Imprint lithography
AssigneeASML Netherlands B.V.
InventorsArie Jeffrey Den Boef, Andre Bernardus Jeunink, Sander Frederik Wuister, Yvonne Wendela Kruijt-Stegeman
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Abstract
A method of determining a position of an imprint template in an imprint lithography apparatus is disclosed. In an embodiment, the method includes illuminating an area of the imprint template in which an alignment mark is expected to be found by scanning an alignment radiation beam over that area, detecting an intensity of radiation reflected or transmitted from the area, and identifying the alignment mark via analysis of the detected intensity.
Claims20
A method of obtaining alignment of a substrate and an imprint template, the method comprising:
- illuminating a first grating of an imprint template alignment grating with alignment radiation, the first grating comprising a first periodic arrangement of lines, each first grating line comprising a second grating having a second periodic arrangement of lines with a higher resolution than the first periodic arrangement of lines of the first grating;
- detecting alignment radiation redirected by the first grating;
- causing relative movement between the imprint template alignment grating and a substrate alignment grating to bring the imprint template alignment grating and the substrate alignment grating into coarse alignment based on the detected alignment radiation redirected by the first grating;
- subsequent to the coarse alignment, illuminating the second gratings of the imprint template alignment grating with alignment radiation;
- detecting alignment radiation redirected by the second gratings;
- and
- causing relative movement between the imprint template and the substrate to bring the imprint template alignment grating and the substrate alignment grating into fine alignment based on the detected alignment radiation redirected by the second gratings.
An imprint lithography apparatus comprising:
- an imprint template holder configured to hold an imprint template;
- an alignment radiation outlet;
- a detector;
- a hardware processor;
- and
- a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing one or more machine-readable instructions that when executed by the hardware processor:
- cause illumination of a first grating of an imprint template alignment grating with alignment radiation, the first grating comprising a first periodic arrangement of lines, each first grating line comprising a second grating having a second periodic arrangement of lines with a higher resolution than the first periodic arrangement of lines of the first grating;
- cause detection of alignment radiation redirected by the first grating;
- cause relative movement between the imprint template alignment grating and a substrate alignment grating to bring the imprint template alignment grating and the substrate alignment grating into coarse alignment based on the detected alignment radiation redirected by the first grating;
- subsequent to the coarse alignment, cause illumination of the second gratings of the imprint template alignment grating with alignment radiation;
- cause detection of alignment radiation redirected by the second gratings;
- and
- cause relative movement between the imprint template and the substrate to bring the imprint template alignment grating and the substrate alignment grating into fine alignment based on the detected alignment radiation redirected by the second gratings.
An imprint template alignment grating comprising a first grating comprising a first periodic arrangement of four or more spaced-apart essentially identical lines resolvable for measurement by an alignment measuring system, wherein each line of the four or more spaced-apart essentially identical lines comprises a second grating, each second grating comprising a second periodic arrangement of lines with a higher resolution than the first periodic arrangement of lines of the first grating and the second periodic arrangement of lines also being resolvable for measurement by the alignment measuring system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.