WO2012147958A1

WO2012147958A1 - Fluid pressure imprinting device and pressurization device

Info

Publication number: WO2012147958A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/061468
Authority: WO
Inventors: 河口宏輔; 田中覚
Original assignee: Ｓｃｉｖａｘ株式会社
Priority date: 2011-04-28
Filing date: 2012-04-27
Publication date: 2012-11-01
Also published as: JPWO2012147958A1

Abstract

Provided are an imprinting device and pressurization device whereby the thickness of a stage can be reduced and the effects of thermal expansion around the stage can be reduced. An imprinting device for transferring the molding pattern of a mold (100) onto a molded article (200) comprises: a pressurization unit (5) having a pressurization chamber (51) for using a fluid to pressurize the mold (100) and the molded article (200); a stage (2) for supporting the mold (100) and the molded article (200) pressurized by the pressurization unit (5); a pressure adjustment unit (3) having a pressure adjustment chamber (31) for using a fluid to pressurize the stage (2), the pressure adjustment unit being provided to the side of the stage 2 facing the pressurization unit (5); a pressurizing means (6) for regulating the pressure of the fluid inside the pressurization chamber (51); and a pressure-regulating means (8) for regulating such that the pressure difference between the fluid of the pressure adjustment chamber (31) and the pressurization chamber (51) becomes smaller. The pressure-regulating means (8) comprises an interconnecting tube interconnecting the pressurization chamber and the pressure adjustment chamber.

Description

Fluid pressure imprint apparatus and pressurizing apparatus

The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus for continuously transferring a pattern of a mold onto a molding, and a pressure apparatus used for the imprint apparatus.

In recent years, nanoimprint technology has attracted attention as a method for forming micro-order and nano-order ultrafine patterns. In this method, a mold having a fine pattern is pressed on a molded object such as a resin, and the pattern is transferred to the molded object (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

International Publication Number WO2004 / 062886 JP 2009-154393 A

Here, the stage and the stage peripheral members for holding the mold or the workpiece need to be strong enough to withstand the pressurization, so that the thickness has to be increased.

However, there are problems that the weight of the apparatus increases and the cost increases when the stage is thickened. In the imprint technology, it is necessary to adjust the temperature of the molding. However, if the stage is thick, the heat capacity increases, so there is a problem of requiring a large amount of heat, in other words, a large amount of energy, and high speed. There was a problem that it was difficult to raise and lower the temperature.

Further, the imprint apparatus described in Patent Document 2 seals between the pressurizing chamber and the molding object on the basis of the position of the stage, and pressurizes the molding object using fluid pressure. However, in the imprint apparatus, since the back side of the stage is fixed, thermal expansion that occurs in the stage and stage peripheral members due to heating and cooling during molding occurs entirely on the surface side of the stage. As a result, there is a problem that distortion or misalignment occurs on the stage, which may cause molding defects.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imprint apparatus and a pressurizing apparatus that can reduce the thickness of the stage and the influence of thermal expansion around the stage.

In order to achieve the above object, an imprint apparatus of the present invention is for transferring a molding pattern of a mold onto a molding object, and pressurizing the mold and the molding object with a fluid. A pressurizing unit having a chamber, a stage that supports the mold and the workpiece subjected to the pressure of the pressurizing unit, and a side of the stage that faces the pressurizing unit. A pressure adjusting unit having a pressure adjusting chamber for pressurization, a pressurizing means for adjusting the pressure of the fluid in the pressurizing chamber, and an adjustment so that the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurizing chamber and the pressure adjusting chamber is reduced. Pressure adjusting means.

In this case, it is preferable that the pressure adjusting means is constituted by a communication pipe that connects the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber.

Further, a decompression section having a decompression chamber for decompressing the atmosphere around the mold and the workpiece may be provided. In this case, it is preferable that the pressure adjusting means is formed so as to be adjustable so that a pressure difference between the fluid in the decompression chamber and the pressure regulation chamber is small.

Further, a temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature of the molding object may be provided. In this case, the temperature adjustment means includes a fluid supply means for supplying a fluid having a predetermined temperature to the stage from a plurality of supply ports arranged in the pressure adjustment chamber, and a discharge channel for discharging the fluid in the pressure adjustment chamber. Are preferably used. The stage is preferably formed with a plurality of irregularities on the pressure regulating chamber side.

