Patent Application
20070134362
The present invention relates to an apparatus for usable in a pattern transfer process for imprint lithography, which involves a process for transferring a pattern from a template having a structured surface to a target surface of a substrate. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus comprising double imprint units, which are operated in synchronization with each other for performing a two step process. In the first imprint unit, a replica of the template pattern is formed in or on an intermediate disc, preferably a flexible polymer foil, by imprint to obtain an intermediate stamp. The intermediate stamp is then moved from the first imprint unit to the second imprint unit, where the intermediate stamp is used in a secondary step to imprint the pattern in a moldable layer of the target surface of the substrate.
One of the most powerful techniques for reproducing nanostructures—i.e. structures in the order of 100 nm or smaller—is nanoimprint lithography (NIL). In nanoimprint lithography an inverted copy of the surface pattern of a template—often called a stamp—is transferred into an object, comprising a substrate and, applied thereto, a film of a moldable layer often called resist, e.g. a polymer material. After heating the object to a suitable temperature above the glass transition temperature of the polymer film the stamp is pressed towards the film followed by cooling and release—often called demolding—of the stamp, after the desired pattern depth has been transferred into the film. Alternatively, the substrate is covered by a photo-resist material, i.e. a polymer which is sensitive to radiation such that it is cross-linked upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, or a pre-polymer which is cured into a polymer upon exposure to radiation. This requires that either the substrate or the stamp is transparent to the applied radiation. In a subsequently performed process after the achieved imprint, the object—comprising the substrate and the patterned polymer film—can be post-processed e.g. by etching of the substrate within the imprinted regions to transfer the pattern to a target surface of the substrate.
The imprint process described above exhibits some difficulties, which have to be considered in order to achieve a perfect pattern transfer from the template into the moldable layer covering the substrate.
If the template and the substrate are not made of the same material, which they generally are not, they will typically have different thermal expansion coefficients. This means that during heating and cooling of the template and the substrate, the extent of expansion and contraction will be different. Even though the dimensional change is small, it may be devastating in an imprint process, since the features of the pattern to be transferred are in the order of micrometers or even nanometers. The result may therefore be reduced replication fidelity.
Very often an inflexible stamp or substrate material is used, and this can lead to the inclusion of air between stamp and moldable layer when the stamp is pressed towards the substrate, also downgrading the replication fidelity. Furthermore, inclusion of particles between stamp and moldable layer during an imprint process can lead to pronounced damages of either the stamp or the substrate especially when neither the stamp nor the substrate are composed by a flexible material. Physical damage to the stamp or the substrate or both can also be caused upon demolding of an inflexible stamp from inflexible substrate, and it is difficult to demold a substrate and a template including patterns with high aspect ratio after an imprint process. A once damaged stamp is usually not recyclable.
It is an object of the invention to provide a solution for an improved imprint system, having high replication fidelity, and which is easy and suitable to employ industrially.
An embodiment of the invention, devised to fulfill the stated object, relates to an apparatus for transferring a pattern of a structured surface of a template to a target surface of a substrate, comprising
a first imprint unit including a first pair of cooperating main parts arranged opposite to one another with an intermediate first spacing, and a first press device for adjusting the first spacing, operable to transfer the pattern of the template to a receiving surface of a disc in a first imprint step,
a second imprint unit including a second pair of cooperating main parts arranged opposite to one another with an intermediate second spacing, and a second press device operable to adjust the second spacing, and
a feeder device operable to move a disc from the first spacing to the second spacing.
In a preferred embodiment, the feeder device is controlled to grab an imprinted disc in the first spacing, move it to the second spacing, and release and position the disc in contact with a substrate, such that the imprinted surface of the intermediate stamp faces a moldable layer on the target surface of the substrate. Thereafter, the second imprint unit is operable to imprint the transferred pattern of the disc to the target surface in a second imprint step.
The invention thereby provides an automated imprint apparatus, where the process of transferring a pattern from a master template to a substrate is performed over two imprint steps carried out in two operatively connected imprint units. Preferably, a polymer foil is used for the disc to create the intermediate stamp. This way, the template will only be used for imprint in the comparatively soft material of the polymer foil, which minimizes wear and the risk of damage, compared to imprint directly on a comparatively hard semiconductor substrate.
Embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which:
The present invention relates to what is herein referred to as a “two-step imprint process”. This term is to be understood as a process in which in a first step one or more replicas of a template having a nanometer and/or micrometer size patterned surface is formed into one or more flexible polymer foils by an imprint process. The imprinted polymer foil may be used as a polymer stamp in a second step. Alternatively, the imprinted polymer foil is used as a stamp to make another imprint on another polymer foil, which is subsequently used in the second step. This way, the first step of the process may generate both negative polymer replicas, where the pattern is inverted to that of the original template, and flexible positive polymer replicas, where the pattern is similar to that of the original template. In the second step a so-produced replica can be used as a flexible polymer stamp to reproduce the pattern into an object surface through a subsequent performed imprint process employing thermal imprint, UV-imprint, or both.
The term “nano-imprinting process” or “imprint process” as used herein refers to a process for the creation of an inverted copy of a nano- and/or micro-structured surface pattern of a template or stamp, which is generated by pressing the stamp into a moldable layer, such as a polymer or pre-polymer, in order to deform the layer. The layer may be a separately coated film on top of a base or substrate, where the base and the layer may be of different materials. Alternatively, the layer may simply be a portion of a single material object, where the layer is defined as a portion stretching from a surface of the object down to a certain depth into the bulk of the object. The moldable layer may either be heated-up above its glass transition temperature Tg followed by cooling-down to below said glass transition temperature during the imprinting (e.g., hot embossing) process, and/or the polymer may be cured or cross-linked with the help of UV-light exposure during or after the imprinting process. The patterned surface of the template, and of the imprinted layers, may have structures on a micrometer or nanometer scale both in terms of depth and width.
