초록 ▼

An imprint apparatus and method employ an effective pressure in imprint lithography. The imprint apparatus includes a compressible chamber that encloses an imprint mold having a mold pattern and a sample to be imprinted. The chamber is compressed to imprint the mold pattern on the sample. The mold i

An imprint apparatus and method employ an effective pressure in imprint lithography. The imprint apparatus includes a compressible chamber that encloses an imprint mold having a mold pattern and a sample to be imprinted. The chamber is compressed to imprint the mold pattern on the sample. The mold is pressed against the sample with the effective pressure. The effective pressure is controlled by a selected ratio of a cavity area of the chamber to a contact area between the mold and the sample.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An imprint apparatus comprising: an imprint mold having a mold pattern, the imprint mold having a contact area that is an area of contact between the mold pattern and a sample; and a compressible chamber that encloses the imprint mold and the sample, the compressible chamber

What is claimed is: 1. An imprint apparatus comprising: an imprint mold having a mold pattern, the imprint mold having a contact area that is an area of contact between the mold pattern and a sample; and a compressible chamber that encloses the imprint mold and the sample, the compressible chamber having a cavity area that is an internal surface area of the compressible chamber contained within a seal of the compressible chamber, wherein said imprint apparatus is configured to exert a predetermined effective imprint pressure given by a size of said cavity area multiplied by a pressure difference between inside and outside of the chamber and divided by a size of the contact area. 2. The imprint apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a first pressure inside the compressible chamber; and a second pressure outside the compressible chamber, wherein the value of the compression pressure is given by a value of a pressure difference between the first pressure inside the chamber and the second pressure outside the chamber. 3. The imprint apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compressible chamber comprises: a first plate, the imprint mold being affixed to the first plate; a second plate spaced from the first plate, the sample being affixed to the second plate; and a gasket that bridges a perimeter of a space between the first plate and the second plate, the gasket forming one or both of a gas tight seal and a fluid tight seal between the first plate and the second plate, one or both of the first plate and the second plate being moved together to compress the chamber, wherein the cavity area comprises an area bounded by the gasket. 4. The imprint apparatus of claim 3, wherein the gasket comprises a compressible material that is impermeable to one or both of a gas and a fluid. 5. An imprint apparatus comprising: a first plate that supports a mold having a mold pattern and a contact area, the contact area comprising an area of contact between the mold pattern and a sample; a second plate spaced from the first plate that supports the sample; a gasket that bridges a space between the first plate and the second plate to form a compressible chamber that encloses the mold and the sample, the compressible chamber having a cavity area within the compressible chamber and bounded by the gasket; a vacuum within the compressible chamber; and a pressure external to the compressible chamber, wherein said imprint apparatus is configured to exert a predetermined effective imprint pressure given by a size of said cavity area multiplied by a pressure difference between inside and outside of the chamber and divided by a size of the contact area. 6. The imprint apparatus of claim 5, wherein the gasket forms one or both of a gas tight seal and a fluid tight seal between the first plate and the second plate when the compressible chamber is compressed. 7. An imprint lithography system comprising: a contact mask aligner having parallel support plates; an imprint apparatus supported by the mask aligner, the imprint apparatus having a compressible chamber that houses an imprint mold and a sample, the mask aligner aligning the mold and the sample, the chamber being compressed to imprint a mold pattern of the aligned mold in a surface of the aligned sample; and a cavity area of the compressible chamber; said imprint apparatus being configured to exert a predetermined effective imprint pressure given by a size of said cavity area multiplied by a pressure difference between inside and outside of the compressible chamber and divided by a size of a contact area between the mold and the sample. 8. The imprint lithography system of claim 7, wherein the pressure that compresses the chamber is provided by a pressure difference between a pressure inside the chamber and a pressure outside the chamber. 9. The imprint lithography system of claim 7 wherein the imprint apparatus comprises a first member, a second member, and a gasket affixed between a perimeter of the first member and the second member when the chamber is compressed, the gasket forming one or both of a gas tight seal and a fluid tight seal between the members, the first member supporting the mold and the second member supporting the sample. 10. The imprint lithography system of claim 9, wherein one or both of the first member and the second member are movable respectively by an action of the supporting mask aligner to align the mold and the sample and to seal the chamber. 