SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPRINT-GUIDED BLOCK COPOLYMER NANO-PATTERNING
This disclosure describes a method for nano-patterning by incorporating one or more block copolymers and one or more nano-imprinting steps in the fabrication process. The block copolymers may be comprised of organic or organic components, and may be lamellar, spherical or cylindrical. As a result, a patterned medium may be formed having one-dimensional or two-dimensional patterns with a feature pitch of 5-100 nm and/or a bit density of at least 1 Tdpsi.
1 . A method comprising:
imprinting a resist on a substrate with an imprint mold to form a topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
depositing a block copolymer (“BCP”) material on at least a portion of the resulting imprinted resist, wherein the BCP material correlates to the topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
annealing the deposited BCP material to form an annealed BCP; and,
removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP, wherein a pattern on the substrate having discrete domains is capable of being formed.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
treating the resulting imprinted resist to form a chemical surface pattern prior to depositing the BCP material.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein treating includes exposing the resulting imprinted resist to oxygen plasma.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transferring the resulting imprinted pattern directly onto the substrate prior to depositing the BCP material.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein imprinting includes applying an imprinting process selected from the group of processes consisting of UV imprinting, thermal imprinting and inking imprinting.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein depositing includes depositing a BCP material selected from the group of BCP materials consisting of a lamellar block copolymer, a cylindrical block copolymer and a spherical block copolymer.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the BCP material is selected from the group of BCP materials consisting of polystyrene-block-polymethylmethacrylate (PS-b-PMMA), polystyrene-block-poly2-vinylpyridine, polystyrene-block-poly4-vinylpyridine, polystyrene-block-polyethyleneoxide, polystyrene-block-polyisoprene, polystyrene-block-butadiene, and mixtures thereof.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the BCP material is selected from the group of BCP materials consisting of polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane (PS-b-PDMS), polystyrene-block-polyferrocenylsilane, and mixtures thereof.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein annealing includes thermal annealing.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein annealing includes solvent annealing.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing includes exposing the resist to UV radiation and at least one acid.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing includes exposing the resist to at least one solvent.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing includes exposing the resist to oxygen plasma.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pattern formed in removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP has a feature pitch of 5-100 nm.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pattern formed in removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP has a long-ranged laterally ordered 1D array.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pattern formed in removing at east a portion of the annealed BCP has a long-ranged laterally ordered 2D array.
17 . A method comprising:
imprinting a resist on a substrate with an imprint mold to form a topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
depositing a block copolymer (“BCP”) material on at least a portion of the resulting imprinted resist, wherein the BCP material correlates to the topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
annealing the deposited BCP material to form an annealed BCP;
removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP wherein a template having discrete domains is capable of being formed; and
using the template to pattern a resist on a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the pattern formed in step removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP has a feature pitch of 5-100 nm.
19 . A method comprising:
imprinting a resist on a substrate with an imprint mold to form a topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
depositing a block copolymer (“BCP”) material on at least a portion of the resulting imprinted resist, wherein the BCP material correlates to the topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
annealing the deposited BCP material to form an annealed BCP;
removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP, wherein a template having discrete domains is capable of being formed; and,
using the template as a mask.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP results in a template having a feature pitch of 5-100 nm.
21 . A system comprising:
an imprint mold for imprinting a resist on a substrate to form a topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
a deposition apparatus for depositing a block copolymer (“BCP”) material on at least a portion of the resulting imprinted resist, wherein the BCP material correlates to the topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
an annealing apparatus for annealing the deposited BCP material to form an annealed BCP; and
a BCP removal apparatus for removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP, wherein a template having discrete domains having a feature pitch of 5-100 nm capable of being formed.
22 . A system comprising:
a means for imprinting a resist on a substrate to form a topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
a means for depositing a block copolymer (“BCP”) material on at least a portion of the resulting imprinted resist, wherein the BCP material correlates to the topographic surface pattern on the resulting imprinted resist;
a means for annealing the deposited BCP material to form an annealed BCP; and
a means for removing at least a portion of the annealed BCP, wherein a template having discrete domains having a feature pitch of 5-100 nm capable of being formed.