The term “flexible polymer foil” refers to a flexible and ductile in the most cases transparent foil comprising a thermoplastic polymer, a thermosetting polymer, and/or a polymer, cross-linkable after exposure to radiation. Preferred embodiments of the polymer foil include polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and cyclo-olefin copolymer (COC).
The term “replication fidelity” refers to the creation of an inverted copy of the stamp structure in which the inverted topography of the stamp surface is completely reproduced.
In accordance with the invention, a two-step imprint process is provided, where in a first step of this two-step process, replicas of a template having a patterned surface are formed by imprint in an intermediate disc. In most of the embodiments given below, the disc is a flexible polymer foil. An alternative solution, which is not discussed any further, is to provide the intermediate disc by means of another material, such as a thin sheet of metal or a semiconductor material, of which one side is coated with a moldable layer, such as a polymer or a pre-polymer. In such an embodiment, it is the coated side of the sheet that is imprinted in the first step with the template, and which is used as the stamp surface in the second step. The use of a polymer foil has several advantages, though, such as low cost and flexibility, and that the polymer material is generally softer than the material of both the template and the substrate. Below, reference to a flexible polymer foil will therefore mainly be made when the intermediate disc is discussed.
In a second step the replicas are used as stamps, preferably flexible polymer stamps, to reproduce the pattern into an object surface through a subsequent imprint process. In at least the second step, radiation-assisted imprint is preferably performed at a controlled constant temperature, such that thermal expansion effects are minimized.
This way a durable and comparatively inflexible template may advantageously be used, made of a material such as a metal, quartz, silicon or other substantially inflexible material, for imprinting its pattern in a flexible polymer foil to create the polymer stamp, and the polymer stamp may then advantageously be used for imprint in a moldable layer on the target surface of the substrate. By means of the invention, the relatively hard and inflexible template is used for imprint in the relatively softer and more flexible polymer foil to create an intermediate polymer stamp, where after the relatively flexible and soft polymer stamp is used for imprint in the moldable layer on the relatively harder and less flexible substrate, which may be of e.g. silicon. An imprint step between two substantially hard and inflexible materials, such as metal and silicon or quartz and silicon is thereby advantageously avoided, with the result that the template is less worn and fewer substrates are damaged.
Furthermore, by using a polymer foil as a basis for the intermediate disc or stamp, which is transparent to a wavelength range usable for cross-linking or in other ways solidifying a radiation-sensitive moldable layer, radiation-assisted imprint may selectively be used both for creating the polymer stamp and when using the polymer stamp for imprint on the substrate, while both the template and the substrate may be provided in materials which are not transparent to radiation of a usable wavelength range.
The template is a comparatively expensive element to produce and it is, as mentioned, generally not possible to repair or recycle a once damaged template. The polymer stamp, however, is easily manufactured from a comparatively inexpensive material in accordance with the method according to the invention, and is preferably disposed after being used a couple of times, or even only once. The polymer stamp may be demolded, or released, from the substrate and then thrown away, or it may be dissolved when still attached to the target surface of the substrate in a bath with a suitable liquid solution selected to dissolve the polymer stamp but not the substrate or the solidified moldable layer on the target surface of the substrate.
Since the created polymer stamp is used as a secondary template for imprint on the target surface of the substrate, and the substrate generally is not a polymer material, the thermal expansion coefficients of the polymer stamp and the substrate will typically differ. In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks resulting from such a scenario, at least the secondary imprint step where the polymer stamp is pressed into the moldable layer on the substrate, is performed according to a combined radiation- and heat-assisted imprint process. According to this process, a radiation-sensitive material is used as the moldable layer on the substrate, and the steps of pressing the polymer stamp and the substrate together, flooding the moldable layer with radiation, and postbaking the layer, and preferably also the steps of releasing the pressure and demolding the polymer stamp from the substrate, are performed at an elevated constant temperature maintained by means of a temperature control device. The temperature control device typically includes a heater device and a control circuit for balancing supply of heat to obtain and maintain a determined temperature, and possibly also a cooling device.
The first, or primary, step of the two step process will now be described with reference to
a displays a template 1, composed of e.g. silicon, nickel or other metal such as aluminum, quartz, or even a polymer material. Template 1 has a patterned surface 2, comprising ribs, grooves, protrusions or recesses, having heights and widths in the order of micrometers or nanometers. The template 1 is placed with surface 2 facing and contacting a surface 4 of a flexible polymer foil 3 made of e.g. a thermoplastic polymer, a thermosetting polymer, and/or a polymer, which is cross-linkable e.g. with the help of exposure to radiation. More specific examples of suitable polymer foil materials include polycarbonate, COC and PMMA. In a preferred embodiment, template surface 2 of and surface 4 of the polymer foil 3 exhibit anti-adhesion properties against to each other, due to their material compositions or characteristics of an anti-adhesion layer provided on template surface 2 and/or polymer foil surface 4.
With the help of a suitable imprint process as illustrated in
As mentioned, the illustrated embodiment makes use of thermal imprint, and polymer foil 3 is therefore heated before the pressure is applied, in order to soften the surface layer. Specific examples according to the above thermal primary step are given below. Alternative methods may alternatively or additionally include applied exposure of selected portions of the polymer foil to radiation. If the material of the polymer foil is also to be cross-linked by exposure to radiation, either the material of the template 1 or that of the polymer foil 3 must be transparent to the applied radiation. Alternative embodiments include a thermally or UV-curable pre-polymer composition in the surface layer at surface 4 of polymer foil 3. In such an embodiment heating above the glass transition temperature is not necessary.
