Safe separation for nano imprinting

An imprint lithography method for separating an imprint lithography template from a patterned layer formed by contacting the imprint lithography template with a formable material disposed on a substrate and solidifying the formable material to form the patterned layer such that the template features and the substrate features have lateral strains dt and db associated therewith, respectively, when subjected to a separation force, the method comprising:

• determining a difference between the lateral strains dt and db by measuring the lateral strain values during an initial separation or modeling the lateral strain values during a theoretical separation;
• based on the determined difference between the lateral strains dt and db, determining a back pressure Pt to apply to the template, a back pressure Pb to apply to the substrate, or both such that a ratio of lateral strains dt/db is approximately 1 when the template and the substrate are subjected to the separation force;
• applying the determined back pressure Pt to the template, the determined back pressure Pb to the substrate, or both while at least a portion of the template is in contact with the patterned layer on the substrate;
• and
• applying the separation force to separate the template from the patterned layer on the substrate.