In addition, the pressurizing unit includes a pressurizing chamber casing that forms the pressurizing chamber together with the mold or the molding, a sealing unit that seals between the mold or the molding, and the pressurizing unit. Opening / closing means for opening and closing between the pressure chamber casing and the mold or the molding object, or a flexible film disposed on the surface in contact with the mold or the molding object And a pressurizing chamber casing that constitutes the pressurizing chamber together with the membrane.

The pressurizing device of the present invention is for pressurizing an object to be pressurized, and includes a pressurizing unit having a pressurizing chamber for pressurizing the object to be pressurized with a fluid, and the pressurizing unit. A stage that supports the object to be pressurized that has received the pressure, and a pressure regulating unit that is provided on the side of the stage facing the pressure unit and has a pressure regulating chamber for pressurizing the stage with a fluid; And pressurizing means for adjusting the pressure of the fluid in the pressurizing chamber, and pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber to be small. .

Further, a decompression unit having a decompression chamber for decompressing the atmosphere around the object to be pressurized may be provided. In this case, it is preferable that the pressure adjusting means is formed so as to be adjustable so that a pressure difference between the fluid in the decompression chamber and the pressure regulation chamber is small.

The pressurizing apparatus of the present invention can reduce the thickness of the stage and can reduce the weight of the apparatus. Moreover, the imprint apparatus of this invention using the said pressurization apparatus can make the heat capacity of a stage small by reducing the thickness of a stage, and can raise / lower temperature at high speed. In addition, the influence of thermal expansion around the stage can be reduced.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the imprint apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the imprint apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the imprint apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the imprint apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the imprint apparatus of this invention.

A pressurizing device of the present invention is for pressurizing an object to be pressurized, and includes a pressurizing unit having a pressurizing chamber for pressurizing the object to be pressurized with a fluid, and a pressure of the pressurizing unit. A stage that supports the object to be pressurized, a pressure adjusting unit that is provided on the side of the stage facing the pressurizing unit and has a pressure adjusting chamber for pressurizing the stage with fluid, and a pressure of the fluid in the pressurizing chamber. The pressurizing means for adjusting and the pressure adjusting means for adjusting so as to reduce the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber are mainly configured.

Here, the object to be pressed may be singular or plural. For example, in the case of the imprint apparatus of the present invention to be described later, two of a mold and a molding object correspond to the pressed object.

Unless otherwise specified, the term “fluid” in this specification means a gas such as air or a liquid such as water.

The pressurizing unit has a pressurizing chamber for directly or indirectly pressurizing an object to be pressurized with a fluid. For example, a pressurizing chamber housing that constitutes a pressurizing chamber together with the object to be pressurized What is necessary is just to comprise by the sealing means which seals between the to-be-pressurized object, and the opening-and-closing means which opens and closes between the casing for pressurization chambers and the to-be-pressurized object.

The casing for the pressurizing chamber is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening, and constitutes a pressurizing chamber that is a sealed space by closing the opening with an object to be pressurized. This opening is formed larger than the area of the portion to be pressed of the object to be pressed. Any material may be used as long as it has pressure resistance and heat resistance with respect to the conditions during pressurization. For example, a metal such as carbon steel or stainless steel can be used.

The sealing means closes the pressurizing chamber casing and the object to be pressed in order to seal the pressurizing chamber. For example, if an O-ring is prepared as a sealing means, a concave groove shallower than the diameter of the cross section of the O-ring is formed at the stage side end of the side wall of the pressurizing chamber casing, and the O-ring is disposed in this groove. good. Thus, the object to be pressurized can be held between the casing for the pressurizing chamber and the stage, and the casing for the pressurizing chamber and the object to be pressurized can be brought into close contact with each other, so that the pressurizing chamber can be sealed. . Even if there is an inclination between the pressurizing chamber casing and the object to be pressed, the pressurizing chamber can be reliably sealed if the parallelism is within the crushing margin of the O-ring.

The opening / closing means is for opening and closing the pressurizing chamber by bringing the pressurizing chamber casing and the object to be pressed close to or away from each other. For example, the pressurizing chamber casing is a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder. It is possible to apply one that moves by means of an electric motor and one that moves by an electric motor and a ball screw.