In one example of a UV-NIL process, a UV-curable pre-polymer is dispensed at suitable positions across surface 2 of template 1, and it is afterwards covered with a polycarbonate or PMMA sheet, corresponding to foil 3 in
In a thermal NIL-process the template, or master, is covered with a suitable polymer sheet such as Topas from Ticona, USA, or Zeonor from Zeon Corp., Japan. After placement of the imprint membrane on top of the polymer sheet the sandwich is sucked by vacuum and heated. When the imprint temperature is reached the membrane is pressurized between 20-80 bars. After pattern transfer to the polymer film the sandwich is cooled below glass transition temperature followed by removal of imprint membrane and demolding of the IPS stamp from the master. A good thermoplastic sheet needs to have a narrow process window regarding imprint temperature and release temperature as well as high mechanical strength of the generated nanometer structures that have to serve as mold in the subsequent process. A high degree of transparency for UV-radiation is highly beneficial.
In an example of a combined heat and radiation the polymer foil, corresponding to 3 in
Dependent on the specific process used, i.e. thermal, UV or combined thermal and UV at constant temperature, template 1 and the imprinted polymer foil 3 can be separated either after cooling or without cooling of the polymer foil after the performed imprint process depending on the chosen material and its properties. After release of the template 1 from the polymer surface 4, the imprinted polymer foil 3, also called the replica, displayed in
In accordance with the invention, polymer stamp 5 is either used in the secondary step to transfer the pattern of surface 4 to a target substrate, or it is used in an additional primary step to produce a second inversed replica 9 into another flexible polymer foil 6 according to
Creation of a new polymer stamp 8, which is inverted from the first polymer stamp 5 and thus substantially identical to template 1, with regard to the pattern, includes placing polymer stamp 5 with its patterned surface 4 facing and in contact with a surface 7 of the second polymer foil 6. As before, second polymer foil 6 may be massive or have a carrier sheet to which a surface layer is applied at surface 7. In order to be able to imprint the pattern of surface 4 in the surface layer of foil 6, foil 6 is heated above the glass transition temperature of its surface layer if a thermal imprint process is used. As shown in
The so-produced replicas 5 or 8 having inverted or identical surface patterns to that of the original template 1, respectively, will be used as flexible polymer templates in a secondary imprint step according to the invention, as schematically illustrated in
i) shows the resulting imprinted object 12 after release of the flexible polymer stamp 5 or 8. In order to permanently affix the transferred pattern to the substrate, further processing steps are typically employed to remove the thinnest portions of the remaining film 14 to expose the target surface 17 of the substrate, and then to either etch the target surface or plate it with another material. The actual details of this further processing are not important for understanding of the invention, though.
However, the second step depicted below the dashed line in
In
Substrate 12 is positioned on a heater device 20. Heater device 20 preferably comprises a heater body 21 of metal, e.g. aluminum. A heater element 22 is connected to or included in heater body 21, for transferring thermal energy to heater body 21. In one embodiment, heater element 22 is an electrical immersion heater inserted in a socket in heater body 21. In another embodiment, an electrical heating coil is provided inside heater body 21, or attached to a lower surface of heater body 21. In yet another embodiment, heating element 22 is a formed channel in heater body 21, for passing a heating fluid through said channel. Heater element 22 is further provided with connectors 23 for connection to an external energy source (not shown). In the case of electrical heating, connectors 23 are preferably galvanic contacts for connection to a current source. For an embodiment with formed channels for passing a heating fluid, said connectors 23 are preferably conduits for attachment to a heated fluid source. The heating fluid may e.g. be water, or an oil. Yet another option is to employ an IR radiation heater as a heater element 22, devised to emit infrared radiation onto heater body 21. Furthermore, a temperature controller is included in heater device 20 (not shown), comprising means for heating heater element 22 to a selected temperature and maintaining that temperature within a certain temperature tolerance. Different types of temperature controllers a well known within the art, and are therefore not discussed in further detail.
Heater body 21 is preferably a piece of cast metal, such as aluminum, stainless steel, or other metal. Furthermore, a body 21 of a certain mass and thickness is preferably used such that an even distribution of heat at an upper side of heater device 20 is achieved, which upper side is connected to substrate 12 for transferring heat from body 21 through substrate 12 to heat layer 14. For an imprint process used to imprint 2.5″ substrates, a heater body 21 of at least 2.5″ diameter, and preferably 3″ or more, is used, with a thickness of at least 1 cm, preferably at least 2 or 3 cm. For an imprint process used to imprint 6″ substrates, a heater body 21 of at least 6″ diameter, and preferably 7″ or more, is used, with a thickness of at least 2 cm, preferably at least 3 or 4 cm. Heater device 20 is preferably capable of heating heater body 21 to a temperature of up to 200-300° C., though lower temperatures will be sufficient for most processes.
For the purpose of providing controlled cooling of layer 14, heater device 20 may further be provided with a cooling element 24 connected to or included in heater body 21, for transferring thermal energy from heater body 21. In a preferred embodiment, cooling element 24 comprises a formed channel or channels in heater body 21, for passing a cooling fluid through said channel or channels. Cooling element 24 is further provided with connectors 25 for connection to an external cooling source (not shown). Preferably, said connectors 25 are conduits for attachment to a cooling fluid source. Said cooling fluid is preferably water, but may alternatively be an oil, e.g. an insulating oil.
A preferred embodiment of the invention makes use of a radiation cross-linkable thermoplastic polymer solution material for layer 14, which preferably is spin-coatable. These polymer solutions may also be photo chemically amplified. An example of such a material is mr-L6000.1 XP from Micro Resist Technology, which is UV cross-linkable. Other examples of such radiation cross-linkable materials are negative photo-resist materials like Shipley ma-N 1400, SC100, and MicroChem SU-8. A material which is spin-coatable is advantageous, since it allows complete and accurate coating of an entire substrate.
