No abstract

We have finished the construction of an automated tool for step and flash imprint lithography. The tool was constructed to allow defect studies by making multiple imprints on a 200 mm wafer. The imprint templates for this study were treated with a low surface energy, self-assembled monolayer to ensure selective release at the template-etch barrier interface. This surface treatment is very durable and survives repeated imprints and multiple aggressive physical and chemical cleanings. The imprint and release forces were measured for a number of successive imprints, and did not change significantly. The process appears to be ''self-cleaning.'' Contamination on the template is entrained in the polymerizing liquid, and the number of defects is reduced with repeated imprints.

Submicron patterning of 1 in. diameter curved surfaces with a 46 mm radius of curvature has been demonstrated with step and flash imprint lithography ͑SFIL͒ using templates patterned by ion beam proximity printing ͑IBP͒. Concave and convex spherical quartz templates were coated with 700-nm-thick poly͑methylmethacrylate͒ ͑PMMA͒ and patterned by step-and-repeat IBP. The developed resist features were etched into the quartz template and the remaining PMMA stripped. During SFIL, a low viscosity, photopolymerizable formulation containing organosilicon precursors was introduced into the gap between the etched template and a substrate coated with an organic transfer layer and exposed to ultraviolet illumination. The smallest features on the templates were faithfully replicated in the silylated layer.

The escalating cost for next generation lithography (NGL) tools is driven in part by the need for complex sources and optics. The cost for a single NGL tool could exceed $50M in the next few years, a prohibitive number for many companies. As a result, several researchers are looking at low cost alternative methods for printing sub-100 nm features. In the mid-1990’s, several research groups started investigating different methods for imprinting small features. Many of these methods, although very effective at printing small features across an entire wafer, are limited in their ability to do precise overlay. In 1999, Colburn et al. [Proc. SPIE 379 (1999)] discovered that imprinting could be done at low pressures and at room temperatures by using low viscosity UV curable monomers. The technology is typically referred to as step and flash imprint lithography. The use of a quartz template enabled the photocuring process to occur and also opened up the potential for optical alignment of the wafer and template. This article traces the development of nanoimprint lithography and addresses the issues that must be solved if this type of technology is to be applied to high-density silicon integrated circuitry.

Step and flash imprint lithography ͑SFIL͒ is an alternative approach to high-resolution patterning based on a bilayer imprint scheme. SFIL utilizes the in situ photopolymerization of an oxygen etch resistant monomer solution in the topography of a template to replicate the template pattern on a substrate. The SFIL replication process can be affected significantly by the densification associated with polymerization and by the mechanical properties of the cured film. The densities of cured photopolymers were determined as a function of pendant group volume. The elastic moduli of several photopolymer samples were calculated based on a Hertzian fit to force-distance data generated by atomic force microscopy. The current SFIL photopolymer formulation undergoes a 9.3% ͑v/v͒ densification. The elastic modulus of the SFIL photopolymer is 4 MPa. The densification and the elastic modulus of the photopolymer layer can be tailored from 4% to 16%, and from 2 to 30 MPa, respectively, by changing the structure of the photopolymer precursors and their formulation. The complex interaction among densification, mechanical properties ͑elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio͒ and aspect ratio ͑height:width͒ was studied by finite element modeling. The effect of these parameters on linewidth, sidewall angle, and image placement was modeled. The results indicate that the majority of densification occurs by shrinkage in the direction normal to the substrate surface and that Poisson's ratio plays a critical role in defining the shape of the replicated features. Over the range of material properties that were determined experimentally, volumetric contraction of the photopolymer is not predicted to adversely affect either pattern placement or sidewall angle.