As another example of the pressurizing unit, there is a flexible film disposed on a surface that comes into contact with an object to be pressed, and a pressurizing chamber casing that forms a pressurizing chamber together with the film. It may be configured.

As the material for the flexible film, for example, an elastic body such as resin, thin metal, or rubber can be used. In the case where a light source that emits light of a predetermined wavelength is provided on the pressurized chamber on the pressurized chamber side, a material that can transmit the light is selected for the film. The thickness of the film is 10 mm or less, preferably 3 mm or less, more preferably 1 mm or less.

The casing for the pressurizing chamber is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening as in the previous example. In addition, the pressurizing chamber casing and the membrane are fixed by an adhesive or the like, and the pressurizing chamber is sealed. The pressurizing chamber casing and the membrane may be sealed by a sealing means in the same manner as described above.

The stage is for supporting an object to be pressed that has received pressure from the pressurizing unit. The surface of the stage that comes into contact with the object to be pressed is sufficiently wide and is formed into an arbitrary shape suitable for molding the object to be pressed. Any material may be used as long as it has pressure resistance and heat resistance with respect to the conditions during pressurization. For example, a metal such as carbon steel or stainless steel can be used. Moreover, when heating a to-be-pressurized object from the pressure regulation chamber side via a stage, it is preferable to use a thing with high heat conductivity, such as a metal. In addition, when the object to be pressurized is heated from the pressurizing chamber side, a material having low thermal conductivity may be used to prevent heat from escaping to the pressure adjusting chamber side, but in order to prevent uneven heating. The stage surface side is preferably composed of a material having high thermal conductivity.

The pressure adjusting unit prevents the stage from being deformed by the pressure of the pressurizing unit, and gives the stage a reaction force against the pressure of the pressurizing unit.

The pressure adjusting unit may be constituted by, for example, a pressure adjusting chamber casing that forms a pressure adjusting chamber together with the stage, and a pressure adjusting chamber sealing unit that seals between the stage and the pressure adjusting chamber casing. . In this case, the pressure regulation chamber casing is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening, and constitutes a pressure regulation chamber which is a sealed space by closing the opening with a stage. The pressure regulating chamber sealing means brings the pressure regulating chamber casing and the stage into close contact with each other in order to seal the pressure regulating chamber. For example, an O-ring may be prepared as a sealing means, and a concave groove shallower than the diameter of the cross-section of the O-ring may be formed at the end of the side wall of the pressure regulation chamber casing, and the O-ring may be disposed in this groove. As a result, the pressure regulation chamber can be sealed by bringing the pressure regulation chamber casing and the stage into close contact with each other.

Note that the stage and the casing for the pressure regulating chamber may be formed integrally without using the pressure regulating chamber sealing means. In addition, as long as the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber is applied to the stage as a reaction force, the pressure adjusting chamber casing may not be provided with an opening, but may be a container having a surface in contact with the stage.

The material of the casing for the pressure regulation chamber may be any material as long as it has pressure resistance and heat resistance with respect to the conditions during pressurization, and for example, a metal such as carbon steel or stainless steel can be used. .

By configuring the pressure adjustment unit in this way, the thermal expansion that occurs in the stage and the peripheral members of the stage due to heating and cooling during molding can be released to the back side of the stage. Can be prevented from occurring.

The pressurizing means may be anything as long as the pressure of the fluid in the pressurizing chamber can be adjusted to a desired pressure. For example, the pressurizing chamber gas supply / discharge channel is provided in the pressurizing chamber casing. A gas such as air or an inert gas may be supplied or exhausted to the pressurizing chamber through the gas supply / discharge passage for the pressurizing chamber. For supplying the gas, a cylinder having a compressed gas or a pressure pump can be used. Further, the gas may be exhausted by opening and closing the deaeration valve. In addition, you may provide a safety valve etc. suitably.