Another embodiment makes use of a liquid or near liquid pre-polymer material for layer 14, which is polymerizable by means of radiation. Examples of available and usable polymerizable materials for layer 14 comprise NIP-K17, NIP-K22, and NIP-K28 from ZEN Photonics, 104-11 Moonj i-Dong, Yusong-Gu, Daejeon 305-308, South Korea. NIP-K17 has a main component of acrylate, and has a viscosity at 25° C. of about 9.63 cps. NIP-K22 also has a main component of acrylate, and a viscosity at 25° C. of about 5.85 cps. These substances are devised to cure under exposure to ultraviolet radiation above 12 mW/cm2 for 2 minutes. Another example of an available and usable polymerizable material for layer 14 is Ormocore from Micro Resist Technology GmbH, Koepenicker Strasse 325, Haus 211, D-12555 Berlin, Germany. This substance has a composition of inorganic-organic hybrid polymer, unsaturated, with a 1-3% photopolymerisation initiator. The viscosity of 3-8 mPas at 25° C. is fairly high, and the fluid may be cured under exposure of radiation with 500 mJ/cm2 at a wavelength of 365 nm. Other usable materials are mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,960.
Common for all these materials, and any other material usable for carrying out the invention, is that they are moldable and have the capability to solidify when exposed to radiation, particularly UV radiation, e.g. by cross-linking of polymer solution materials or curing of pre-polymers.
The thickness of layer 14 when deposited on the substrate surface is typically 10 nm-10 μm, depending on application area. The curable or cross-linkable material is preferably applied in liquid form onto substrate 12, preferably by spin coating, or optionally by roller coating, dip coating or similar. One advantage with the present invention compared to prior art step and flash methods, typically when using a cross-linkable polymer material, is that the polymer material may be spin coated on the entire substrate, which is an advantageous and fast process offering excellent layer evenness. Cross-linkable materials, such as those mentioned, are typically solid at normal room temperature, and a substrate which has been pre-coated at an elevated temperature may therefore conveniently be used. The step and flash method, on the other hand, has to use repeated dispensation on repeated surface portions, since that method is incapable of handling large surfaces in single steps. This makes both the step and flash process and the machine for carrying out such a process complex, time consuming in terms of cycle time, and hard to control.
The arrows of
After exposure to radiation, a postbaking step is performed, to completely harden the material of layer 14′. In this step, heater device 20 is used to provide heat to layer 14′, for baking layer 14′ to a hardened body before separation of polymer stamp 10 and substrate 12. Furthermore, postbaking is performed by maintaining the aforementioned temperature Tp. This way, polymer stamp 10 and material layer 14, 14′ will maintain the same temperature from the beginning of solidification of material 14 by exposure to radiation, to finalized postbaking, and optionally also through separation of polymer stamp 10 and substrate 12. This way, accuracy limitations due to differences in thermal expansion in any of the materials used for the substrate and the polymer stamp are eliminated.
The polymer stamp 10 is e.g. removed by a peeling and pulling process, as illustrated in
The imprint unit 100 comprises a first main part 101 and a second main part 102. In the illustrated preferred embodiment these main parts are arranged with the first main part 101 on top of second main part, with an adjustable spacing 103 between said main parts. When making a surface imprint by a process as illustrated in
The first, upper, main part 101 has a downwards facing surface 104, and the second, lower, main part 102 has an upwards facing surface 105. Upwards facing surface 105 is, or has a portion that is, substantially flat, and which is placed on or forms part of a plate 106 which acts as a support structure for a template or a substrate to be used in an imprint process, as will be more thoroughly described in conjunction with
Means for adjusting spacing 103 are, in the illustrated embodiment, provided by a piston member 107 attached at its outer end to plate 106. Piston member 107 is displaceably linked to a cylinder member 108, which preferably is held in fixed relation to first main part 101. In a preferred embodiment, piston member 107 may pivot to a certain extent in its suspension in cylinder member 108, in order to automatically assume parallelism between surfaces 104 and 105 when brought together in the imprint process. As is indicated by the arrow in the drawing, the means for adjusting spacing 103 are devised to displace second main part 102 closer to or farther from first main part 101, by means of a movement substantially perpendicular to the substantially flat surface 105, i.e. in the Z direction. Displacement may be achieved manually, but is preferably assisted by employing either a hydraulic or pneumatic arrangement. The illustrated embodiment may be varied in a number of ways in this respect, for instance by instead attaching plate 106 to a cylinder member about a fixed piston member. It should further be noted that the displacement of second main part 102 is mainly employed for loading and unloading the imprint unit 100 with a template and a substrate, and for arranging the imprint unit in an initial operation position. The movement of second main part 102 is, however, preferably not included in the actual imprint process as such in the illustrated embodiment, as will be described.
First main part 101 comprises a peripheral seal member 108, which encircles surface 104. Preferably, seal member 108 is an endless seal such as an o-ring, but may alternatively be composed of several interconnected seal members which together form a continuous seal 108. Seal member 108 is disposed in a recess 109 outwardly of surface 104, and is preferably detachable from said recess. The imprint unit further optionally may comprise a radiation source 110, in the illustrated embodiment disposed in the first main part 101 behind surface 104. Radiation source 110 is connectable to a radiation source driver 111, which preferably comprises or is connected to a power source (not shown). Radiation source driver 111 may be included in the imprint unit 100, or be an external connectable member. A surface portion 112 of surface 104, disposed adjacent to radiation source 110, is formed in a material which is transparent to radiation of a certain wavelength or wavelength range of radiation source 110, preferably UV radiation. This way, radiation emitted from radiation source 110 is transmitted towards spacing 103 between first main part 101 and second main part 102, through said surface portion 112. Surface portion 112, acting as a window, may be formed in available fused silica, quartz, or sapphire.
