METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRECISION SURFACE MODIFICATION IN NANO-IMPRINT LITHOGRAPHY

• US 20100098862A1
• Filed: 10/01/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intevac
• Original Assignee: Intevac
• Inventors: PETERSEN, Carl T. III, XU, Ren, LIU, Charles
• Granted Patent: US 8,697,189 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/299
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/54 Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating
• 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: G11B 5/85 Coating a support with a magnetic layer by vapour deposition
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/855 Coating only part of a support with a magnetic layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67225 comprising at least one lithography chamber lithographic apparatuses G03F7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67736 Loading to or unloading from a conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67754 horizontal transfer of a batch of workpieces

Abstract

A scalable, high-throughput nanoimprint lithography priming tool includes a dual-reactant chemical vapor deposition reactor chamber, a mandrel configured to hold a plurality of hard disks at an inner diameter of the hard disks, and a transport mechanism to move the plurality of hard disks into and out of the chamber. The tool may also include a transfer tool to transfer the plurality of hard disks to additional chambers for processing.

Claims

1. A nanoimprint lithography priming tool comprising:

a dual-reactant chemical vapor deposition reactor chamber;

a mandrel configured to hold a plurality of hard disks at an inner diameter of the hard disks; and

a transport mechanism to move the plurality of hard disks into the chamber.

2. The tool of claim 1, wherein the mandrel is movable outside of the chamber for loading the hard disks and inside the chamber for processing.

3. The tool of claim 1, wherein the chamber is configured to operate at a first pressure regime and a second pressure regime.

4. The tool of claim 3, wherein the first pressure regime is a low vacuum steady flow reaction and wherein the second pressure regime is a high vacuum closed system reaction.

5. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a pump coupled to the chamber and a molecular sieve filter for removal of reactants/products before reaching a pumping manifold coupled to the pump.

6. The tool of claim 1, wherein the mandrel is configured to transfer the plurality of disks from a cassette.

7. The tool of claim 1, wherein the mandrel is configured to transfer the plurality of disks from a plurality of cassettes.

8. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of chambers linearly aligned and configured to parallel process a plurality of hard disks on a plurality of mandrels.

9. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of mandrels configured to simultaneously transport a plurality of hard disks into the chamber for simultaneous processing of the plurality of hard disks in the chamber.

10. The tool of claim 6, wherein the transport mechanism comprises:

a linear drive to transfer the mandrel linearly;

a cassette conveyor to transfer the cassette linearly; and

a lift to lift the cassette from the cassette conveyor to a loading level that allows the mandrel to engage the plurality of disks.

11. A hard disk fabrication system comprising:

an enclosure;

a chamber in the enclosure;

a transport system to transfer a cassette containing a plurality of hard disks into and within the enclosure; and

a mandrel configured to transfer the plurality of hard disks from the cassette and into the chamber.

12. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 11, further comprising:

a transport system to transfer multiple cassettes containing a plurality of hard disks into and within the enclosure; and

a mandrel configured to transfer the plurality of hard disks from multiple cassettes and into the chamber.

13. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 11, further comprising a second chamber in the enclosure, and wherein the transport system is further configured to transfer the cassette from the chamber to the second chamber.

14. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 11, wherein the transport mechanism comprises:

a linear drive to transfer the mandrel linearly;

a cassette conveyor to transfer the cassette linearly; and

a lift to lift the cassette from the cassette conveyor to a loading level that allows the mandrel to engage the plurality of disks.

15. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 14, further comprising:

wherein the cassette conveyor transfers a plurality of cassettes linearly; and

wherein the lift lifts multiple cassettes from the cassette conveyor to the loading level that allows the mandrel to engage the plurality of disks.

16. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 11, wherein the chamber comprises a vacuum pump configured to establish a first pressure regime and a second pressure regime in the chamber.

17. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of mandrels, at least two of the plurality of mandrels configured to be processed in the chamber at the same time.

18. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of chambers, the mandrel transferable among each of the plurality of chambers.

19. The hard disk fabrication system of claim 18, wherein at least one of the plurality of chambers comprises a first reactant vapor deposition chamber and at least one of the plurality of chambers comprises a second reactant vapor deposition chamber.

20. A method comprising:

transporting a plurality of hard disks in a cassette;

transferring the plurality of hard disks from the cassette to a mandrel; and

transferring the mandrel with the plurality of hard disks into a process chamber.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising:

transporting a plurality of hard disks in multiple cassettes;

transferring the plurality of hard disks from multiple cassettes to the mandrel; and

transferring the mandrel with the plurality of hard disks into a process chamber.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the mandrel is configured to hold the plurality of hard disks at the inner diameter of the hard disks.

23. The method of claim 20 further comprising:

depositing a first reactant on the plurality of hard disks; and

depositing a second reactant on the plurality of hard disks.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

operating the process chamber at a first pressure regime to clean the plurality of hard disks before deposition of the first and second reactants; and

operating the process chamber at a second pressure regime during the deposition of the first and second reactants.