IP Library Granted Patent US 12691631
Granted Patent B2
US 12691631 · App. 18/671,177 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Imprint apparatus, imprint method and article manufacturing method

Inventor: Takahiro Sato (Tochigi, JP)
Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
B29C59/022B29C59/002G03F7/0002
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12691631
App. No.
18/671,177
Granted
Jul 28, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An imprint apparatus including a mold holding unit configured to hold a mold, a deformation unit configured to deform a pattern surface of the mold by adjusting a pressure of a closed space defined between a surface of the mold opposite to the pattern surface and the mold holding unit in a state in which the mold is held by the mold holding unit, and a control unit configured to control a shape of the pattern surface by adjusting the pressure of the closed space by the deformation unit in accordance with a position of a shot region to make the shape of the pattern surface conform to a surface shape of the shot region when forming the pattern in each of a plurality of shot regions.

Claims (17)

1 . An imprint apparatus that forms a pattern of an imprint material in each of a plurality of shot regions of a substrate using a mold, the apparatus comprising:

a mold holding unit configured to hold the mold;

a substrate holding unit configured to hold the substrate on a holding surface, wherein the holding surface is smaller in size than the substrate;

a deformation unit configured to deform a pattern surface of the mold by adjusting a pressure of a closed space defined between a surface of the mold opposite to the pattern surface and the mold holding unit in a state in which the mold is held by the mold holding unit; and

a control unit configured to control a shape of the pattern surface by adjusting the pressure of the closed space by the deformation unit during a contacting step and a filling step of an imprint process in accordance with a position of the shot region to make the shape of the pattern surface conform to a surface shape of the shot region when forming the pattern in each of the plurality of shot regions,

wherein, during the contacting step, the control unit is configured to apply a positive pressure, greater than an atmospheric pressure, to the closed space to deform the shape of the pattern surface into a convex shape, and

wherein, during the filling step, for a shot region including a non-facing region that is positioned at a periphery of the substrate and does not face the holding surface in a state in which the substrate is held by the substrate holding unit, the control unit is configured to apply a negative pressure, less than the atmospheric pressure, to the closed space to deform the shape of the pattern surface into a concave shape to make the shape of the pattern surface conform to a convex curve generated in the non-facing region by holding the substrate by the substrate holding unit.

2 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an obtaining unit configured to obtain shape information about the surface shape of each of the plurality of shot regions,

wherein the control unit is configured to control the shape of the pattern surface by adjusting the pressure of the closed space by the deformation unit to make the shape of the pattern surface conform to the surface shape of the shot region based on the shape information obtained by the obtaining unit.

3 . The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine a pressure value of the closed space necessary to make the shape of the pattern surface coincide with the surface shape of the shot region based on sensitivity information representing a sensitivity of deformation of the pattern surface with respect to the pressure value of the closed space, and control the deformation unit to adjust the pressure of the closed space to be the determined pressure value.

4 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to control the shape of the pattern surface by adjusting the pressure of the closed space by the deformation unit to make the shape of the pattern surface coincide with the surface shape of the shot region based on sensitivity information representing a sensitivity of deformation of the pattern surface with respect to the pressure value of the closed space.

5 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to control the shape of the pattern surface by adjusting the pressure of the closed space by the deformation unit to make the shape of the pattern surface conform to the surface shape of the shot region in a step of filling the pattern surface with the imprint material arranged in each of the plurality of shot regions.

6 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the shot region including the non-facing region includes a partial shot region smaller in area than the pattern surface.

7 . The apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the control unit is configured to control the shape of the pattern surface by adjusting the pressure of the closed space by the deformation unit to make the shape of the pattern surface conform to the surface shape of the shot region in accordance with a shape of the holding surface when forming the pattern in each of the plurality of shot regions.

8 . The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to predict, based on the shape of the holding surface, the surface shape of the shot region in the state in which the substrate is held by the substrate holding unit, and control the shape of the pattern surface by adjusting the pressure of the closed space by the deformation unit to make the shape of the pattern surface coincide with the predicted surface shape of the shot region.

9 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the deformation unit is configured to continuously deform the pattern surface to make the pattern surface have one of a convex shape and a concave shape toward the substrate.