One embodiment of the imprint unit 100 further comprises mechanical clamping means, for clamping together a substrate and a stamp (not shown). This is particularly preferred in an embodiment with an external alignment system for aligning substrate and stamp prior to pattern transfer, where the aligned stack comprising the stamp and the substrate has to be transferred into the imprint unit. In one embodiment, a template holding device is included (not shown) for securing a template to surface 105. This may be a mechanical template retaining member, such as a chuck or a set of hooks securely holding the template or a template carrier to surface 105. Furthermore, the template holding device may additionally or optionally comprise a vacuum supply source, a conduit connected between the vacuum supply source and an orifice in surface 105, and a seal provided around the orifice. When the template is placed onto surface 105 such that it covers the seal, and vacuum is supplied, the template is held by suction. Typically, both a mechanical holder and a vacuum holder are included, where the first securely holds the template in a process of releasing or demolding an imprinted polymer stamp, and where the vacuum holder is used to securely position the template during the actual imprint process.
In operation, imprint unit 100 is further provided with a flexible membrane 113, which is substantially flat and engages seal member 108. In one embodiment, seal member 113 is a separate member from seal member 108, and is only engaged with seal member 108 by applying a counter pressure from surface 105 of plate 106, as will be explained. However, in an alternative embodiment, membrane 113 is attached to seal member 108, e.g. by means of a cement, or by being an integral part of seal member 108. In such an embodiment, a centre portion, wide enough to completely overlap a template for which the imprint unit is configured to be used with, may be substantially rigid, e.g. by attaching a rigid plate thereto. Furthermore, in such an alternative embodiment, membrane 113 may be firmly attached to main part 101, whereas seal 108 is disposed outwardly of membrane 113. For an embodiment such as the one illustrated, also membrane 113 is formed in a material which is transparent to radiation of a certain wavelength or wavelength range of radiation source 110. This way, radiation emitted from radiation source 110 is transmitted into spacing 103 through said cavity 115 and its boundary walls 104 and 113. Examples of usable materials for membrane 113, for the embodiment of
The imprint unit 100 further preferably comprises means for applying a vacuum between stamp and substrate in order to extract air inclusions from the moldable layer of the stacked sandwich prior to hardening of the layer through UV irradiation. This is exemplified in
A conduit 114 is formed in first main part 101 for allowing a fluid medium, either a gas, a liquid or a gel, to pass to a space defined by surface 104, seal member 108 and membrane 113, which space acts as a cavity 115 for said fluid medium. Conduit 114 is connectable to a pressure source 116, such as a pump, which may be an external or a built in part of imprint unit 100. Pressure source 116 is devised to apply an adjustable pressure, in particular an overpressure, to a fluid medium contained in said cavity 115. An embodiment such as the one illustrated is suitable for use with a gaseous pressure medium. Preferably, said medium is selected from the group containing air, nitrogen, and argon. If instead a gel or a liquid medium is used, such as an hydraulic oil, it is preferred to have the membrane attached to seal member 108.
Once main parts 101 and 102 are engaged to clamp membrane 113, cavity 115 is sealed. Vacuum is applied by suction from vacuum pump 117 to extract air inclusions from the surface layer of the substrate 12. Pressure source 116 is then devised to apply an overpressure to a fluid medium in cavity 115, which may be a gas, a liquid or a gel. The pressure in cavity 115 is transferred by membrane 113 to polymer stamp 10, which is pressed towards substrate 12 for imprinting the polymer stamp pattern in layer 14, cf.
When polymer stamp 10 and substrate 12 have been brought together by means of the applied fluid medium pressure, radiation source is triggered to emit radiation 19. The radiation is transmitted through surface portion 112, which acts as a window, through cavity 115, membrane 113, and polymer stamp 10. The radiation is partly or completely absorbed in layer 14, the material of which thereby is solidified by cross-linking or curing in the perfectly parallel arrangement between polymer stamp 10 and substrate 12, provided by the pressure and membrane assisted compression. Radiation exposure time is dependent on the type and amount of material in layer 14, the radiation wavelength combined with the type of material, and of the radiation power. The feature of solidifying such a polymerizable material is well known as such, and the relevant combinations of the mentioned parameters are likewise known to the skilled person. Once the fluid has solidified to form a layer 14′, further exposure has no major effect. However, after exposure the material of layer 14′ is allowed to post bake, or hard bake, at the predetermined constant temperature Tp for a certain time period of e.g. 1-10 minutes, if postbaking is at all necessary to solidify the layer. For the example of mr-L6000.1 XP, postbaking is typically performed for 1-10 minutes, preferably about 3 minutes, at the common process temperature Tp of 100-120° C. For SU8, the time of exposure to radiation is between 1 and 10 seconds, where the range of 3-5 seconds has been successfully tested, and postbaking is then performed at a Tp of about 70° C. for 30-60 seconds.
With the imprint unit 100 according to the present invention, post-baking may be performed in the imprint machine 100, which means that it is not necessary to bring the substrate out of the imprint unit and into a separate oven. This saves one process step, which makes both time and cost savings possible in the imprint process. By performing the post-baking step while the polymer stamp 10 is still held at a constant temperature Tp, and potentially also with the selected pressure towards substrate 10, and, higher accuracy in the resulting structure pattern in layer 14 is also achieved, which makes it possible to produce finer structures. Following compression, exposure and post-baking, the pressure in cavity 115 is reduced and the two main parts 101 and 102 are separated from one another. After this, the substrate is separated from the polymer stamp and subjected to further treatment according to what is previously known for imprint lithography.
A first mode of the invention involves a substrate 12 of silicon covered by a layer 14 of NIP-K17 with a thickness of 1 μm. After compression by means of membrane 113 with a pressure of 5-100 bar for about 30 seconds, radiation source 110 is turned on. Radiation source 110 is typically devised to emit at least in the ultraviolet region below 400 μm. In a preferred embodiment, an air-cooled xenon lamp with an emission spectrum ranging from 200-1000 nm is employed as the radiation source 110. The preferred xenon type radiation source 110 provides a radiation of 1-10 W/cm2, and is devised to flash 1-5 μs pulses, with a pulse rate of 1-5 pulses per second. A window 112 of quartz is formed in surface 104 for passing through radiation. Exposure time is preferably between 1-30 seconds, for polymerizing fluid layer 14 into a solid layer 14′, but may be up to 2 minutes.
