directs the operation of the nanoimprint lithography system 100.

[0032] Each of the one or more processors 132 may be one or more of the following: a central processing unit (CPU) which may include a microprocessor (e.g., a single-core microprocessor, a multi-core processor), graphics processing units (GPUs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), specially configured computers, and other electronic circuits (e.g., other integrated circuits). For example, processor 132 may be a dedicated controller or a general-purpose controller specially configured to be a nanoimprint lithography system controller.

[0033] Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks), optical disks (e.g., CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray®), magneto-optical disks, magnetic tapes, semiconductor memory (e.g., non-volatile memory cards, flash memory, semiconductor drives, SRAM, DRAM, EPROM, EEPROM), network-attached storage devices (NAS), intranet-attached computer-readable storage devices, and internet-attached computer-readable storage devices.

[0034] In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the nanoimprint lithography control device 135 may operate as a drop pattern generating device that generates one or more drop patterns, or the nanoimprint lithography control device 135 may acquire one or more drop patterns from another device (e.g., a drop pattern generating device) that generates one or more drop patterns. For example, one or more processors 132 may communicate with a network computer where analysis is performed and control files such as drop patterns are generated. The drop patterns indicate the locations where the fluid dispenser 122 should deposit drops 124 of liquid moldable material onto the substrate 102. The drop patterns may be generated at least partially based on field volume or imprint field features. Also, to account for imprint field features, the drop density of the drop pattern may vary across the imprint field. Also, the drop pattern may have a uniform drop density across regions of the imprint field with uniform density (e.g., blank regions or regions where imprint field features have a uniform feature density).

[0035] Figure 2A shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the nanoimprint lithography system 100. This embodiment of the nanoimprint lithography system 100 includes a substrate 102, an appliqué 106, a fluid dispenser 122, a mesa 110, a template chuck 118, and an imprint head 119. Figure 2A also shows a plurality of imprint fields 141 on the substrate 102. Furthermore, the fluid dispenser 122 deposits drops 124 of moldable material onto the imprint fields 141A.

[0036] Figure 3 shows a plan view (along the z-axis) of an exemplary embodiment of the substrate 102, appliqué 106, fluid dispenser 122, template 108, and drop pattern 142. The template 108 includes a mesa 110. The drop pattern generation field 145 on the substrate 102 may include a plurality of imprint fields 141. The drop pattern generation field 145 is an area of ​​the substrate 102 on which drops 124 of the moldable material are deposited. In some embodiments, the drop pattern generation field 145 has a shape different from the drop pattern generation field 145 shown in Figure 3, and in some embodiments, the drop pattern generation field 145 includes the entire substrate 102.

[0037] Individual layers of moldable material (e.g., pattern layer, planar layer) may be formed on each of the imprint fields 141. A substrate positioning stage supporting the appliqué 106 and substrate 102 can move the appliqué 106 and substrate 102 along both the x and y axes. This allows the substrate positioning stage to position each of the imprint fields 141 under a fluid dispenser 122 that deposits drops of moldable material onto the imprint fields 141, and then under a template 108 that forms a pattern (e.g., pattern layer) on the moldable material deposited on the imprint fields 141. In some embodiments, there is only one imprint field 141 on the substrate surface.

[0038] When the imprint field 141 is positioned below the fluid dispenser 122, the fluid dispenser 122 can deposit drops 124 of moldable material onto the imprint field 141. For example, Figure 3 shows an imprint field 141A where drops 124 of moldable material are deposited by the fluid dispenser 122 according to a drop pattern 142. In some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 deposits drops 124 onto each of the imprint fields 141 according to the same drop pattern. However, in some embodiments, the fluid dispenser 122 uses different drop patterns for some of the imprint fields 141.

[0039] Figure 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of an operation flow for generating a drop pattern. This operation flow and other operation flows described herein are presented in a specific order, but some embodiments of these operation flows perform at least some of the operations in an order different from the order presented. Examples of different orders include simultaneous, parallel, overlapping, sorted, synchronous, incremental, and interleaved orders. Also, some embodiments of these operation flows include operations (e.g., blocks) from two or more operation flows described herein. Thus, some embodiments of operation flows may omit blocks, add blocks (e.g., including blocks from other operation flows described herein), change the order of blocks, combine blocks, or divide blocks into more blocks than the exemplary embodiments of the operation flows described herein.

[0040] Furthermore, while this operation flow and other operation flows described herein are performed by a drop pattern generation device, some embodiments of these operation flows are performed by two or more drop pattern generation devices, or by one or more other specially configured computer devices (e.g., nanoimprint lithography control devices).

