Patent Application
20120086142
The present invention relates to an imprint system forming a predetermined pattern in a coating film on a substrate, an imprint method using the imprint system, and a non-transitory computer storage medium.
In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, for example, photolithography processing is performed, for example, on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a “wafer”) to form a predetermined resist pattern on the wafer.
When forming the above-described resist pattern, miniaturization of the resist pattern is required in order for higher integration of the semiconductor device. Generally, the limit of miniaturization in the photolithography processing is about the wavelength of light used in exposure processing. Therefore, conventionally, the wavelength of light for use in the exposure processing has been increasingly reduced. However, there are technical and cost limits in reducing the wavelength of an exposure light source, and it is now difficult to form a fine resist pattern at a level of, for example, several nanometers only by the method of increasingly reducing the wavelength of light.
Hence, it is recently proposed to form a fine resist pattern on the wafer using a so-called imprint method instead of performing photolithography processing on the wafer. This method is to bring a template (referred also to as a mold or a die) having a fine pattern on its front surface into press contact with the resist surface formed on the wafer and then peel off the template to thereby directly transfer the pattern to the resist surface (Patent Document 1).
Incidentally, when the above-described imprint method is repeatedly performed, namely, when resist patterns are formed on a plurality of wafers using one template, the transfer of pattern cannot be correctly performed any longer from a certain point in time. This is caused by deterioration of a release agent, having liquid repellency to a resist, whose film is typically formed on the front surface of the template. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically replace the template.
Further, when different resist patterns are formed on a plurality of wafers, the template needs to be replaced for each resist pattern.
However, efficient replacement of the template is not considered at all in the conventional imprint method. Therefore, for example, when a defect such as deterioration or the like occurs in the template, defective resist patterns will be continuously formed on wafers. Further, for example, when different resist patterns are formed on a plurality of wafers, the templates corresponding to the different resist patterns could not be efficiently replaced in the conventional imprint method. Accordingly, it is actually difficult to successively form predetermined resist patterns on a plurality of wafers, thus failing to cope with mass production of semiconductor devices.
The present invention is made in consideration of the above points, and it is an object to efficiently replace a template and successively form predetermined patterns on a plurality of substrates.
To achieve the above object, the present invention is an imprint system forming a predetermined pattern in a coating film on a substrate, the imprint system including: an imprint unit transferring a transfer pattern to the coating film on the substrate using a template having the transfer pattern formed on a front surface thereof to form a predetermined pattern in the coating film; a treatment station connected to the imprint unit and performing a predetermined treatment on the template; a template carry-in/out station connected to the treatment station, capable of keeping a plurality of the templates, and carrying the template in/out from/to the treatment station; a carry line provided through the imprint unit and carrying the template between the imprint unit and the treatment station; and a substrate carry-in/out station connected to the imprint unit, capable of keeping a plurality of the substrates, and carrying the substrate in/out from/to the imprint unit. Further, the imprint unit includes a substrate holding part holding the substrate, a template holding part holding a template carried by the carry line, and a moving mechanism raising and lowering the template holding part, and the substrate holding part and the template holding part are arranged such that the substrate held by the substrate holding part and the template held by the template holding part face each other.
Since the imprint system of the present invention has the substrate carry-in/out station and the template carry-in/out station and templates can be successively carried by the carry line between the treatment station and the imprint unit, it is possible to form a predetermined pattern on a substrate using a template and then successively replace the template with other templates in the imprint unit. This ensures that before the template deteriorates or even when different patterns are formed on a plurality of substrates, the template in the imprint unit can be successively and efficiently replaced. Accordingly, predetermined patterns can be successively formed on a plurality of substrates.