Tests with mr-L6000.1 XP have been performed with about 1.8 W/cm2 integrated from 200-1000 nm, with 1 minute exposure time. It should, in this context, be noted that the radiation used need not be restricted to a wavelength range within which the polymer applied in layer 14 solidifies, radiation outside that range may of course also be emitted from the radiation source used. After successful exposure and subsequent postbaking at a constant process temperature, second main part 102 is lowered to a position similar to that of
By the term constant temperature is meant substantially constant, meaning that even though a temperature controller is set to maintain a certain temperature, the actual temperature obtained will inevitably fluctuate to a certain extent. The stability of the constant temperature is mainly dependent on the accuracy of the temperature controller, and inertia of the entire setup. Furthermore, it is understood that even though the method according to the invention is usable for imprinting extremely fine structures down to single nanometers, a slight temperature variation will not have a major effect as long as the template is not too large. Assuming that the structures at the periphery of the template has a width x, and a reasonable spatial tolerance is a fraction of that width, such as y=x/10, then y becomes the parameter setting the temperature tolerance. In fact, it can easily be calculated which effect differences in thermal expansion will have, by applying the respective coefficients of thermal expansion for the materials of the template and substrate, the size, typically the radius, of the template, and the spatial tolerance parameter y. From such a calculation, a suitable temperature tolerance for the temperature controller can be calculated and applied to the machine for performing the process.
Advantages of the application of flexible polymer foils within a “two-step” imprint process as described above and displayed in
The flexible properties of the used polymer foils alleviate complications of the pattern transfer due to different thermal expansion coefficients of the applied stamp and substrate materials used in the imprint-process. Therefore, the technique offers possibilities to transfer patterns between surfaces of materials characterized by different thermal expansion coefficients. Nevertheless, most polymers used in the application are characterized by quite similar thermal expansion factors typically ranging between 60 and 70×10−6 C−1 making imprints between two different polymer foils as displayed in
The flexible and ductile properties of the used polymer foils prevent the inclusion of air during the imprint between the polymer foil—having either a patterned or non-patterned surface—and the other object—e.g. a substrate covered by a polymer film or a template, comprising silicon, nickel, quartz or a polymer material. If the foil is pressed towards one of these objects as displayed in
Due to the softness of the used polymer foils particles between the polymer foil and the template or object to which it is pressed, as well as pronounced surface roughness of the template or object, evident damages during an imprint process displayed in
Due to the high transparency of the used polymer foils to e.g. UV-radiation, also UV-curable polymers can be used during the imprint process described above, even when non-transparent templates and substrates are used.
The very low surface energies of the most of the applied polymer foils lead to pronounced anti-adhesion properties against other materials, making it ideal to apply them in an imprint process. The deposition of additional anti-adhesion layers on low surface energy polymers is in the most cases not necessary making the process described above simple and industrially applicable. Clearly spoken, it is possible to make the polymer replica stamp in an anti-adhesive material.
The process described above and displayed in
The aging and wear resistance of the used flexible polymer stamps make it possible to apply them several times in the secondary step of the imprint process. Alternatively, the polymer stamps are used only once and are then thrown away. In any case, this enhances the lifetime of the original template 1, which never has to be used for imprint against a hard and non-flexible material.
The flexible and ductile properties of the used polymer foils alleviate demolding of the inflexible stamp or substrate from the flexible foil reducing physical damages on the stamp or the substrate.
Instead of mechanical demolding of the polymer foil from a substrate after performed imprint, the polymer foil can alternatively be chemically dissolved with the help of a suitable solvent. This procedure would be preferred in case of a transfer of patterns having high aspect ratios, i.e. where the depth of a pattern structure is substantially larger than its width, were mechanical demolding could damage the substrate or the stamp.
Not only the pattern on the surface of an original template but also the physical dimension of the original template can easily be transferred into a polymer foil. In some applications the placement of the pattern on the final substrate is critical. For e.g. hard disk drives the pattern should be replicated and aligned to the centre of the disk. Here, the master stamp can be produced with a centre hole. After imprint a relief of the centre hole is formed into the flexible polymer foil, which can be used for aligning the pattern on the foil to the final replicated disk.
A replica generated in a polymer sheet can give access to a novel family development process, which is not executable the common way by nickel-to-nickel plating. Here, the imprinted polymer sheet is first bonded together with a rigid substrate by, e.g., a UV-assisted imprint process. Thereafter the sheet is metallized with a seed layer and electroplated to receive a nickel copy of the original. Many other conversion process are accessible via the described invention.
An embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention will now be described with reference to
First imprint unit 200 comprises a first pair of cooperating support members, main part 201 and main part 202, arranged opposite to one another with an adjustable intermediate first spacing 203. A first press device is included for adjusting the first spacing 203, including a suspension of main part 202 such that it is displaceable towards and away from main part 201. Pure mechanical displacement of second main part 202 may also be used for actually pressing the main parts towards each other, but preferably the actual imprint pressure is provided by fluid pressure and a membrane, as described with reference to
Similarly, second imprint unit 300 comprises a second pair of cooperating support members, main part 301 and main part 302, arranged opposite to one another with an adjustable intermediate first spacing 303. A second press device is included for adjusting the first spacing 303, including a suspension of main part 302 such that it is displaceable towards and away from main part 301. Again, the imprint pressure may also be accomplished by displacement for pressing the main parts towards each other, but preferably the actual imprint pressure is provided by fluid pressure and a membrane, as described with reference to
Cooperating main parts 201 and 202 are suspended in a first support frame 219, and cooperating main parts 301 and 302 are suspended in a second support frame 319. Support frames 219 and 319 are preferably fixed in relation to each other by means of a fixation member, e.g. a set of bolts, either by being directly attached to each other or by both being attached to a common carrier 401. In an alternative embodiment, only one support frame is comprised, in which both the first and the second cooperating main parts are suspended.
