Imprint Mold Deformation for Pattern Defect Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional imprint technologies face issues with pattern defects due to air bubbles trapped in the resin and abrupt stress during mold release, leading to warpage and distortion of the mold, which results in pattern deformation or damage.
Innovation Solution
An imprint apparatus with a mold holding unit, substrate holding unit, deforming unit, driving unit, measuring unit, and control unit that deforms the mold into a convex shape and adjusts the centroid position of the contact region during release to minimize stress and prevent pattern defects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mold is gradually deformed and released from the periphery toward the center of the pattern-formed region, then the releasing stress is reduced and air bubbles are minimized, but the contact region centroid may be displaced from the center causing mold warpage and pattern defects
Solution Approach 1:
A measuring unit detects the actual position of the contact region centroid during mold release, and a control unit adjusts the mold attitude in real-time to keep the centroid aligned with the center of the pattern-formed region, preventing warpage and pattern defects
Solution Approach 2:
The mold attitude is dynamically adjusted during the release process rather than being fixed, allowing the system to compensate for position deviations and maintain optimal contact region alignment throughout the gradual release from periphery to center
2Productivity
If the mold is entirely released from the resin at one time, then the releasing operation is simple and fast, but a large releasing stress is applied causing pattern distortion and defects
Solution Approach 1:
The mold release is performed gradually from the periphery toward the center in a controlled sequence rather than all at once, reducing peak stress while maintaining operational efficiency through automated control
Solution Approach 2:
The release operation is divided into multiple stages by region (periphery first, then progressively moving toward the center), allowing stress to be distributed and managed throughout the release process
3Reliability
If the mold is pressed against the resin to remove air bubbles, then air bubbles are discharged and pattern defects are reduced, but the process complexity increases with temporary deflection and gradual restoration
Solution Approach 1:
The same mold driving mechanism is used for both pressing the mold into the resin to remove air bubbles and for the gradual release operation, eliminating the need for separate mechanisms while achieving multiple process goals
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 apparatus effectively suppresses pattern defects by ensuring controlled release of the mold, maintaining the centroid alignment, and reducing warpage, thereby improving the quality of the formed patterns.
Implementation Method 1
a deforming unit configured to deform the mold held by the mold holding unit into a convex shape toward the substrate
Implementation Method 2
After the ultraviolet curable resin is irradiated with ultraviolet light for curing, the cured resin is released from the mold
Data Source
AI summary
An imprint apparatus molds an uncured resin on a substrate and cures the resin to form a pattern of the cured resin on the substrate. The apparatus includes a mold holding unit that holds the mold, a substrate holding unit that holds the substrate, a deforming unit that deforms the mold held by the mold holding unit into a convex shape toward the substrate, a driving unit that changes an attitude of the mold or the substrate during a releasing operation in which the mold deformed into the convex shape is released from the resin to thereby make the position of a contact region at which the mold is brought into contact with the resin movable, a measuring unit that acquires image information indicating a state of the contact region, and a control unit configured to control the operation of the driving unit based on the image information.