[0041] In Figure 4, the flow begins in block B400 and then moves to block B405, where the drop pattern generation device sets or acquires (e.g., collects, receives) the volume of the moldable material drop (drop volume), which indicates the volume of moldable material in a single drop. Depending on the components of the corresponding nanoimprint lithography system (e.g., fluid dispenser), the drop volume may have a range of possible volumes (e.g., adjustable), an adjustable set of possible volumes, or the drop volume may be a fixed volume. Next, in block B410, the drop pattern generation device acquires a material map of the drop pattern generation field (field material map), which includes one or more imprint fields and defines the field volume. The field material map may cover the entire substrate or only a portion of the substrate. For example, the field material map may be an image (e.g., bitmap, PNG) where each tile (e.g., pixel, voxel) has a value that represents the volume of the imprinted material (e.g., the volume of a pattern layer such as pattern layer 125 in Figure 1), or it may be generated based on layout data such as GDSII data or OASIS data. Figure 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of the field material map 160. Different shades in the field material map 160 represent individual volumes of the imprinted material at the location of the tile.

[0042] Next, in block B415, the drop pattern generation device divides (divides) the drop pattern generation field into multiple sub-regions. For example, in some embodiments, the sub-regions do not overlap with any other sub-regions. Collectively, the sub-regions may cover the entire drop pattern generation field (i.e., the combination of sub-regions includes the entire drop pattern generation field). Thus, there may be no gaps between the sub-regions, and each sub-region may be adjacent to one or more other sub-regions (for example, they may share one or more boundaries).

[0043] In some embodiments, all subregions have the same size and shape, and in some embodiments, at least some of the subregions have different sizes and shapes. Furthermore, the size and shape of the subregions may differ from the size and shape of the imprint field 141. For example, Figure 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of a drop pattern generation field 162 and a plurality of subregions 164. In Figure 6, the subregions have different sizes and shapes, one of the subregions 164 is circular, and the other three subregions 164 are annular.

[0044] Furthermore, the minimum size of the sub-region dimensions (e.g., length, width, radius) may be based on one or more distribution pitches of the nanoimprint lithography system (e.g., a multiple). For example, the minimum size of the sub-region dimensions may be 2, 3, or 10 times the distribution pitch. Moreover, the speed at which blocks B425-B430 can be performed may increase as the size of the sub-region decreases, for example, in embodiments where the second drop pattern generation process has a quadratic runtime (e.g., a runtime that increases according to the square of the number of drops in the sub-region).

[0045] Then, in block B420, the drop pattern generation device selects a first subregion (in the first iteration of block B420) or the next subregion (in the iteration of block B420 following the first iteration of block B420). The order in which the subregions are selected may be varied. For example, in some embodiments, the order is based on one or more of the shapes of the subregions, the spatial relationships of the subregions, the computer environment, and user input. To select a subregion, the drop pattern generation device may apply a mask to the drop pattern generation field that covers all subregions except the selected subregion.

[0046] The flow then moves to block B425, where a drop pattern generation device generates an initial drop pattern for a selected sub-region using a first drop pattern generation process. The first drop pattern generation process may use a portion of the field material map corresponding to the selected sub-region as input. The initial drop pattern may have a linear runtime (e.g., O(n) runtime, where n is the area of ​​the selected sub-region or the number of drops in the selected sub-region) and may be non-repeating. For example, the first drop pattern generation process is described in a U.S. Patent Application. number 16 / 906,80 5-pronged is a US patent application number 16 / 912,49 5 This may include one of the drop pattern generation processes described herein, which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0047] Then, in block B430, the drop pattern generation device generates a revised drop pattern for a selected sub-region using a second drop pattern generation process based on the initial drop pattern. The second drop pattern generation process uses the initial drop pattern as the starting drop pattern and modifies (e.g., revise, improve, optimize) the initial drop pattern. The second drop pattern generation process may be iterative and may have a nonlinear runtime. For example, the second drop pattern generation process may have a quadratic runtime (e.g., O (n 2The runtime may be greater than the quadratic runtime (where n is the area of ​​the selected subregion or the number of drops in the selected subregion). Also, for example, the second drop pattern generation process may be one of the drop pattern generation processes described in U.S. Patent No. 8,119,052, which is incorporated herein by reference. Furthermore, if the second drop pattern generation process starts from an initial drop pattern generated by the first drop pattern generation process, the speed of the second drop pattern generation process is further increased because it starts from a better (e.g., more optimal) drop pattern.