A feeder device 410 is operable to move a disc imprinted in the first unit, from the first spacing 203, to the second spacing 303 for use as a stamp in the second imprint unit for imprint on the target surface of a substrate. In one embodiment, illustrated in
After imprint in the first imprint unit, an imprinted disc 5 is generally more or less tightly attached to the template 1, as in
A preferred mode of operation of the imprint apparatus involves successively using one and the same template 1 numerous times for producing intermediate stamps 10, i.e. stamp 5 or 8, in the first imprint unit 200, wherein each intermediate stamp 10 is used only once in the second imprint unit 300 for imprint on each one substrate 12. Occasionally, though, it will be of interest to change template 1. For this purpose, a template charger mechanism is operable to maneuver between a set of selectable templates, e.g. arranged in a stack 421 such as in a template FOUP (Front Opening Universal Pod), and first spacing 203. The template charger mechanism preferably comprises a template grabber 422, devised to engage and grab either a template or a template carrier in which one template is suspended, and a lever arrangement 423. The template charger mechanism is left out in
A disc charger mechanism is operable to maneuver between a set of discs, preferably arranged in a stack 431 such as in a disc FOUP, and first spacing 203. The disc charger mechanism comprises a disc grabber 432, devised to engage and grab a disc from the stack 431, and a lever arrangement 433. The disc grabber 432 may comprise a vacuum suction member devised to engage an upper surface of a fresh disc in the stack 431.
A substrate charger mechanism is operable to maneuver between a set of substrates to be imprinted, preferably arranged in a stack 441 such as in a substrate FOUP, and second spacing 303. The substrate charger mechanism comprises a substrate grabber 442, devised to engage and grab a substrate from the stack 441, and a lever arrangement 443. Also the substrate grabber 442 may comprise a vacuum suction member devised to engage an upper surface of a fresh disc in the stack 431. Alternatively, a tray member may be employed in the substrate grabber 442, for collecting the substrates in the stack be engagement only from underneath the substrates.
A substrate extractor mechanism is operable to maneuver between the second spacing 303 and a port 451 for imprinted substrates. Port 451 may be a second substrate FOUP. In another embodiment, port 451 is a demolding device, operable to release the imprinted substrate from the intermediate stamp. The demolding device may be a mechanical separator devised to pull and peel the intermediate stamp from the imprinted substrate. In an alternative embodiment, the demolding device may comprise a bath with a liquid solution capable of dissolving the intermediate stamp while not affecting the substrate. The substrate extractor mechanism comprises a grabber 452, devised to engage and grab either the imprinted substrate, or more preferably, the upper intermediate stamp, or both, in the second spacing 303, and to remove both the used intermediate stamp and the imprinted substrate to port 451 using a lever arrangement 453. Alternatively, grabber 452 comprises a demolding device operable to release the intermediate stamp from the substrate in the second spacing 303, and to remove the demolded stamp and intermediate stamp. Grabber 452 may comprise a vacuum suction member devised to engage an upper surface, i.e. the non-patterned surface, of the intermediate stamp. Alternatively, a tray member may be employed for collecting the sandwiched substrate and intermediate stamp from underneath the substrate.
In a preferred embodiment, disc 10 is a polymer foil. In such an embodiment static electricity generated on surfaces of the foil is a separate problem. For this purpose, a nozzle 500 is provided for subjecting the polymer foil to a stream or curtain of de-ionizing gas, such as ionized air. Nozzle 500 is connected via a conduit 501 to a de-ionizing gas source (not shown). Nozzle 500 may be carried with the disc grabbing member 411 on feeder device 410, or be separately suspended in relation to support frame 219. In one embodiment, nozzle 500, or another nozzle for providing de-ionizing gas, is operable to pass de-ionizing gas over the polymer foil also before placing it in first spacing 203 and before placing it in second first spacing 303.
In
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In spacing 103, a template 1 is placed on a lower support surface 105. A disc 3, preferably a flexible polymer foil, to be imprinted is placed on top of template 1 with a receiving surface 4 facing a structured surface of template 1, as in
In a subsequent step, when the main parts 101 and 102 are brought together and seal 108 engages and presses membrane 2003 towards support surface 105, vacuum will be supplied from vacuum source 117 through conduit 118 for evacuation of air. However, when membrane 2003 has been placed over disc 3, there may be inclusions of air there between, which may be captured as the pressure around the periphery of disc 3 increases. Since, in a preferred embodiment, disc 3 is a flexible polymer foil which is imprinted by heating it up and above its glass transition temperature, any particle or bubble present between the foil 3 and membrane 2003 will also be transferred to the backside of foil 3. Small distortions will be of no relevance, since the backside of foil 3 is not used. However, bubbles of air or other gas may penetrate through the polymer foil and damage the pattern transferred to the receiving surface of the foil 3 from template 1. In order to minimize this risk, a press roller 2008 is controlled to roll over the side of membrane 2003 facing away from the sandwich arrangement, as is illustrated in
After the imprint process, possibly including postbaking, the main parts 101 and 102 are separated and membrane 2003 is lifted, as is illustrated in
In this embodiment, the feeder device for moving an imprinted disc from the first to the second imprint unit is combined with the function of the disc charger. In the illustrated embodiment, the feeder device comprises a pair of rollers, where a first roller 250 with a fresh blank polymer foil ribbon 252 is provided before the first imprint unit, from which first roller the ribbon is guided through first spacing 203, second spacing 303, and to a second roller 251. As an alternative to rolling up the imprinted polymer foil ribbon 252 after the second imprint unit 300, it may be successively cut up and separated such that each used intermediate stamp portion follows along with the substrate it has imprinted in the second imprint unit for subsequent separation or dissolving of the intermediate stamp.