11. The imprint lithography system of claim 7, further comprising one or both of means for hardening an imprinted surface of the sample and means for softening a moldable surface of the sample for imprinting. 12. The imprint lithography system of claim 11, wherein the means for hardening and the means for softening independently comprises one or both of a light source and a heat source. 13. An imprint lithography system comprising: a contact mask aligner having parallel support plates; an imprint apparatus supported by the mask aligner, the imprint apparatus having a compressible chamber that houses an imprint mold and a sample, the mask aligner aligning the mold and the sample, the chamber being compressed to imprint a mold pattern of the aligned mold in a surface of the aligned sample; a pressure external to the compressible chamber; and a vacuum within the compressible chamber, wherein said imprint apparatus is configured to exert a predetermined effective imprint pressure given by a size of a cavity area of the compressible chamber multiplied by a pressure difference between inside and outside of the compressible chamber and divided by a size of a contact area between the mold and the sample. 14. The imprint lithography system of claim 13, wherein the external pressure comprises one of a gas pressure or a fluid pressure. 15. The imprint lithography system of claim 13, wherein the imprint apparatus comprises a first member, a second member, and a gasket affixed between a perimeter of the first member and the second member when the chamber is compressed, the gasket forming one or both of a gas tight seal and a fluid tight seal between the members, the first member supporting the mold and the second member supporting the sample. 16. The imprint lithography system of claim 15, wherein one or both of the first member and the second member are movable respectively by an action of the mask aligner to align the mold and the sample and to seal the chamber after the vacuum has been introduced into the chamber. 17. The imprint apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first pressure inside the chamber is a vacuum. 18. An imprint apparatus comprising: a chamber that encloses an imprint mold and a sample, the chamber having a cavity area, the chamber being compressible; a pressure that is applied to the chamber to compress the chamber, compression providing a contact between the mold and the sample; and a contact area between the mold and the sample, wherein said imprint apparatus is configured to exert a predetermined effective pressure between the mold and the sample during imprinting, said predetermined effective pressure being given by a size of said cavity area multiplied by a pressure difference between inside and outside of the chamber and divided by a size of said contact area. 19. The imprint apparatus of claim 18, wherein the applied pressure is provided by a pressure difference between a pressure inside the chamber and a pressure outside the chamber. 20. The imprint apparatus of claim 19, wherein the pressure inside the chamber is a vacuum. 21. An imprint apparatus comprising: a chamber having a cavity area that encloses an imprint mold and a sample, the chamber being compressible; and a pressure that is applied to compress the chamber, chamber compression providing a contact between the mold and the sample, the contact having a contact area, wherein said imprint apparatus is configured to exert a predetermined effective imprint pressure given by a size of said cavity area multiplied by a pressure difference between inside and outside of the chamber and divided by a size of the contact area. 22. The imprint apparatus of claim 21, wherein the chamber comprises a first plate, a second plate spaced from the first plate, and a gasket that bridges a perimeter of a space between the first plate and the second plate, the mold being affixed to the first plate and the sample being affixed to the second plate for imprinting, the gasket forming one or both of a gas tight seal and a fluid tight seal between the first plate and the second plate, one or both of the first plate and the second plate being movable toward one another to compress the chamber, and wherein the applied pressure is provided by a pressure difference between a pressure inside the chamber and a pressure outside the chamber. 23. The imprint apparatus of claim 4, wherein the gasket further comprises a rigid material that provides support to the compressible material of the gasket, the rigid material being thinner than the compressible material to facilitate compression of the compressible chamber. 24. The imprint apparatus of claim 3, wherein one of the first plate movably nests within the second plate and the second plate movably nests within first plate, the gasket slidably sealing between adjacent surfaces of the movably nested first plate and second plate, and wherein the size of the cavity area is a size of a surface area of a surface of the nested one of either the first plate or the second plate that is within the compressible chamber. 25. The imprint apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compression pressure comprises a difference between a pressure of a fluid inside the compressible chamber and a pressure of a fluid outside the compressible chamber. 26. The imprint apparatus of claim 5, wherein one of the first plate movably nests within the second plate and the second plate movably nests within first plate, the gasket slidably bridging between adjacent surfaces of the movably nested first plate and second plate, and wherein the size of the cavity area is a size of a surface area of a surface of the nested one of either the first plate or the second plate that is within the compressible chamber.