[0048] The uniformity of the RLT and TLT (RLT / TLT) of the drop patterns generated by the first drop pattern generation process is usually not as good as that of the drop patterns generated by the second drop pattern generation process. When a region (e.g., drop pattern generation field, imprint field) has RLT / TLT uniformity, the distance from the top surface of the substrate to the top surface of the cured moldable material is the same everywhere in that region. However, the first drop pattern generation process can be performed more quickly than the second drop pattern generation process.

[0049] Next, in block B435, the drop pattern generation device determines whether individual revised drop patterns have been generated for each sub-region. If the drop pattern generation device determines that individual revised drop patterns have not been generated for each sub-region (B435=No), the flow returns to block B420. If the drop pattern generation device determines that individual revised drop patterns have been generated for each sub-region (B435=Yes), the flow proceeds to block B440.

[0050] In block B440, the drop pattern generation device generates the overall drop pattern of the drop pattern generation field based on the revised drop patterns of the sub-regions. For example, the drop pattern generation device may form the overall drop pattern of the drop pattern generation field by combining all of the revised drop patterns of the sub-regions, each of which may occupy the same position in the drop pattern that would otherwise be occupied by individual sub-regions in the drop pattern generation field. Finally, the flow terminates in block B445.

[0051] In one exemplary embodiment, the drop pattern generating field is circular and has a diameter of approximately 300 mm. The field material map also has many subfields, dies, and cells (as shown, for example, in Figure 5). In block B415, the drop pattern generating device divides the circular drop pattern generating field into sub-regions, for example, sub-region 164 shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 includes a circular sub-region 164A whose center is located at the center of the drop pattern generating field (which has a diameter that is 10% of the diameter of the drop pattern generating field, although this is not to the exact scale in Figure 6), and concentric annular sub-regions 164B-D located at the center of the circular sub-region 164A.

[0052] In block B420, the drop pattern generation device selects a first sub-region, which in this example is a circular sub-region (e.g., sub-region 164A in Figure 6). For example, the drop pattern generation device may use a mask to exclude areas of the drop pattern generation field that are not included in the circular sub-region.

[0053] Then, in block B425, the drop pattern generation device uses a first drop pattern generation process to generate an initial drop pattern (DP1A) for a circular sub-region (for example, sub-region 164A in Figure 6). Next, in block B430, the drop pattern generation device uses the initial drop pattern (DP1A) as the starting drop pattern and uses a second drop pattern generation process to modify the initial drop pattern to generate a revised drop pattern (DP1B) for the circular sub-region. The revised drop pattern (DP1B) for the circular sub-region where the revised drop pattern (DP1B) is generated may be similar to or identical to the drop pattern generated for the circular sub-region if the drop pattern generation device performed the second drop pattern generation process on the entire drop pattern generation field without performing the first drop pattern generation process (for example, if the drop pattern generation device used a random drop pattern as the starting drop pattern and performed the second drop pattern generation process).

[0054] Next, in block B435, the drop pattern generation device determines that no individual revised drop patterns have been generated for each sub-region, and the flow returns to block B420, where the drop pattern generation device selects an annular sub-region that shares a boundary with a circular sub-region (e.g., sub-region 164B in Figure 6). The sub-region has a thickness of 4.2% of the diameter of the drop pattern generation field (not to an exact scale in Figure 6). This thickness ensures that the two sub-regions (the central circle and the annular ring) have approximately the same area, so the computational load of the iterations in blocks B425-B430 is similar to that of the first iteration of blocks B425-B430.

[0055] To select annular subregions, the drop pattern generation device may apply a mask to a drop pattern generation field that is an annular shape having two concentric circles whose centers are located at the center of the drop pattern generation field and whose radii are equal to the inner and outer radii of the annular subregions. In some embodiments where successive masks are superimposed on each other, the mask geometry uses a mask convention in which subregions that intersect an even number of times (including 0 times) are hidden, and subregions that intersect an odd number of times are visible.

[0056] The drop pattern generation device then performs blocks B425 to B430 on the selected sub-region, thereby generating an initial drop pattern (DP2A) and a revised drop pattern (DP2B) for the selected sub-region. In this example, the revised drop pattern (DP1B) for the circular region (sub-region 164A in Figure 6) remains unchanged between blocks B425 and B430.

[0057] The drop pattern generation device then performs blocks B425-B430 on the remaining sub-regions. In each iteration of blocks B425-B430, the drop pattern generation device selects an adjacent annular sub-region (for example, a larger annular sub-region where the revised drop pattern surrounds a sub-region generated in a previous iteration), thereby generating additional initial drop patterns (DP3A, DP4A, etc.) and revised drop patterns (DP3B, DP4B, etc.) until the entire circular drop pattern generation field is covered.