The present invention according to another aspect is an imprint method using an imprint system, the imprint system including: an imprint unit transferring a transfer pattern to a coating film formed on a substrate using a template having the transfer pattern formed on a front surface thereof to form a predetermined pattern in the coating film; a treatment station connected to the imprint unit and performing a predetermined treatment on the template; a template carry-in/out station connected to the treatment station, capable of keeping a plurality of the templates, and carrying the template in/out from/to the treatment station side; a carry line provided throughout the imprint unit and the treatment station, and carrying the template between the treatment station and the imprint unit; and a substrate carry-in/out station connected to the imprint unit, capable of keeping a plurality of the substrates, and carrying the substrate in/out from/to the imprint unit side, the imprint method including the steps of: forming a predetermined pattern on a substrate using one of the templates in the imprint unit; and then carrying the one template out of the imprint unit and carrying another of the templates into the imprint unit and replacing the template in the imprint unit.
The present invention in still another aspect is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program running on a computer of a control unit controlling an imprint system to cause the imprint system to execute the above-described imprint method.
According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently replace a template and successively form predetermined patterns on a plurality of substrates.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the imprint system 1 of this embodiment, a template T which has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a predetermined transfer pattern C formed on its front surface as illustrated in
The imprint system 1 has, as illustrated in
In the template carry-in/out station 2, a cassette mounting table 10 is provided. The cassette mounting table 10 is configured such that a plurality of template cassettes CT can be mounted thereon in a line in an X-direction (a top and bottom direction in
In the template carry-in/out station 2, a template carrying body 12 is provided which is movable on a carry path 11 extending in the X-direction. The template carrying body 12 is also movable in a vertical direction and around the vertical (in a O-direction), and thus can carry the template T to the imprint unit 4 side, namely, between the template cassette CT and the treatment station 3.
In the treatment station 3 and the imprint unit 4, a carry line A for carrying the template T between the treatment station 3 and the imprint unit 4 is provided. The carry line A has, for example, a first carry line A1 for carrying the template T carried out of the template carry-in/out station 2 to the imprint unit and a second carry line A2 for carrying the template T carried from the imprint unit into the carry-in/out station 2. In these first carry line A1 and second carry line A2, a later-described plurality of carry rollers 60, 61 are arranged side by side so that the template T can be carried by roller carry (roller-conveyer method). The carry line A1 is arranged on the front side in the treatment station 3 (on an X-direction negative direction side in
On the carry line A1 in the treatment station 3, a release agent forming section 26 is provided which forms a film of a release agent on the template T carried toward the imprint unit 4. In the release agent forming section 26, a transition unit 20 for passing the template T, a pre-cleaning unit 21 cleaning the front surface T1 before a film of the release agent is formed on the template T, a release agent coating unit 22 applying a liquid release agent to the template T, a heating unit 23 performing heat treatment on the template T, a temperature regulation unit 24 regulating the temperature of the template T, and a rinse unit 25 rinsing the release agent on the template T away are linearly arranged in a line in order from the template carry-in/out station 2 side to the imprint unit 4 side as illustrated in
On the carry line A2 in the treatment station 3, a template cleaning section 27 is provided which removes the release agent on the template T carried from the imprint unit 4 to clean the front surface of the template T. In the template cleaning section 27, a post-cleaning unit 31 cleaning the front surface T1 of a used template T, an inspection unit 32 inspecting the cleaned front surface T1 of the template T, and a transition unit 33 are linearly arranged in a line in order from the imprint unit 4 side to the template carry-in/out station 2 side. Note that the post-cleaning unit 31 may further clean the rear surface T2 of the template T, and the inspection unit 32 may further inspect the rear surface T2 of the template T.
In the wafer carry-in/out station 5, a cassette mounting table 50 is provided. The cassette mounting table 50 is configured such that a plurality of wafer cassettes CW can be mounted thereon in a line in the X-direction (the top and bottom direction in
In the wafer carry-in/out station 5, a wafer carrying body 52 is provided which is movable on a carry path 51 extending in the X-direction. The wafer carrying body 52 is also movable in the vertical direction and around the vertical (in the O-direction), and thus can carry the wafer W between the wafer cassette CW and the imprint unit 4.
