Process Control for Nanoimprint Lithography

Since the optical lithography is reaching its mini- mal structure size limit, alternative lithography tech- niques in the sub-100 nm range should be developed. In recent years, some nontraditional patterning tech- nologies, such as imprint lithography, soft lithogra- phy , and others, with a potentially wider application in microdevice fabrication, have been explored 1-4]. In 1995, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) was pro- posed. NIL technology is a hot subject and a develop- ment trend in the…

Process Control for Nanoimprint Lithography

To tackle the demoulding and conglutinating problem with the resist and hard mold in the nanoimprint lithography process, a soft mould can be used to demould and reduce the macro or micro mismatch between mould bottom surface and wafer top surface. In nanoimprint lithography process, a mathematical equation is formulated to demonstrate the relation between the residual resist thickness and the pressing force during pressing the mould toward the resist-coated wafer. Based on these analytical studies, a new imprint process, which includes a pre-cure release of the pressing force, was proposed for the high-conformity transfer of nano-patterns from the mould to the wafer. The results of a series of imprint experiments showed that the proposed loading process could meet the requirements for the imprint of different patterns and feature sizes while maintaining a uniform residual resist and non-distorted transfer of nano-patterns from the mould to the resistcoated wafer.