[0058] The operational flows described herein and other operational flows substantially increase the speed at which the drop pattern generating device can generate drop patterns. For example, in some embodiments, a radius r of 149 mm and a thickness of 1 mm (936 mm) 2 The process involves performing a second drop pattern generation process on a full wafer having an area of ​​150 mm radius and 70,686 mm width, and then generating its edge (with a radius of 150 mm and 70,686 mm width). 2In comparison to performing a second drop pattern generation process on a wafer up to a certain area, assuming a quadratic runtime, the runtime in the second case is 5700 times longer per iteration than in the first case. Repeating the revised drop pattern generation on all ring-shaped sub-regions up to the central circular sub-region of the wafer (150 rings in total, each 1 mm thick), and considering the shorter runtime of smaller rings (with smaller areas), drop pattern generation on the entire drop pattern generation field is 75 times faster (compared to performing a second drop pattern generation process on the entire drop pattern generation field).

[0059] Furthermore, for example, in some embodiments, a 300 mm circular drop pattern generation field is divided into 150 sub-regions, each having a central circle and a concentric ring shape. Assuming m iterations of the second drop pattern generation process, the runtime for performing the second drop pattern generation process over the entire wafer is km(π150). 2 ) = 5E9km, where k is the runtime of one iteration. On the other hand, the runtime of the hybrid process in Figure 4 is

[0060]

number

[0061] Here, T1 is the runtime of the first drop pattern generation process. Thus, the hybrid runtime is less than 0.28% of the non-hybrid runtime.

[0062] Figure 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. The flow starts in block 700 and then moves to block B705, where the drop pattern generating device sets or acquires the drop volume. Next, in block B710, the drop pattern generating device acquires a field material map. Then, in block B715, the drop pattern generating device divides the field material map into multiple sub-regions.

[0063] The flow then moves to block B720, where the drop pattern generation device selects a first sub-region from among several sub-regions. The flow then moves to block B725, where the drop pattern generation device generates an initial drop pattern for the selected sub-region by performing a first drop pattern generation process. The first drop pattern generation process may use a portion of the field material map corresponding to the selected sub-region as input.

[0064] Next, in block B730, the drop pattern generation device determines whether to modify one or more boundary regions of the revised drop pattern of an adjacent sub-region. For example, the drop pattern generation device may determine whether a setting is configured (e.g., by the user, by a software application, or by a machine learning model) that allows modification of one or more boundary regions of the revised drop pattern of an adjacent sub-region, or the drop pattern generation device may determine whether any revised drop pattern of an adjacent sub-region has been generated. If the drop pattern generation device determines not to modify one or more boundary regions of the revised drop pattern of an adjacent sub-region (B730=0), the flow moves to block B735. If the drop pattern generation device determines to modify one or more boundary regions of the revised drop pattern of an adjacent sub-region (B730=Yes), the flow moves to block B740.

[0065] In block B735, the drop pattern generation device generates a revised drop pattern for the selected sub-region by performing a second drop pattern generation process. The second drop pattern generation process may use the initial drop pattern and a portion of the field material map corresponding to the selected sub-region as input. From block B735, the flow moves to block B745.

[0066] In block B740, the drop pattern generation device generates a revised drop pattern for a selected sub-region by performing a second drop pattern generation process. The drop pattern generation device may also modify one or more boundary regions of the revised drop patterns of adjacent sub-regions. Boundary regions may be defined by distance (e.g., 20 μm, 50 μm, 100 μm, 200 μm, 300 μm, 500 μm, 750 μm, 1,000 μm) or by multiples of the distribution pitch (e.g., 2x distribution pitch, 3x distribution pitch, 5x distribution pitch, 10x distribution pitch, 20x distribution pitch, 50x distribution pitch, 80x distribution pitch, 100x distribution pitch). In some embodiments, the multiples are non-negative integers. Boundary regions may also be defined differently on different axes. For example, if boundary regions are defined by multiples of the distribution pitch and the distribution pitch in the y-direction is different from the distribution pitch in the x-direction, the sizes of the boundary regions may be different. Furthermore, the drop pattern generation device may modify the drop positions in the boundary region such that the distance between the drop position in the boundary region and the nearest drop position in the modified sub-region is a multiple of the distribution pitch.

[0067] The second drop pattern generation process may use, as input, at least the initial drop pattern, one or more distinct boundary regions of the revised drop patterns of adjacent sub-regions, and portions of the field material map corresponding to the sub-regions and boundary regions. From block B740, the flow moves to block B745.