In the wafer carry-in/out station 5, an alignment unit 53 adjusting the orientation of the wafer W is further provided. In the alignment unit 53, the orientation of the wafer W is adjusted based on, for example, the position of a notch portion of the wafer W. Further, a reversing unit 54 reversing the front and rear surfaces of the wafer W is provided in the wafer carry-in/out station 5.
Next, the configuration of the aforementioned imprint unit 4 will be described. The imprint unit 4 has a casing 55 having a carry-in/out port E1 for the template T and a carry-in/out port E2 for the wafer W which are formed in its side surfaces as illustrated in
In the casing 55, a plurality of rollers 60, 61 are arranged as illustrated in
The template T is mounted on the carry rollers 60, 61 such that the front surface T1 faces upward, namely, the rear surface T2 is supported on the upper surfaces of the carry rollers 60, 61. Each of the carry rollers 60, 61 is configured to be rotatable around its center axis as a rotation axis. Further, drive mechanisms (not illustrated) having, for example, motors or the like built therein are provided at predetermined intervals so that at least one of the carry rollers 60, 61 among the plurality of carry rollers 60, 61 in contact with the template T can carry the template T. On both end sides of the center axis of the carry roller 60, 61, for example, carry guides (not illustrated) supporting the side surfaces of the template T are provided to prevent the template T from tumbling down from the almost U-shape portion when the template T is carried on the carry rollers 60, 61 arranged in the almost U-shape.
On the bottom surface in the casing 55, a template holding part 62 supporting the lower surface of the template T is provided as illustrated in
The template holding part 62 has a light source 65 provided below the template T held by the chuck 63. From the light source 65, for example, light such as visible light, near ultraviolet light, ultraviolet light is emitted. The carry roller 60 corresponding to above the light source 65 has a shape that it is cut out at a position corresponding to above the light source 65 so as not to block the light from the light source 65 as illustrated in
As illustrated in
On the arm 71, a resist solution nozzle 72 as a coating solution supply part supplying a resist solution as a coating solution onto the template T is supported. The resist solution nozzle 72 has an elongated shape along the X-direction having, for example, the size equal to or longer than the dimension of one side of the template T. For the resist solution nozzle 72, for example, an ink-jet type nozzle is used, and a plurality of supply ports (not illustrated) formed in a line along the longitudinal direction are formed at a lower portion of the resist solution nozzle 72. The resist solution nozzle 72 can precisely control the supply timing of the resist solution, the supply amount of the resist solution and so on.
The arm 71 is movable on the rail 70 by means of a nozzle drive part 73. Thus, the resist solution nozzle 72 can move from a waiting section 74 provided at a Y-direction positive direction side outer position in the casing 55 to a position above the template T on the carry rollers 60, 61 and further move in the Y-direction above the front surface of the template T. Further, the arm 71 is movable up and down by means of the nozzle drive part 73 to be able to adjust the height of the resist solution nozzle 72.
On the ceiling surface in the casing 55 and above the carry rollers 60, 61, a wafer holding part 80 is provided as illustrated in
Next, the carry of the template T on the above-described carry lines A1, A2 will be described. Also on the carry line A1, the above-described plurality of carry rollers 60 are arranged next to each other along the carry line A1 through the casing of the imprint unit 4 as illustrated in
Next, the configuration of the aforementioned transition unit 20 on the carry line A1 will be described. The transition unit 20 on the carry line A1 has raising and lowering pins 110 for supporting the template T from below and raising and lowering the template T as illustrated in
Note that the configuration of the transition unit 33 on the carry line A2 is the same as that of the above-described transition unit 20, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.
Next, the configurations of the aforementioned treatment units 21 to 25 on the carry line A1 will be described. On the carry line A1, a casing 120 is provided as illustrated in
The pre-cleaning unit 21 has an ultraviolet irradiation part 130 irradiating the template T with ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet irradiation part 130 is disposed above the carry rollers 60 and extends in the width direction of the template T (the longitudinal direction of the carry roller 60). The ultraviolet irradiation part 130 irradiates the front surface T1 of the template T during carry on the carry rollers 60 with ultraviolet light, whereby the entire front surface T1 of the template T is irradiated with the ultraviolet light. Note that “during carry of the template T” also includes the case that the template T is temporarily stopped on the carry rollers 60.
