Imprint apparatus and method for producing article

• US 10,386,737 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2016
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Shinoda, Ken-ichiro, Ota, Shunsuke, Miyaharu, Takafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Daniels, Matthew J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Yunju
• Application Number:
  US15/177,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20160363875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,168 Days
• Field of Search: 264 401, 264 405, 425150
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/0002 Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7042 Alignment for lithographic apparatus using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping or imprinting non-exposure lithographic processes per se G03F7/0002

Abstract

An imprint apparatus which forms a pattern of an imprint material in a region to be processed on a substrate by using a mold includes an observing unit configured to include a light source which emits first light and a receiving unit which receives the first light which is emitted from the light source, is reflected by the region to be processed, and passes through the mold; a deforming unit configured to thermally deform the region to be processed by illumination with second light; and a combining member which combines the first light of the light source and the second light from the deforming unit and guides the first light and the second light to the region to be processed.

Claims

1. An imprint apparatus which forms a pattern of an imprint material in a region on a substrate by using a mold, comprising:

a first optical member configured to guide first and second lights to the region;

a first light source configured to emit the first light by means of the first optical member to the region to observe the region;

a second light source configured to emit the second light having a first wavelength by means of the first optical member to the region to deform the region;

a third light source configured to emit a third light having a second wavelength to cure the imprint material on the deformed region;

a light shielding member configured to selectively shield the first light and the second light; and

a driving unit which drives the light shielding member,

wherein the second and third light sources are different, and the first wavelength is longer than the second wavelength.

2. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first optical member is a dichroic mirror.

3. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first optical member is a mirror which transmits a part of incident light and reflects residual light in a predetermined direction.

4. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, during a contact operation of making the mold and the imprint material contact with each other, the light shielding member is driven so that the light shielding member shields the second light and does not shield the first light.

5. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, during a predetermined time period in a period until curing of the imprint material by the third light source is finished after a contact operation is finished, the driving unit drives the light shielding member so that the light shielding member shields the first light and does not shield the second light.

6. The imprint apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, during a predetermined time period in a period until curing of the imprint material the third light source is finished after the contact operation is finished, the driving unit drives the light shielding member so that the light shielding member shields the first light and does not shield the second light.

7. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding member has an opening part, and the driving unit moves a position of the opening part to thereby switch light to be shielded by the light shielding member.

8. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is a driving unit which rotates the light shielding member around a rotation axis, and a position of the rotation axis on a plane along a light shielding plane of the light shielding member is between an optical path of the first light and an optical path of the second light.

9. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second optical member which has a property that transmittance of the first light is higher than transmittance of the second light and which is arranged on an optical path of the first light.

10. The imprint apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second optical member includes a band pass filter.

11. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an observing unit configured to observe a state of the imprint material between the mold and the region to be processed by using the first light.

12. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first wavelength has a range from 400 nm to 2,000 nm.

13. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wavelength has a range from 300 nm to 380 nm.

14. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a second optical element configured to pass one of the second and third lights, and reflect the other of the second and third lights.

15. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second optical element configured to pass the second light, and reflect the third light,

wherein the region is deformed by the passed second light, and the imprint material is cured by the reflected third light.

16. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a second optical element configured to receive the second and third lights from different optical paths;

and

wherein the second optical element is configured to guide the received first and second lights to a same optical path.

17. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding member takes one of three states:

a first state to shield the first light and transmit the second light, a second state to transmit the first light and shield the second light, and a third state to shield both the first light and the second light.