[0068] In block B745, the drop pattern generation device determines whether individual revised drop patterns have been generated for each sub-region. If the drop pattern generation device determines that individual revised drop patterns have not been generated for each sub-region (B745=No), the flow returns to block B720, where the drop pattern generation device selects the next sub-region. If the drop pattern generation device determines that individual revised drop patterns have been generated for each sub-region (B745=Yes), the flow proceeds to block B750.

[0069] In block B750, the drop pattern generation device generates the overall drop pattern for the drop pattern generation field based on the revised drop pattern of the sub-region. Finally, the flow terminates in block B755.

[0070] Figure 8 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. The flow starts in block 800 and then moves to block B805, where the drop pattern generating device sets or acquires the drop volume. Next, in block B810, the drop pattern generating device acquires a field material map. Then, in block B815, the drop pattern generating device divides the field material map into multiple sub-regions. The flow then moves to block B820, where the drop pattern generating device selects the first sub-region (in the first iteration of block B820) or the next sub-region (in a subsequent iteration of block B820) from among the multiple sub-regions.

[0071] The flow then proceeds to block B825, where the drop pattern generation device determines whether an optimal drop pattern is already available for the selected sub-region. For example, if the sub-region is a featureless or blank region, a grid drop pattern is optimal for the sub-region. Some embodiments of the drop pattern generation device search one or more databases for optimal drop patterns for the selected sub-region. If the drop pattern generation device determines that an optimal drop pattern is already available for the selected sub-region and that the optimal drop pattern can be obtained, the flow moves to block B830. In block B830, the drop pattern generation device assigns the optimal drop pattern to the selected sub-region, and the flow moves to block B850.

[0072] If the drop pattern generation device determines that an optimal drop pattern is not yet available for the selected sub-region, or if the drop pattern generation device is unable to obtain an optimal drop pattern, the flow proceeds to block B835.

[0073] In block B835, the drop pattern generation device performs a first drop pattern generation process to generate an initial drop pattern for the selected sub-region. The first drop pattern generation process may use at least a portion of the field material map corresponding to the selected sub-region as input. Next, in block B840, the drop pattern generation device performs a second drop pattern generation process to generate a revised drop pattern for the selected sub-region. The second drop pattern generation process may use at least the initial drop pattern and a portion of the field material map corresponding to the selected sub-region as input. The flow then moves to block B845, where the drop pattern generation device assigns the revised drop pattern to the selected sub-region. From block B845, the flow moves to block B850.

[0074] In block B850, the drop pattern generation device determines whether individual drop patterns have been assigned to each sub-region. If the drop pattern generation device determines that individual drop patterns have not been assigned to each sub-region (B850=No), the flow returns to block B820. If the drop pattern generation device determines that individual drop patterns have been assigned to each sub-region (B850=Yes), the flow proceeds to block B855.

[0075] In block B855, the drop pattern generation device generates a drop pattern for the entire drop pattern generation field based on the drop patterns assigned to the sub-regions (revised drop pattern and optimal drop pattern). Finally, the flow terminates in block B860.

[0076] Figure 9 shows an exemplary embodiment of the operation flow for generating a drop pattern. The flow starts in block 900 and then moves to block B905, where the drop pattern generating device acquires a field material map and sets the drop volume. Then, in block B910, the drop pattern generating device divides the field material map into several sub-regions. The flow then moves to block B915, where the drop pattern generating device classifies each sub-region as either (1) having an available optimal drop pattern or (2) not having an available optimal drop pattern. For example, Figure 10 shows an exemplary embodiment of a field material map 162 (for the entire drop pattern generating field) and several sub-regions 164. In this example, the drop pattern generating device determines that an optimal drop pattern is available for sub-regions 164A and 164C, and therefore classifies sub-regions 164A and 164C as (1) having an available optimal drop pattern. For example, Figure 11 shows an exemplary embodiment of the optimal drop pattern 165 for sub-regions 164A and 164C of Figure 10. Drop pattern 165A is the optimal drop pattern for sub-region 164A, and drop pattern 165C is the optimal drop pattern for sub-region 164C. However, the drop pattern generation device determines that an optimal drop pattern is not available for sub-region 164B, and therefore classifies sub-region 164B as (2) having no available optimal drop pattern.

[0077] The flow is then divided into a first flow and a second flow.

[0078] The first flow moves to block B920, where the drop pattern generation device assigns individual optimal drop patterns to subregions where optimal drop patterns are available. Then, the first flow moves to block B955, where the first flow recombines with the second flow.

