Method to reduce adhesion between a conformable region and a pattern of a mold

• US 7,157,036 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2003
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mii Newco, Inc. (Canon Inc.), Board of Regents of the University of Texas System (University of Texas System)
• Original Assignee: Molecular Imprints, Inc. (Canon Inc.), University of Texas System
• Inventors: Xu, Frank Y., Stacey, Nicholas A., Watts, Michael P. C., Choi, Byung Jin, Truskett, Van Xuan Hong
• Primary Examiner(s): Colaianni; Michael P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUTLER, PATRICK NEAL
• Application Number:
  US10/463,396
• Publication Number:
  US 20040256764A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,295 Days
• Field of Search: 264/264, 264/300, 264/296, 264220-227
• US Class Current: 264/264
• 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: G03F 7/0002 Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping

Abstract

The present invention provides a method to reduce adhesion between a conformable region on a substrate and a pattern of a mold, which selectively comes into contact with the conformable region. The method features forming a conformable material on the substrate and contacting the conformable material with the surface. A conditioned layer is formed from the conformable material. The conditioned layer has first and second sub-portions, with the first sub-portion being solidified and the second sub-portion having a first affinity for the surface and a second affinity for the first sub-portion. The first affinity is greater than the second affinity. In this fashion, upon separation of the mold from the conditioned layer, a subset of the second sub-portion maintains contact with the mold, thereby reducing the probability that a pattern formed in the conditioned layer becomes compromised. These and other embodiments are described herein.

Claims

1. A method of reducing adhesion forces between a conformable material on a substrate and a mold having an initial pattern, said method comprising:

forming said conformable material on said substrate by depositing, upon said substrate, a conformable composition having a polymerizable compound and non-ionic sufactant molecules, with said non-ionic surfactant molecules being concentrated in a first region of said conformable material with said polymerizable compound being concentrated in a second region of said conformable composition;

contacting said conformable material with said mold; and

solidifying said polymerizable compound, defining solidified material with said first region being positioned between said second region and said mold and a subset of said non-ionic surfactant molecules having an affinity for said mold that is greater than an affinity for said solidified material.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further including conditioning said mold to be hydrophilic.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 further including conditioning said mold by exposing said mold to a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and said non-ionic surfactant.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein forming said conformable material further includes depositing a plurality of drops of said conformable composition upon said substrate.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein forming said conformable material further includes depositing said conformable composition upon said substrate employing spin-coating techniques.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 further including sequentially contacting said conformable composition a sufficient number of times to accurately reproduce, in said conformable composition, a recorded pattern complementary to said initial pattern.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein forming said conformable material further includes forming said conformable composition from isobornyl acrylate, n-hexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate and 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-phenyl-propan-1-one and R₁R₂.

8. A method of reducing adhesion forces between a substrate and a mold having a patterned region with a surface, said method comprising:

forming a conformable material on said substrate;

contacting said conformable material with said surface; and

forming a conditioned layer from said conformable material having a first and second sub-portions, with said first sub-portion being solidified and said second sub-portion including a plurality of molecules, a subset of which forms hydrogen bonds with said surface generating and defining a first affinity for said surface, with the molecules of said subset having a second affinity for said first sub-portion, such that said first affinity is greater than said second affinity.

9. The method as recited in claim 8 further including conditioning said mold to be hydrophilic before contacting said conformable material.

10. The method as recited in claim 8 further including conditioning said mold by exposing said mold to a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and a surfactant before contacting said conformable material.

11. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein forming said conformable material further includes depositing a plurality of drops of said conformable composition upon said substrate.

12. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein forming said conformable material further includes depositing said conformable composition upon said substrate employing spin-coating techniques.

13. The method as recited in claim 8 further including sequentially contacting said conformable composition a sufficient number of times to accurately reproduce, in said conformable composition, a recorded pattern complementary to said initial pattern.

14. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein forming said conformable material further includes forming said conformable composition from isobornyl acrylate, n-hexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate and 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-phenyl-propan-1-one and R₁R₂.