The pressure adjusting means adjusts the pressure difference between the pressure chamber and the pressure adjusting chamber to be sufficiently small with respect to the strength of the stage in order to prevent the stage from being deformed. For example, a communication pipe that connects the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber can be used. Thereby, since the pressure of a pressurization chamber and a pressure regulation chamber can always be made the same, the pressure difference added to both surfaces of a stage can be made zero. Therefore, the thickness of the stage can be reduced and the entire apparatus can be reduced in weight. Further, since the heat capacity of the stage is reduced when the thickness of the stage is reduced, it is possible to improve the temperature increase rate and the cooling rate of the pressurized object. Furthermore, distortion and misalignment of the stage due to thermal expansion can be reduced.

As another form of the pressure adjusting means, a pressure supply chamber gas supply / discharge passage connected to the pressure adjustment chamber casing, and a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure in the pressure chamber and the pressure adjustment chamber are provided. , Gas such as air or inert gas from the pressure regulating chamber gas supply / exhaust flow path to the pressure regulating chamber so that the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber is reduced based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor. The air may be supplied or exhausted. For supplying the gas, a cylinder having a compressed gas or a pressure pump can be used. Further, the gas may be exhausted by opening and closing the deaeration valve. In addition, you may provide a safety valve etc. suitably.

Further, a decompression section having a decompression chamber for decompressing the atmosphere around the object to be pressurized may be provided. Thereby, since the gas which exists between a to-be-pressurized object and a stage can be removed, a to-be-pressurized object can be pressed uniformly.

As the decompression unit, for example, a decompression chamber that encloses the object to be pressurized may be formed, and the decompression chamber may be decompressed to remove the gas between the object to be pressurized and the stage.

The decompression chamber includes, for example, a bellows that covers the pressurization chamber casing, a seal member that seals between the bellows and the pressure regulation chamber casing on which the stage or stage is placed, and a gas supply / discharge flow for the decompression chamber It is formed by a decompression pump that exhausts the gas in the decompression chamber through the passage. This seal member is disposed in a concave groove formed on the bellows stage side. Further, the decompression pump only needs to be capable of decompressing the decompression chamber to the extent that no transfer failure occurs when the object to be pressurized is pressurized. Needless to say, the bellows and the seal member have a strength capable of withstanding an external force when the pressure is reduced.

It is also possible to make the gas supply / discharge flow path for the pressurization chamber and the gas supply / discharge flow path for the decompression chamber common. In this case, first, the gas in the decompression chamber and the pressurization chamber is discharged while the pressurization chamber is released to remove the gas in the decompression chamber, and then the gas is put into the pressurization chamber after the pressurization chamber is closed. What is necessary is just to supply and press a to-be-pressurized object.

When the pressurizing part is composed of a pressurizing chamber casing and a membrane and the pressurizing chamber casing and the membrane are fixed with an adhesive or the like, You may provide the pressure adjustment means for pressure reduction for making a pressure into the same pressure. As the pressure adjusting means for pressure reduction, for example, a communication path that connects the pressurizing chamber and the pressure reducing chamber via an opening / closing means may be provided. Thereby, the pressure chamber and the decompression chamber can be made the same pressure by opening the opening / closing means during decompression.

Next, the case where the above-described pressurizing apparatus of the present invention is applied to the imprint apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the imprint apparatus of the present invention is for transferring a molding pattern of a mold 100 to a molding object 200, and is used for pressurizing the mold 100 and the molding object 200 with a fluid. A pressure unit 5 having a pressure chamber 51; a stage 2 that supports the mold 100 and the workpiece 200 that have received pressure from the pressure unit 5; and a stage 2 that is provided on the side of the stage 2 that faces the pressure unit 5. Pressure adjusting section 3 having pressure adjusting chamber 31 for pressurizing 2 with fluid, pressurizing means 6 for adjusting the pressure of fluid in pressurizing chamber 51, and fluid in pressurizing chamber 51 and pressure adjusting chamber 31 And pressure adjusting means 8 for adjusting the pressure difference to be small.

In this specification, the mold 100 is made of, for example, “metal such as nickel”, “ceramics”, “carbon material such as glassy carbon”, “silicon”, etc., and one end surface thereof (molding) Surface) having a predetermined pattern. This pattern can be formed by subjecting the molding surface to precision machining. In addition, it is formed on a silicon substrate or the like by a semiconductor micromachining technique such as etching, or the surface of the silicon substrate or the like is subjected to metal plating by an electroforming method, for example, nickel plating, and the metal plating layer is peeled off. It can also be formed. It is also possible to use a resin mold produced using an imprint technique. In this case, the mold may be formed in a film shape that is flexible with respect to the molding surface of the molding object. Of course, the material and manufacturing method of the mold 100 are not particularly limited as long as a fine pattern can be formed.