[0079] The second flow proceeds to block B925, where the drop pattern generation device adds N sub-regions that do not have an available optimal drop pattern to the queue. Next, at block B930, the drop pattern generation device sets the index n to 1. Then, at block B935, the drop pattern generation device processes the sub-region S in the queue n to generate a sub-region mask. Then, the second flow proceeds, and the drop pattern generation device processes the sub-region S n to generate an initial drop pattern IDP n and moves to block B940 for performing the first drop pattern generation process. Then, the second flow proceeds, and the drop pattern generation device processes the sub-region S n to generate a revised drop pattern RDP n and moves to block B945 for performing the second drop pattern generation process. Then, at block B950, the drop pattern generation device processes the revised drop pattern RDP n for the sub-region S n to assign it. For example, FIG. 12 shows an exemplary embodiment of the revised drop pattern 165B for the sub-region 164B of FIG. 10.

[0080] Then, the second flow rejoins the first flow, and the second flow proceeds to block B955, where the drop pattern generation device determines whether a revised drop pattern has been generated for each sub-region in the queue. If the drop pattern generation device determines that a revised drop pattern has not been generated for each sub-region in the queue (B955=No), the flow moves to block B960. At block B960, the drop pattern generation device increments the index n by 1 (n=n+1), and then the second flow returns to block B935. If the drop pattern generation device determines that a revised drop pattern has been generated for each sub-region in the queue (B955=Yes), the second flow moves to block B965.

[0081] In block B965, the drop pattern generation device is a revised drop pattern RDP. n Based on the optimal drop patterns assigned to each sub-region (n=1 to N), a drop pattern is generated for the entire drop pattern generation field. Finally, the flow terminates in block B970.

[0082] Figure 13 shows an exemplary embodiment of a drop pattern generation device. The drop pattern generation device 1370 includes one or more processors 1372, one or more I / O components 1373, and a storage device 1374. The hardware components of the drop pattern generation device 1370 communicate via one or more buses or other electrical connections. Examples of buses include the Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394 bus, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus, Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) bus, Serial AT Attachment (SATA) bus, and Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus.

[0083] One or more processors 1372 include one or more central processing units (CPUs) that include a microprocessor (e.g., a single-core microprocessor, a multi-core microprocessor), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more tensor processing units (TPUs), one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or other electronic circuits (e.g., other integrated circuits). The I / O component 1373 may include a communication component that communicates with one or more of the following: a substrate positioning stage, an imprint head, a fluid dispenser, an energy source, and a camera. The I / O component 1373 may also include a communication component (e.g., a graphics card, a network interface controller) that communicates with a network, a nanoimprint lithography control device, or other input / output devices (not shown), including a display device, a keyboard, a mouse, a print device, a touchscreen, a light pen, an optical memory device, a scanner, a microphone, a drive, a joystick, and a control pad.

[0084] The storage device 1374 includes one or more computer-readable storage media. As used herein, the computer-readable storage media include articles of manufacture, e.g., magnetic disks (e.g., floppy disks®, hard disks), optical disks (e.g., CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray®), magneto-optical disks, magnetic tapes, and semiconductor memory (e.g., non-volatile memory cards, flash memory, semiconductor drives, SRAMs, DRAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs). The storage device 1374 may include both ROMs and RAMs and can store computer-readable data or computer-executable instructions.

[0085] The drop pattern generation device 1370 also includes an initialization module 1374A, a field division and selection module 1374B, a first drop pattern generation module 1374C, a second drop pattern generation module 1374D, an optimal drop pattern availability module 1374E, a drop pattern merging module 1374F, a lithography control module 1374G, and a communication module 1374H. The modules include logic circuits, computer-readable data, or computer-executable instructions. In the embodiment shown in Figure 13, the modules are implemented in software (e.g., Assembly, C, C++, C#, Java®, BASIC, Perl, Visual Basic). However, in some embodiments, the modules are implemented in hardware (e.g., customized circuitry), or alternatively, in a combination of software and hardware. When the modules are implemented at least partially in software, the software is stored in the storage device 1374. Furthermore, some embodiments of the drop pattern generation device 1370 include additional modules, some of which are omitted, these modules are combined into fewer modules, or these modules are divided into more modules. In addition, the drop pattern generation device 1370 includes a material map repository 1374I and a drop pattern repository 1374J. The material map repository 1374I stores field material maps and sub-regions, and the drop pattern repository 1374J stores drop patterns (e.g., initial drop pattern, revised drop pattern, full field drop pattern, optimal drop pattern).

[0086] The initialization module 1374A includes instructions that cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to acquire (e.g., set, receive) the drop volume, acquire a field material map, initialize variables, and perform other initialization operations. For example, some embodiments of the initialization module 1374A include instructions that cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to perform at least some of the operations described in blocks B405-B410 in Figure 4, blocks B705-B710 in Figure 7, blocks B805-B810 in Figure 8, and block B905 in Figure 9.

