Materials for imprint lithography
View Patent ↗The present invention is directed to a material for use in imprint lithography that features a composition having a viscosity associated therewith and including a surfactant, a polymerizable component, and an initiator responsive to a stimuli to vary the viscosity in response thereto, with the composition, in a liquid state, having the viscosity being lower than about 100 centipoises, a vapor pressure of less than about 20 Torr, and in a solid cured state a tensile modulus of greater than about 100 MPa, a break stress of greater than about 3 MPa and an elongation at break of greater than about 2%.
1. An imprinting material for use in imprint lithography comprising:
a composition having a viscosity associated therewith and including a surfactant, a polymerizable component, and an initiator responsive to a stimuli to vary said viscosity in response thereto, with said composition, in a liquid state, having said viscosity being lower than about 100 centipoises, a vapor pressure of less than about 20 Torr, and in a solid cured state a tensile modulus of greater than about 100 MPa, a break stress of greater than about 3 MPa and an elongation at break of greater than about 2%.
2. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said surfactant comprises a non-ionic surfactant.
3. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said surfactant comprises a fluorinated surfactant.
4. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said surfactant comprises a fluorinated non-ionic surfactant.
5. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said monomer is selected from the group consisting of epoxies, acrylates, methacrylates and vinyl ethers.
6. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said monomer is selected from a set of polymerizable component containing silicon therein.
7. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said monomer is a substituted acrylate.
8. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said monomer is a silicon-containing acrylate.
9. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said monomer is selected from the group of substituted acrylates consisting of mono-substituted acrylates and multifunctional-substituted acrylates.
10. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said initiator is selected from the group consisting of photo initiators and thermal initiators.
11. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said initiator is a radical photoinitiator.
12. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said viscosity in said liquid state is less than about 25 centipoises.
13. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said viscosity in said liquid state is less than about 10 centipoises.
14. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said viscosity in said liquid state is less than about 5 centipoises.
15. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said vapor pressure is lower than about 5 Torr.
16. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said vapor pressure is lower than about 2 Torr.
17. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said tensile modulus is 100 MPa or greater.
18. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said break stress of about 3 MPa or greater.
19. The imprinting material as recited in claim 1 wherein said elongation at break is 8% or more.