The release agent coating unit 22 includes a release agent nozzle 131 supplying a release agent onto the template T. The release agent nozzle 131 is disposed above the carry rollers 60. Further, the release agent nozzle 131 extends in the width direction of the template T and has a supply port (not illustrated) in a slit shape formed in its lower surface. The release agent nozzle 131 supplies the release agent onto the front surface T1 of the template T during moving on the carry rollers 60, whereby the release agent is applied over the entire front surface T1. To the release agent coating unit 22, a drain pipe (not illustrated) recovering and draining the release agent dropping from the template T and an exhaust pipe (not illustrated) exhausting the atmosphere in the release agent coating unit 22 are connected. Note that as the material of the release agent, a material having liquid repellency to a later-described resist film on the wafer W, for example, a fluorocarbon resin or the like is used.
The heating unit 23 has a heating plate 132 disposed above the carry rollers 60. Inside the heating plate 132, a heater generating heat, for example, by power feeding is provided to be able to regulate the heating plate 132 to a predetermined set temperature. Note that the heating plate 132 extends in the width direction of the template T and can heat the template T during carry on the carry rollers 60 from the front surface T1 side. Note that, to the heating unit 23, an exhaust pipe (not illustrated) exhausting the atmosphere in the heating unit 23 is connected. Further, the heating plate 132 heats the template T from the front surface T1 side in the illustrated example, but may heat the template T from the rear surface T2 side. More specifically, the heating plate may be disposed at the same height as the carry rollers 60 or disposed below the carry rollers 60. Further, both the heating plates may be disposed to heat the template T from both sides of the front surface T1 and the rear surface T2.
In the temperature regulation unit 24, part of the carry rollers 60 constitute temperature regulation rollers 60a. Inside the temperature regulation rollers 60a, a cooling water cooling the template T circulates. Further, a gas supply part 133 spraying, for example, gaseous gas such an inert gas of nitrogen or dry air downward is disposed above the carry rollers 60. The gas supply part 133 extends in the width direction of the template T to be able to spray the gaseous gas to the entire front surface T1 of the template T during carry. By the temperature regulation rollers 60a and the gas supply part 133, the template T is regulated to a predetermined temperature. Note that to the temperature regulation unit 24, an exhaust pipe (not illustrated) exhausting the atmosphere in the temperature regulation unit 24 is connected.
The rinse unit 25 has a rinse solution nozzle 134 supplying an organic solvent as a rinse solution for the release agent onto the template T and a gas nozzle 135 spraying, for example, gaseous gas such an inert gas of nitrogen or dry air onto the template T. The rinse solution nozzle 134 and the gas nozzle 135 are arranged above the carry rollers 60 in this order from the temperature regulation unit 24 side. Further, each of the rinse solution nozzle 134 and the gas nozzle 135 extends in the width direction of the template T and has a supply port (not illustrated) in a slit shape formed in its lower surface. Further, the release agent on the template T during carry on the carry rollers 60 can be rinsed away by the rinse solution nozzle 134, and the rinsed front surface T1 of the template T can be then dried by the gas nozzle 135. Note that to the rinse unit 25, a drain pipe (not illustrated) recovering and draining the organic solvent dropping from the template T and an exhaust pipe (not illustrated) exhausting the atmosphere in the rinse unit 25 are connected.