[0087] The field division and selection module 1374B includes instructions to the drop pattern generation device 1370 to divide the drop pattern generation field into sub-regions and to process the sub-regions. For example, some embodiments of the field division and selection module 1374B include instructions to the drop pattern generation device 1370 to perform at least some of the operations described in blocks B415-B420 in Figure 4, blocks B715-B720 and B745 in Figure 7, block B850 in Figure 8, and blocks B925-B930 and B955-B960 in Figure 9. The sub-regions may also be stored in the material map repository 1374I.

[0088] The first drop pattern generation module 1374C includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to generate an initial drop pattern for a sub-region by performing a first drop pattern generation process. Examples of inputs to the first drop pattern generation process include a field material map (e.g., the region of the field material map corresponding to the sub-region) and a drop volume. For example, some embodiments of the first drop pattern generation module 1374C include instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to perform at least some of the operations described in block B425 of Figure 4, block B725 of Figure 7, block B835 of Figure 8, and blocks B935-B940 of Figure 9. The initial drop pattern may also be stored in the drop pattern repository 1374J.

[0089] The second drop pattern generation module 1374D includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to generate revised drop patterns for subregions by performing a second drop pattern generation process. An example of input to the second drop pattern generation process includes an initial drop pattern, a field material map (e.g., the area of ​​the field material map corresponding to the subregion), a drop volume, and one or more boundary areas of adjacent revised drop patterns. For example, some embodiments of the second drop pattern generation module 1374D include instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to perform at least some of the operations described in block B425 of Figure 4, blocks B730-B740 of Figure 7, blocks B840-B845 of Figure 8, and blocks B945-B950 of Figure 9. The revised drop patterns may also be stored in the drop pattern repository 1374J.

[0090] The optimal drop pattern availability module 1374E includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to determine whether an individual optimal drop pattern is available for a sub-area (for example, stored in a database) and to allocate the individual optimal drop pattern to the sub-area. For example, some embodiments of the optimal drop pattern availability module 1374E include instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to perform at least some of the operations described in blocks B825-B830 in Figure 8 and blocks B915-B920 in Figure 9.

[0091] The drop pattern coupling module 1374F includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to generate drop patterns for a full drop pattern generation field based on drop patterns (e.g., revised drop patterns, optimal drop patterns) of sub-regions that constitute the full drop pattern generation field. For example, some embodiments of the drop pattern coupling module 1374F include instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to perform at least some of the operations described in block B440 of Figure 4, block B750 of Figure 7, block B855 of Figure 8, and block B965 of Figure 9.

[0092] The lithography control module 1374G includes commands to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to adjust, control, or instruct other components or subsystems of the nanoimprint lithography system, such as a substrate positioning stage, imprint head, fluid dispenser, energy source, and camera.

[0093] The communication module 1374H includes instructions to cause the drop pattern generation device 1370 to communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., a nanoimprint lithography control device, a substrate positioning stage, an imprint head, a fluid dispenser, an energy source, a camera, a monitor, or another computer device).

[0094] Figure 14A shows an exemplary embodiment of the residual layer. In Figure 14A, a pattern layer 125 is formed on the substrate 102. The pattern layer 125 includes a residual layer 153 and a plurality of features indicated as protrusions 151 and recesses 152. The protrusions 151 have an imprint thickness h t The residual layer 153 has a residual thickness (RLT) of h rl It holds.

[0095] Figure 14B shows an exemplary embodiment of the top layer. Figure 14 includes a pattern layer 125 formed on a substrate 102 which includes recesses and protrusions. The substrate 102 is held by a substrate chuck 104. The pattern layer 125 fills the recesses and protrusions of the substrate 102. The top layer 154, also called the overbaden, is formed on the substrate 102 and has a top layer thickness (TLT) h tl It has the above features. Also, the top surface 155 of the uppermost layer 154 is featureless and planar.

[0096] At least a portion of the devices, systems, and methods described above can be implemented, at least in part, by providing one or more computer-readable media containing computer-executable instructions for performing the operations described above to one or more computer devices that read and execute the computer-executable instructions. When the system or device executes the computer-executable instructions, it performs the operations of the embodiments described above. Furthermore, an operating system on one or more systems or devices may implement at least some of the operations of the embodiments described above.

[0097] Furthermore, some embodiments use one or more functional units to implement the devices, systems, and methods described above. Functional units may be implemented solely in hardware (e.g., customized circuits) or in combination with software and hardware (e.g., a microprocessor running the software).