Further, the molding pattern formed on the mold 100 is not only a geometrical shape composed of irregularities, but also for transferring a predetermined surface state, such as a mirror surface transfer having a predetermined surface roughness, Also included are those for transferring an optical element such as a lens having a predetermined curved surface. In addition, the molding pattern is formed in various sizes such as the minimum width of the convex portion and the concave portion in the plane direction is 100 μm or less, 10 μm or less, 2 μm or less, 1 μm or less, 100 nm or less, 10 nm or less. Also, dimensions in the depth direction are formed in various sizes such as 10 nm or more, 100 nm or more, 200 nm or more, 500 nm or more, 1 μm or more, 10 μm or more, 100 μm or more.

The molded object 200 refers to a resin produced by, for example, a polymerization reaction (thermosetting or photocuring) of a thermoplastic resin or a polymerizable reactive group-containing compound.

Examples of the thermoplastic resin include cyclic olefin ring-opening polymerization / hydrogenated product (COP) and cyclic olefin-based resin such as cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), acrylic resin, polycarbonate, vinyl ether resin, perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and the like. Fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polystyrene, polyimide resin, polyester resin, or the like can be used.

Resins produced by polymerization reaction (thermosetting or photocuring) of polymerizable reactive group-containing compounds include epoxide-containing compounds, (meth) acrylic acid ester compounds, vinyl ether compounds, bisallyl nadiimide compounds As described above, unsaturated hydrocarbon group-containing compounds such as vinyl groups and allyl groups can be used. In this case, it is possible to use the polymerization-reactive group-containing compounds alone for thermal polymerization, and to add a heat-reactive initiator to improve thermosetting. Is also possible. Furthermore, the thing which can add a photoreactive initiator and can advance a polymerization reaction by light irradiation and can form a shaping | molding pattern may be used. Organic peroxides and azo compounds can be preferably used as the heat-reactive radical initiator, and acetophenone derivatives, benzophenone derivatives, benzoin ether derivatives, xanthone derivatives and the like can be preferably used as the photoreactive radical initiator. The reactive monomer may be used without a solvent, or may be used after being dissolved in a solvent and desolvated after coating.

Note that the molded object 200 may be a flexible film or a layer formed on a substrate made of an inorganic compound such as silicon or a metal.

The pressurizing unit 5 includes a pressurizing chamber 51 for directly or indirectly pressurizing the mold 100 and the molding target 200 with a fluid. For example, the pressurizing chamber 51 includes the pressurizing chamber 51 together with the mold 100 or the molding target 200. Sealing means 54 for sealing between the pressurizing chamber housing 52 and the mold 100 or the molding object 200, and opening and closing between the pressurizing chamber housing 52 and the mold 100 or the molding object 200. What is necessary is just to comprise with an opening-and-closing means. FIG. 1 shows a case where the pressurizing chamber 51 is configured by the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the molding 200.

The pressurizing chamber casing 52 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening, and constitutes the pressurizing chamber 51 which is a sealed space by closing the opening with the mold 100 or the molding object 200. It is. The opening is formed to be larger than at least the pattern region transferred to the molding object 200. The material may be anything as long as it has pressure resistance and heat resistance with respect to the molding conditions during the imprint process. For example, a metal such as carbon steel or stainless steel can be used.

The sealing means 54 is for bringing the pressurizing chamber casing 52 into close contact with the mold 100 or the molding target 200 in order to seal the pressurizing chamber 51. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, an O-ring is prepared as the sealing means 54, and a concave groove shallower than the diameter of the cross-section of the O-ring is formed at the stage side end of the side wall of the pressurizing chamber casing 52. An O-ring may be disposed in this groove. Accordingly, the mold 100 or the molding object 200 can be held between the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the stage 2 and the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the molding target 200 can be brought into close contact with each other. 51 can be sealed. Even if there is an inclination between the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the mold 100 or the workpiece 200, the pressurizing chamber 51 is securely sealed if the parallelism is within the crushing margin of the O-ring. be able to.