Next, the configuration of the aforementioned post-cleaning unit 31 on the carry line A2 will be described. In the post-cleaning unit 31, a casing 140 is provided as illustrated in
Inside the treatment space 140a on the imprint unit 4 side of the post-cleaning unit 31, an ultraviolet irradiation part 143 irradiating the template T with ultraviolet light is provided. Further, in the treatment space 140b on the inspection unit 32 side, a cleaning solution nozzle 144 supplying a cleaning solution onto the template T and a gas nozzle 145 spraying, for example, gaseous gas such an inert gas of nitrogen or dry air onto the template T are provided in this order from the imprint unit 4 side. The ultraviolet irradiation part 143, the cleaning solution nozzle 144, and the gas nozzle 145 are arranged above the carry rollers 61. The ultraviolet irradiation part 143 extends in the width direction of the template T (the longitudinal direction of the carry roller 61). The cleaning solution nozzle 144 and the gas nozzle 145 also extend in the width direction of the template T and have supply ports (not illustrated) in a slit shape formed in their lower surfaces. The ultraviolet irradiation part 143 applies ultraviolet light onto the template T during carry on the carry rollers 61 and the cleaning solution nozzle 144 then supplies the cleaning solution onto the template T to thereby be able to clean the front surface T1 of the template T. Further, the cleaned front surface T1 of the template T can be then dried by the gaseous gas from the gas nozzle 145. To the post-cleaning unit 31, a drain pipe (not illustrated) recovering and draining the cleaning solution dropping from the template T and an exhaust pipe (not illustrated) exhausting the atmosphere in the post-cleaning unit 31 are connected. Note that, for example, organic solvent or pure water is used for the cleaning solution, and IPA (isopropyl alcohol), dibutyl ether, cyclohexane or the like is used as the organic solvent.
Next, the configuration of the aforementioned reversing unit 54 for the wafer W will be described. The reversing unit 54 has a casing 150 having a carry-in/out port (not illustrated) for the wafer W formed in its side surface as illustrated in
In the casing 150, a reversing mechanism 160 reversing the front and rear surfaces of the wafer W is provided. The reversing mechanism 160 has a pair of holding parts 161, 161 capable of moving close to or away from each other. The holding parts 161 have frame parts 162 configured in an almost ¾ circular ring shape to conform to the outer diameter of the wafer W and arm parts 163 supporting the frame parts 162, and the frame part 162 and the arm part 163 are integrally formed. The frame part 162 is provided with a fastening part 164 for holding the wafer W, and a tapered groove (not illustrated) is formed at the fastening part 164. The pair of separated holding parts 161, 161 move close to each other, whereby the outer peripheral portion of the wafer W is inserted into the tapered grooves of the fastening parts 74 and the template T is thereby supported.
The holding parts 161 are supported by a rotation drive part 165 as illustrated in
In the above imprint system 1, a control unit 200 is provided as illustrated in
The imprint system 1 according to this embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the imprint processing performed in the imprint system 1 will be described.
First of all, a template T is taken by the template carrying body 12 out of the template cassette CT on the cassette mounting table 10 and carried to the transition unit 20 in the treatment station 3 (Step F1 in
The template T carried into the transition unit 20 is mounted on the carry rollers 60 by the raising and lowering pin 110 and carried by roller carry along the carry line A1 at a predetermined speed. On the carry line A1, the template T is carried sequentially to the transition unit 20, the pre-cleaning unit 21, the release agent coating unit 22, the heating unit 23, the temperature regulation unit 24, and the rinse unit 25, and predetermined treatments are performed on the template T during carry in the treatment units 21 to 25.
