Deformable Mold Gas Density Control for Imprint Filling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing imprint technologies face challenges in effectively filling process gas between a substrate and a mold to improve the filling property of the imprint material, leading to insufficient flattening of the substrate surface, especially at the nanoscale, and result in increased operational costs due to high gas consumption.
Innovation Solution
A molding apparatus that includes a gas supply unit to increase gas density between the mold and substrate, a deforming mechanism to shape the mold concavely and release it for contact with the substrate, and a control unit to manage the gas supply and mold deformation, ensuring efficient gas filling and surface flattening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the supply amount of process gas is increased to improve gas filling property when the distance between substrate and mold is increased, then the filling property of process gas is improved, but the consumed amount of process gas increases leading to higher operating costs
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is deformed into a concave shape before the imprint material is supplied and before the mold is brought into contact with the substrate. This preliminary deformation creates a cavity that allows process gas to be trapped and retained more effectively when the mold contacts the substrate, improving gas filling property without requiring excessive gas supply during the actual imprinting process
Solution Approach 2:
The physical shape of the mold is dynamically changed from a flat or convex shape to a concave shape during the process. This parameter change in mold geometry creates a volume expansion that facilitates better gas distribution and retention, improving the filling property while controlling gas consumption through shape transformation rather than increased gas supply
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional coating methods are used to flatten substrate surface irregularity, then the process is simple, but the flattening accuracy is insufficient at nanoscale order
Solution Approach 1:
A flattening layer is formed on the substrate surface before the imprinting process. This preliminary action of creating a flattened surface layer enables subsequent high-precision imprinting to be performed on a nanoscale-flat surface, achieving both manufacturing precision and maintaining process simplicity through a preparatory step
Solution Approach 2:
A flattening layer acts as an intermediary between the irregular substrate surface and the mold. This intermediate layer absorbs and compensates for surface irregularities, providing a flat interface for imprinting without requiring complex substrate preparation or modifying the substrate itself
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances the filling property of the imprint material, improves surface flattening accuracy, and reduces operational costs by optimizing gas usage and mold deformation techniques.
Implementation Method 1
a gas supply unit that supplies gas to a periphery of a space sandwiched between the mold and the substrate, in a state in which the gas supply unit increases a density of the gas in the periphery of the space sandwiched between the mold and the substrate
Implementation Method 2
a deforming mechanism that deforms the mold, and a control unit that, after the deforming mechanism deforms the mold in a concave shape with respect to the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment is an apparatus that forms a composition on a substrate using a mold. The apparatus includes a gas supply unit that supplies gas to a periphery of a space sandwiched between the mold and the substrate, a deforming mechanism that deforms the mold, and a control unit that, in a state in which the gas supply unit increases a density of the gas in the periphery of the space sandwiched between the mold and the substrate, after the deforming mechanism deforms the mold in a concave shape with respect to the substrate and releases the mold from the deformation, brings the mold into contact with the composition on the substrate.