Although not shown, the opening / closing means opens and closes the pressurizing chamber 51 by bringing the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the mold 100 or the molding object 200 close to or away from each other. It is possible to apply one that moves by a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder, one that moves by an electric motor and a ball screw, or the like.

In addition, when the pressurizing unit 5 is configured in this way, it is preferable that the mold 100 or the molding target 200 constituting the pressurizing chamber 51 is a flexible film. In this way, a uniform pressure by the fluid can be applied to the surface to be molded.

As another example of the pressurizing unit 5, as shown in FIG. 4, a flexible film 57 disposed on a surface in contact with the mold 100 or the molding object 200, and pressurization together with the film 57 A pressurizing chamber casing 52 constituting the chamber 51 may be used.

As the material of the flexible film 57, for example, an elastic body such as a resin, a thin metal, or rubber can be used. Further, when a light source that emits light of a predetermined wavelength is provided on the pressurization chamber 51 side, a material that can transmit the light is selected for the film 57. The thickness of the film 57 is 10 mm or less, preferably 3 mm or less, more preferably 1 mm or less.

The pressurizing chamber casing 52 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening, as in the previous example. Further, the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the film 57 are fixed by an adhesive or the like, and the pressurizing chamber 51 is sealed. The pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the membrane 57 may be sealed by the sealing means 54 as described above.

The stage 2 is for supporting the mold 100 and the molding object 200 that have received the pressure of the pressurizing unit 5. The surface of the stage 2 that is in contact with the mold 100 or the workpiece 200 is formed into a sufficiently wide and smooth flat surface. The material may be anything as long as it has pressure resistance and heat resistance with respect to the molding conditions during the imprint process. For example, a metal such as carbon steel or stainless steel can be used. Further, when the mold 100 or the molding object 200 is heated from the pressure regulating chamber 31 side via the stage 2, it is preferable to use a metal or the like having high thermal conductivity. In addition, when heating the mold 100 or the molding object 200 from the pressurizing chamber 51 side, one having low thermal conductivity may be used to prevent heat from escaping to the pressure regulating chamber 31 side. In order to prevent unevenness, the stage surface side is preferably composed of a material having high thermal conductivity. In the optical imprint process, when the light source is disposed on the pressure adjusting chamber side, a transparent material such as glass may be used. Further, the mold 100 and the stage 2 may be integrally formed in order to prevent unnecessary transfer marks from being generated on the object 200. For example, conventionally, after a pattern is formed by electroforming, only the portion of the pattern is cut out and used, but this can be used as it is without being cut out.

The pressure adjusting unit 3 prevents the stage 2 from being deformed by the pressure of the pressurizing unit 5, and gives the stage 2 a reaction force against the pressure of the pressurizing unit 5.

As the pressure adjusting unit 3, for example, a pressure adjusting chamber casing 32 that forms a pressure adjusting chamber 31 together with the stage 2, and a pressure adjusting chamber sealing means 34 that seals between the stage 2 and the pressure adjusting chamber casing 32. And should be configured. In this case, the pressure regulating chamber casing 32 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening, and the pressure regulating chamber 31 that is a sealed space is configured by closing the opening by the stage 2. The pressure regulating chamber sealing means 34 is for bringing the pressure regulating chamber casing 32 and the stage 2 into close contact with each other in order to seal the pressure regulating chamber 31. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, an O-ring is prepared as the pressure-control chamber sealing means 34, and a concave groove shallower than the diameter of the cross-section of the O-ring is formed at the portion where the pressure-control chamber housing 32 and the stage 2 are in contact with each other. And an O-ring may be disposed in the groove. Thereby, the pressure regulation chamber casing 32 and the stage 2 can be brought into close contact with each other, and the pressure regulation chamber 31 can be sealed. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, you may arrange | position the heat insulating material 33 with the sealing means 34 for pressure regulation chambers in the part which the housing | casing 32 for pressure regulation chambers and the stage 2 contact.