More specifically, on the carry line A1, ultraviolet light is first applied from the ultraviolet irradiation part 130 onto the template T in the pre-cleaning unit 21, whereby the front surface T1 of the template T is cleaned as illustrated in
During the time when the predetermined treatments are performed on the template T in the treatment station 3 in this manner and the template T is carried to the imprint unit 4, a wafer W is taken by the wafer carrying body 52 out of the wafer cassette CW on the cassette mounting table 50 and carried to the alignment unit 53 in the wafer carry-in/out station 5. Then, in the alignment unit 53, the orientation of the wafer W is adjusted based on the position of the notch portion of the wafer W. The wafer W is then reversed by the reversing unit 54 and carried to the imprint unit 4 (Step F6 in
Then, after the template T is carried into the imprint unit 4, the resist nozzle 72 is moved in the Y-direction in
Upon formation of the resist film R on the template T, the wafer W held by the wafer holding part 80 is moved to a predetermined position in the horizontal direction to be aligned, and the lower surface of the template T is held by the chuck 63 of the template holding part 62. The template T held by the template holding part 62 is then rotated in a predetermined orientation. The template T is then moved up toward the wafer W as illustrated by an arrow in
Thereafter, the template T is moved down as illustrated in FIG. 13(g), whereby the resist pattern P is formed on the wafer W. In this event, since the release agent S has been applied on the front surface T1 of the template T, the resist on the wafer W never adheres to the front surface T1 of the template T. Thereafter, the wafer W is passed to the wafer carrying body 52, and carried from the imprint unit 4 to the wafer carry-in/out station 5 and returned to the wafer cassette CW (Step F9 in
By repeatedly performing the above-described Steps F6 to F9 (a part surrounded by a dotted line in
Then, after Steps F6 to F9 are performed on a predetermined number of wafers W, the used template T is carried from the carry rollers 60 to the carry rollers 61 and carried by the carry rollers 61 out of the imprint unit 4 to the carry line A2 (Step F10 in
The used template T carried to the carry rollers 61 on the carry line A2 is carried by roller carry along the carry line A2 at a predetermined speed. On the carry line A2, the used template T is carried sequentially to the post-cleaning unit 31, the inspection unit 32, and the transition unit 33, and predetermined treatments are performed on the template T during carry in the treatment units 31, 32.
More specifically, on the carry line A2, the ultraviolet light is first applied onto the template T from the ultraviolet irradiation part 143 in the post-cleaning unit 31. Then, the release agent S on the template T vaporizes, and almost all of the release agent S is removed. Subsequently, the cleaning solution is supplied from the cleaning solution nozzle 144 to the release agent S remaining on the template T, and the gaseous gas is then sprayed from the gas nozzle 145 onto the template T, whereby the front surface T1 is dried. In this manner, the release agent S on the template T is removed, whereby the front surface T1 is cleaned (Step F11 in
The template T carried to the transition unit 33 is passed by the raising and lowering pins 110 to the template carrying body 12 and returned to the template cassette CT. Note that when the inspection result by the inspection unit 32 is good, for example, when the front surface T1 of the template T has been appropriately cleaned and the front surface T1 has not deteriorated, the template T returned to the template cassette CT is used again in the imprint system 1. On the other hand, when the inspection result by the inspection unit 32 is bad, for example, when the front surface T1 of the template T has deteriorated, the template T is carried to the outside of the imprint system 1.
In this manner, predetermined resist patterns P are successively formed on a plurality of wafers W while the template T is successively replaced in the imprint system 1.
The imprint system 1 in the above embodiment has the template carry-in/out station 2 and the wafer carry-in/out station 5 and the templates T can be successively carried by the carry rollers 60, 61, so that after predetermined patterns are formed on substrates using a template T in the imprint unit 4, the template T can be successively replaced with other templates T. Thus, for example, before the template T deteriorates or even when different patterns are formed on a plurality of wafers W, the template T in the imprint unit 4 can be successively and efficiently replaced. Accordingly, predetermined patterns can be successively formed on a plurality of wafers W. This also enables realization of mass production of semiconductor devices.
Further, since the predetermined treatments are performed on the template T during carry on a plurality of carry rollers 60, 61 on the carry line A1 and the carry line A2 in the treatment station 3, the predetermined treatments can be successively performed on the plurality of templates T.
Further, since the release agent forming section 26, namely, the treatment units 20 to 25 are provided in the treatment station 3, the templates T can be successively supplied into the imprint unit 4 while films of the release agent S are being formed on the templates T in the imprint system 1. Accordingly, the template in the imprint unit 4 can be more efficiently replaced.