Claims

1. A method for generating drop patterns, Obtaining a field material map that includes one imprint field and defines the volume of moldable material in the one imprint field, The field material map is divided into multiple sub-regions, For each of the multiple sub-regions, a first drop pattern generation process is performed, and the first drop pattern generation process generates individual initial drop patterns for the sub-regions based on the field material map. For each of the one or more sub-regions among the plurality of sub-regions, a second drop pattern generation process different from the first drop pattern generation process is performed, and the second drop pattern generation process generates an individual revised drop pattern for the sub-region by modifying the individual initial drop pattern by changing one or more drop positions in the individual initial drop pattern based on the field material map and the individual initial drop pattern for the sub-region. A method characterized by having the following:

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the sub-regions do not overlap, and the set of sub-regions includes all of the field material maps.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first drop pattern generation process can be performed more quickly than the second drop pattern generation process.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the first drop pattern generation process is non-repetitive and the second drop pattern generation process is repetitive.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising combining the aforementioned revised drop patterns to form a drop pattern on the field material map.

6. The method further includes classifying each of the aforementioned sub-regions as either a sub-region where a drop pattern is generated or a sub-region where no drop pattern is generated. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more of the plurality of sub-regions are sub-regions that are classified as sub-regions from which a drop pattern is generated.

7. The method according to 6, characterized in that each sub-region classified as a sub-region in which no drop pattern is generated is a sub-region in which a drop pattern is already stored.

8. It is a device, One or more computer-readable storage media, It comprises one or more processors that communicate with and cooperate with one or more computer-readable storage media, The one or more processors in the device Obtaining a field material map that includes one imprint field and defines the volume of moldable material in the one imprint field, The field material map is divided into multiple sub-regions, A first drop pattern generation process is performed on a first sub-region among the plurality of sub-regions, and the first drop pattern generation process generates individual initial drop patterns for the first sub-region based on the field material map. For the first sub-region, a second drop pattern generation process different from the first drop pattern generation process is performed, and the second drop pattern generation process generates an individual revised drop pattern for the first sub-region by modifying the individual initial drop pattern by changing one or more drop positions in the individual initial drop pattern based on the field material map and the individual initial drop pattern for the first sub-region. A device characterized by causing something to happen.

9. The one or more processors cooperate with the one or more computer-readable storage media to provide the device, The first drop pattern generation process is performed on the second sub-region among the plurality of sub-regions, and the first drop pattern generation process generates individual initial drop patterns for the second sub-region based on the field material map. With respect to the second sub-region, the second drop pattern generation process is performed, and the second drop pattern generation process generates individual revised drop patterns for the second sub-region based on the field material map and the individual initial drop patterns for the second sub-region. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that it further causes

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that it can perform the first drop pattern generation process more quickly than the second drop pattern generation process.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the first sub-region has a circular or annular shape.

12. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the plurality of sub-regions do not overlap with each other, and the set of the plurality of sub-regions includes all of the field material map.

13. One or more computer-readable storage media that store instructions causing one or more computer devices to perform an action when executed by one or more computer devices, The aforementioned operation is, Obtaining a field material map that includes one imprint field and defines the volume of moldable material in the one imprint field, The field material map is divided into multiple sub-regions, For each of the multiple sub-regions, a first drop pattern generation process is performed, and the first drop pattern generation process generates individual initial drop patterns for the sub-regions based on the field material map. For each of the one or more sub-regions among the plurality of sub-regions, a second drop pattern generation process different from the first drop pattern generation process is performed, and the second drop pattern generation process generates an individual revised drop pattern for the sub-region by modifying the individual initial drop pattern by changing one or more drop positions in the individual initial drop pattern based on the field material map and the individual initial drop pattern for the sub-region. One or more computer-readable storage media characterized by having [a certain feature].

14. The operation further comprises generating a drop pattern for the field material map based on the revised drop pattern, for one or more computer-readable storage media according to claim 13.

15. The operation further includes classifying each of the multiple sub-regions as either a sub-region where a drop pattern is generated or a sub-region where no drop pattern is generated. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein one or more of the plurality of sub-regions are sub-regions that are classified as sub-regions on which a drop pattern is generated.

16. The second drop pattern generation process further includes performing the second drop pattern generation process sequentially for each of the one or more sub-regions among the plurality of sub-regions, One or more computer-readable storage media according to 13, wherein at least some performance of the second drop pattern generation process modifies at least one drop position in one or more previously generated revised drop patterns for other subregions of the plurality of subregions while generating the individual revised drop patterns for the current subregion of the plurality of subregions.

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