Imprint Apparatus Nozzle Defect Compensation Cycle
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing method for complementing a defective discharge nozzle in an imprint apparatus using a near nozzle leads to widened resin intervals, resulting in prolonged imprinting time and decreased productivity due to slow resin filling in areas with wide intervals.
Innovation Solution
An imprint apparatus with an identifying unit to detect defective nozzles and a complementing unit that adjusts nozzle usage to maintain at least one location with a cycle of n−1 nozzles in the nozzle array direction, ensuring consistent resin application and avoiding wide resin intervals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a defective nozzle is complemented with a near nozzle, then the discharge failure is compensated, but the resin interval is widened causing slower filling and prolonged imprinting time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the nozzle discharge cycle based on the position relative to defective nozzles. Specifically, it varies the discharge cycle between n-1 and n cycles depending on whether the position is a target position (where resin should be applied) or a non-target position (where resin should be skipped), thereby optimizing both defect compensation and printing speed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different discharge strategies to different spatial locations. At target positions (where resin application is needed), it uses a discharge cycle of n-1 to ensure adequate resin coverage, while at non-target positions (near defective nozzles), it skips discharge to avoid creating wide resin intervals. This localized quality control maintains productivity while compensating for defects
2Reliability
If the discharge cycle is reduced to n−1 at all positions to compensate for defective nozzles, then resin coverage is improved, but resin application becomes non-uniform and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements location-specific discharge control where the discharge cycle is set to n-1 only at target positions (where resin application is required) and skipped at non-target positions (where resin application would create excessive intervals). This ensures uniform resin application at needed locations while maintaining overall printing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The discharge cycle dynamically switches between n-1 and n based on the current position in the nozzle array. The control unit identifies which nozzles are defective and adjusts the discharge timing accordingly, creating a dynamic discharge pattern that optimizes both coverage and speed
Data Source
AI summary
Imprint apparatus includes: a discharge-unit including a nozzle-array that plurality of nozzles are arranged in a nozzle-array-direction, a moving-unit to move relative-positions of a substrate and the discharge-unit, and a discharge-control-unit control to apply a resin to the substrate by applying a resin from a nozzle corresponding to a predetermined-cycle in the nozzle-array-direction in the discharge-unit and by moving the relative-positions by the moving-unit, the imprint apparatus including an identifying-unit to identify a discharging defective-nozzle in the discharge-unit and a complementing-unit to, if the nozzle corresponding to the predetermined-cycle includes a discharging-defective-nozzle, complement the discharging-defective-nozzle with an alternative-nozzle near the discharging-defective-nozzle, wherein the complementing-unit determines a nozzle to be used for discharge so that there is at least one location where a cycle of nozzles applying a resin in the nozzle-array-direction is n−1 if the predetermined-cycle is n, and the resin is applied to another location in the predetermined-cycle n.