Furthermore, since the template cleaning section 27, namely, the post-cleaning unit 31 is provided in the treatment station 3, the front surface T1 of the used template T can be cleaned in the imprint system 1. Thus, the template T can be used again in the imprint system 1.
Further, since the ultraviolet irradiation part 143 and the cleaning solution nozzle 144 are provided in the post-cleaning unit 31, the front surface T1 of the template T can be cleaned both with the ultraviolet light applied from the ultraviolet irradiation part 143 and the cleaning solution supplied from the cleaning solution nozzle 144. In other words, since both dry cleaning and wet cleaning are performed on the template T, the front surface T1 of the template T can be surely cleaned.
Moreover, since the inspection unit 32 is provided in the treatment station 3, the front surface T1 of the template T after the cleaning can be inspected. Then, based on the inspection result, for example, whether to use the template T again in the imprint system 1 or to carry the template T to the outside of the imprint system 1 can be decided. This makes it possible to effectively use the template T and avoid the use of a defective template T in the imprint system 1, thus appropriately forming predetermined resist patterns P on a plurality of wafers W.
According to the above embodiment, since the resist solution is applied onto the template T, it is possible to rapidly and efficiently form the resist pattern P on the wafer W in the imprint unit 4. Specifically, this is because it is unnecessary to perform alignment of the template T since the resist solution is applied onto the template T, unlike the case when the resist solution is applied onto the wafer W in which case after the resist nozzle is aligned to a predetermined position in the horizontal direction of the wafer W and applies the resist solution, the position in the horizontal direction of the template T needs to be aligned to a position corresponding to the applied resist solution.
Though both the carry line A1 and the carry line A2 are provided in the treatment station 3 of the above embodiment, a treatment station 210 including only the carry line A1 may be provided and the treatment units 31, 32 on the carry line A2 may be omitted, for example, as illustrated in
Further, a treatment station 220 including only the carry line A2 may be provided and the treatment units 21 to 25 on the carry line A1 may be omitted, for example, as illustrated in
Further, for example, a treatment station 230 including only the carry line A1 and the carry rollers 60 and a treatment station 240 including only the carry line A2 and the carry rollers 61 may be linearly arranged in a line with the imprint unit 4 between them as illustrated in
In any case, the template T in the imprint unit 4 can be successively replaced, and predetermined patterns P can be successively formed on a plurality of wafers W.
Further, the operation of applying the resist solution onto the template T performed in the imprint unit 4 in the above embodiment may be performed in a treatment station. In this case, a treatment station 260 is used in which a resist coating unit 250 as a coating unit applying the resist solution onto the template T is disposed between the imprint unit 4 and the rinse unit 25 on the carry line A1, for example, as illustrated in
In this case, the template T on which the resist film R has been formed is carried into the imprint unit 4, so that after the resist pattern P is formed on one wafer W, the used template T is replaced. This reduces the number of treatment steps in the imprint unit 4, thus making it possible to rapidly form the resist pattern P on the wafer W.
Further, in the case of using the treatment station 260, a plurality of, for example, three treatment stations 260 may be provided radially with respect to the imprint unit 4 as illustrated in
Further, a coating unit 250 may be provided in the treatment station 230, and a plurality of treatment stations 230, 240 may be radially connected to the imprint unit 4, for example, as illustrated in
Moreover, treatment stations 270 in each of which the treatment station 230 including the coating unit 250 and the treatment station 240 are linearly arranged may be radially connected to the imprint unit 4 as illustrated in
Note that the arrangement of the plurality of treatment stations provided for the imprint unit 4 is not limited to the radial shape, but the treatment stations may be connected to the imprint unit 4 from any direction as long as the template T can be carried to/from the imprint unit 4.