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The embodiment described with reference to
An alternative embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
Some polymer foils which may be used are:
Topas 8007 from Ticona GmBH, Germany: thermoplastic random co-polymer having a glass temperature of 80° C. Topas is transparent to light with wavelengths above 300 nm and is characterized by a low surface energy. The foil is available in thicknesses of 50-500 μm. 130-140 μm thick foils have been used here. This material may also be employed for injection molding in the first imprint step.
Zeonor ZF14 from Zeon Chemicals, Japan: thermoplastic polymer having a glass temperature of 136° C. and a light transmittance of 92% for wavelengths above 300 nm. A used foil has a thickness of 188 μm but is available in other thicknesses ranging from 50 to 500 μm. This material may also be employed for injection molding in the first imprint step.
Zeonex E48R from Zeon Chemicals, Japan: thermoplastic polymer having a glass temperature of 139° C. and a light transmittance of 92% for wavelength above 350 nm. A used foil has a thickness of 75 μm. This material may also be employed for injection molding in the first imprint step.
Polycarbonate (Bisphenol-A polycarbonate) from Bayer AG, Germany: thermoplastic polymer having a glass temperature of 150° C. and a light transmittance of 91% for wavelength above 350 nm. A used foil has a thickness of 300 μm and is available in many other thicknesses up to 1 mm. This material may also be employed for injection molding in the first imprint step.
A resist material which has been used is SU8 from MicroChem Corp. USA, a photo-resist material, curable after exposure to light having wavelengths between 350 and 400 nm. As an adhesion promoter between the SU8 film and the silicon substrate a thin LOR0.7 film from MicroChem Corp. USA has been used.
The following describes examples of a two-step imprint process for which an imprint apparatus according to the invention may be employed.
A nickel template whose surface exhibits a line pattern, having a line width of 80 nm and a height of 90 nm has been imprinted into a Zeonor ZF14 foil at 150° C. and 50 bar for 3 min. None of the surfaces have been treated by any additional coating such as, e.g. anti-adhesion layers. The release temperature was 135° C., at which the Zeonor foil could mechanically be removed from the nickel surface without damaging the pattern of neither the template nor the replica. The Zeonor foil has been used as a new template, which has been imprinted into a 100 nm thick SU8 film. The SU8 film was spin-coated onto a 20 nm LOR film, previously spin-coated onto a silicon substrate. Also here, none of the surfaces has been treated by an additional coating, having the purpose to improve the anti-adhesion behavior between the SU8 film and the Zeonor foil. The imprint was performed at 70° C. and 50 bar for 3 min. The SU8 film was exposed to UV-light for 4 seconds through the optically transparent Zeonor foil and baked for two more minutes. Both temperature and pressure were kept constant at 70° C. and 50 bar, respectively, during the entire imprint sequence. The release temperature was 70° C. at which the Zeonor foil could mechanically be removed from the SU8 film without damaging the pattern of neither the polymer template foil nor the replica film. The AFM image of an imprint result in the SU8 film deposited on a silicon wafer is shown in
A nickel template whose surface exhibits a BluRay pattern having structure heights of 100 nm and widths of 150 nm—investigated by AFM—has been imprinted into a Zeonor ZF14 using the same process and the same parameters as already described in Example 1. The Zeonor foil has been used as a new template, which has been imprinted into a 100 nm thick SU8 film. Also here the same process and the same parameters as already described in Example 1 have been used. The AFM image of an imprint result in the SU8 film deposited on a silicon wafer is shown in
A nickel template has been used whose surface contains micro-meter patterns with high aspect-ratios ranging from 1-28. The feature size ranges from 600 nm to 12 μm, at a height of 17 μm. The surface has been covered by a phosphate-based anti-adhesion film before the imprint. The nickel template has been imprinted into a polycarbonate foil at 190° C. and 50 bar for 3 min. The surface of the polycarbonate foil has not been treated by an additional coating, having the purpose to improve the anti-adhesion behavior between the Ni template and the polycarbonate film. The release temperature was 130° C., at which the polycarbonate foil could mechanically be removed from the nickel surface without damaging the pattern of neither the template nor the replica. The polycarbonate foil has been used as a new template for an imprint into a Topas foil. The imprint has been performed at 120° C. and 50 bar for 3 min. None of the surfaces has been disposed by an additional coating, having the purpose to improve the anti-adhesion behavior between the polycarbonate and the Topas foil. The release temperature was 70° C., at which the Topas could mechanically be removed from the polycarbonate foil without damaging the pattern of neither the template foil nor the replica foil. The Topas foil has then been used as a new template, which has been imprinted into a 6000 nm thick SU8 film spin-coated onto a silicon substrate. Also here, none of the surfaces has been treated by any additional coating, having the purpose to improve the anti-adhesion behavior between the SU8 film and the Topas foil. The imprint was performed at 70° C. and 50 bar for 3 min. The SU8 film was exposed to UV-light for 4 seconds through the optically transparent Topas foil and baked for two more minutes without changing the temperature of 70° C., or the pressure of 50 bar during the entire process. The release temperature was 70° C. Afterwards the Topas foil has completely been dissolved in p-xylene at 60° C. for one hour. An SEM image of the result is shown in
The Imprint processes given in the examples above have been performed with differently patterned Ni stamps, in some cases covered by phosphate-based anti-adhesion films, using different process parameters. The substrates (2 to 6 inch silicon wafers) have been cleaned by rinsing with isopropanol and acetone directly before spinning the LOR and the SU8 films. The sizes of the applied stamps are 2 to 6 inches. The imprints have been carried out using an Obducat-6-inch-NIL equipment, provided with an UV-module.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in the tapping mode with the help of a NanoScope IIIa microscope from Digital Instruments was carried out to investigate both the imprint results and the stamps after performed imprint.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) has been performed using a Obducat CamScan MX2600 Microscope at 25 kV.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05111920.4 | Dec 2005 | EP | regional |
