Lithographic apparatus for molding ultrafine features
AssigneeRegents of the University of Minnesota
InventorStephen Y. Chou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for performing imprint lithography especially useful in creating patterns with ultrafine features on a substrate. The apparatus comprises a substrate having moldable surface carried on a first block, a mold having a molding surface carried on a second block, positioners for moving the first and second blocks relative to each other, a sensor of the relative positions of the blocks and a controller for controlling the relative positions of the blocks.
Claims58
An apparatus for performing imprint lithography on a substrate having a first alignment mark comprising:
- a mold comprising a protruding feature to be imprinted, the mold having a second alignment mark complementary to the first alignment mark;
- a first block for carrying the substrate and a second block positioned proximate the first block for carrying the mold facing the substrate;
- positioners for moving the first and second blocks relative to each other;
- a sensor coupling to the first and second alignment marks to provide an output related to the positions of the mold and the substrate;
- and
- a controller responsive to the sensor output for controlling the relative position of the blocks and for moving the blocks to align the first and second alignment marks.
An apparatus for performing imprint lithography comprising:
- a substrate having a moldable surface carried on a first block;
- a second block positioned proximate to the first block;
- a mold carried on the second block, the mold facing the film and having a molding surface having a protruding feature;
- positioners for moving the first and second blocks relative to each other;
- a sensor providing an output related to the relative positions of the first and second blocks, wherein the mold includes an alignment mark and the substrate includes a complementary alignment mark, the alignment marks comprising plates of a capacitor, and the sensor detects the capacitance between the alignment marks;
- and
- a controller coupled to the positioners for precisely controlling the relative position of the blocks and moving the blocks toward each other to imprint the feature of the mold into the moldable surface.
An apparatus for performing imprint lithography on a substrate comprising:
- a mold having protruding features for imprinting a pattern having at least one feature with a minimum lateral dimension less than 200 nanometers;
- a first block for carrying the substrate and a second block for carrying the mold facing the substrate;
- means for controlling the relative position of the blocks;
- and
- means for moving the blocks toward each other to imprint the pattern of the mold on a surface of the substrate at a position related to the alignment of the marks.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.