In any of the cases illustrated in
Though both the ultraviolet irradiation part 143 and the cleaning solution nozzle 144 are provided in the post-cleaning unit 31 of the above embodiment, only one of them may be provided. For example, when the front surface T1 of the template T is cleaned only by application of the ultraviolet light, only the ultraviolet irradiation part 143 may be provided and the cleaning solution nozzle 144 may be omitted in the post-cleaning unit 31 illustrated in
Though the release agent S is applied to the front surface T1 of the template T by supplying the liquid release agent S from the release agent nozzle 131 onto the template T in the release agent coating unit 22 of the treatment station 3 in the above embodiment, a film of the release agent S may be formed by depositing a vaporized release agent on the front surface T1 of the template T. In this case, a release agent coating unit 300 is arranged on the carry line A1 of the imprint system 1 as illustrated in
The release agent coating unit 300 has a casing 301 therein as illustrated in
To the casing 301, a release agent nozzle 303 supplying a vaporized release agent onto the template T and an exhaust pipe 304 exhausting the atmosphere in the casing 301 are connected. The release agent nozzle 303 and the exhaust pipe 304 are provided in this order from the pre-cleaning unit 21 side. Then, the vaporized release agent supplied from the release agent nozzle 303 flows in the direction of carry of the template T along the carry line A1 and is deposited along the transfer pattern C on the front surface T1 of the template T.
The carry rollers 60 inside the casing 301 constitute temperature control rollers 60b. Inside the temperature control rollers 60b, a temperature regulating water at a predetermined temperature circulates. By the temperature control rollers 60b, the template T can be set to a predetermined temperature.
Next, a method of forming a film of the release agent S on the template T in the treatment station 3 in which the release agent coating unit 300 is arranged will be described.
In the treatment station 3, the template T is first carried to the pre-cleaning unit 21, in which the front surface T1 of the template T is cleaned as illustrated in
According to the above embodiment, since the vaporized release agent S0 is deposited along the transfer pattern C of the template T, it is unnecessary to rinse the release agent S away. Accordingly, it is possible to more smoothly form a film of the release agent S on the template T in the treatment station 3 and thereby improve the throughput of the imprint processing in the imprint system 1.
Note that after the vaporized release agent S0 is supplied onto the front surface T1 of the template T in the release agent coating unit 300, the release agent S0 may be dried under reduced pressure. In this case, the carry of the template T in the release agent coating unit 300 may be temporarily stopped.
Though the template T is individually carried and treated in the template carry-in/out station 2 and the treatment station 3 in the above embodiment, a plurality of, for example, nine templates T may be held by one holder 350 and treated as illustrated in
According to this embodiment, a plurality of templates T held by the holder 350 can be carried at a time to the imprint unit 4 side. Further, it is possible to perform predetermined treatments on the plurality of templates T at a time in the treatment station 3. Therefore, it is possible to more efficiently replace the template T in the imprint unit 4. Moreover, when, for example, nine templates T having the same transfer pattern C are held by the one holder 350, a plurality of transfer patterns C can be transferred onto the wafer W at a time by the plurality of templates T in the imprint unit 4, so that the transfer of the transfer patterns C to the wafer W can be more efficiently performed.
Though the template holding part 62 is provided below the wafer holding part 80 in the imprint unit 4 in the above embodiment, a reversing unit reversing the template T carried by the carry rollers 60 may be provided, in place of the reversing unit 54 for the wafer W, outside or inside the imprint unit 4, the template holding part 62 may be disposed at the ceiling of the casing 55, and the wafer holding part 80 may be disposed at the bottom surface of the casing 55.
In this case, since the template T is smaller than the wafer W, the front and rear surfaces of the template T can be easily reversed.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. It should be understood that various changes and modifications are readily apparent to those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical spirit as set forth in claims, and those should also be covered by the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments but can take various forms. The present invention is also applicable to the case where the substrate is a substrate other than the wafer, such as an FPD (Flat Panel Display), a mask reticle for a photomask or the like.
The present invention is useful in transferring a transfer pattern to a coating film formed on a substrate using a template having the transfer pattern formed on a front surface thereof to form a predetermined pattern in the coating film.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-149935 | Jun 2009 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2010/060464 | 6/21/2010 | WO | 00 | 12/14/2011 |