It should be noted that the stage 2 and the pressure regulating chamber casing 32 may be integrally formed without using the pressure regulating chamber sealing means 34. If the pressure in the pressure adjusting chamber 31 is applied to the stage 2 as a reaction force, the pressure adjusting chamber housing 32 does not have an opening and is a container in which a surface that contacts the stage 2 is formed. It doesn't matter.

The material of the pressure regulation chamber casing 32 may be any material that has pressure resistance and heat resistance with respect to the molding conditions during the imprint process. For example, a metal such as carbon steel or stainless steel is used. be able to.

By configuring the pressure adjusting unit 3 in this way, the thermal expansion that occurs in the stage 2 and the stage peripheral members due to heating and cooling during molding can be released to the back side of the stage 2, so It is possible to prevent distortion and displacement.

The pressurizing means 6 may be anything as long as the pressure of the fluid in the pressurizing chamber 51 can be adjusted to a pressure at which the pattern of the mold 100 can be transferred to the molding target 200. For example, the pressurizing chamber The pressurizing chamber gas supply / discharge channel 62 is connected to the pressurizing chamber 52, and air or an inert gas or the like is supplied or exhausted to the pressurizing chamber 51 via the pressurizing chamber gas supply / exhaust channel 62. Just do it. For the gas supply, a gas supply source 61 such as a cylinder or a compressor having a compressed gas can be used. Further, although not shown in the drawings, the gas may be exhausted by opening and closing a deaeration valve. In addition, you may provide a safety valve etc. suitably.

The pressure adjusting means 8 adjusts the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurizing chamber 51 and the pressure regulating chamber 31 to be sufficiently small with respect to the strength of the stage 2 in order to prevent the stage 2 from being deformed. . For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a communication pipe that communicates the pressurizing chamber 51 and the pressure regulating chamber 31 can be used. Thereby, since the pressure of the pressurization chamber 51 and the pressure regulation chamber 31 can be made the same, the pressure difference added to both surfaces of the stage 2 can be made zero. Therefore, the thickness of the stage 2 can be reduced and the entire apparatus can be reduced in weight. Further, when the thickness of the stage 2 is reduced, the heat capacity of the stage 2 is also reduced, so that the heating rate and cooling rate of the mold 100 or the molding 200 can be improved. Furthermore, the change in the position of the stage 2 due to thermal expansion can be reduced.

Although not shown in the drawings, as another form, the pressure adjusting means 8 includes a pressure adjusting chamber gas supply / discharge passage connected to the pressure adjusting chamber casing 32, and pressures of the pressurizing chamber 51 and the pressure adjusting chamber 31. A pressure sensor that detects the pressure from the pressure supply chamber gas supply / discharge passage so that the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurization chamber 51 and the pressure adjustment chamber 31 is reduced based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor. You may comprise so that gas, such as air and an inert gas, may be supplied or exhausted to the pressure chamber 31. FIG. For the gas supply, a gas supply source such as a cylinder or a compressor having a compressed gas can be used. Further, the gas may be exhausted by opening and closing the deaeration valve. In addition, you may provide a safety valve etc. suitably.

The temperature control means adjusts the temperature of the molding by heating or cooling the molding. As the temperature adjustment means, a heating means for directly or indirectly heating the molding or a cooling means for cooling can be used.

Any heating means can be used as long as one or both of the mold 100 and the molding object 200 can be heated to a predetermined temperature, for example, the glass transition temperature or the melting temperature or more of the molding object 200. But it ’s okay. Further, the object 200 may be heated from the stage 2 side or heated from the pressurizing chamber 51 side. Specifically, a heater that is provided in the stage 2 or on the side of the stage 2 facing the molding object 200 and that heats the mold 100 or the molding object 200 from the stage 2 side can be used. Further, a radiant heat source 14 (see FIG. 4) for heating by electromagnetic radiation, such as a ceramic heater or a halogen heater, is provided in the pressurizing chamber 51 or the pressure adjusting chamber 31, and the one that heats the mold 100 or the molding object 200 is used. You can also. Moreover, the gas supplied to the pressurizing chamber 51 and the pressure adjusting chamber 31 can be heated and heated by the heated gas.

Any cooling means may be used as long as one or both of the mold 100 and the molding object 200 can be cooled to a predetermined temperature, for example, below the glass transition temperature or the melting temperature of the molding object 200. But it ’s okay. Further, the object 200 may be cooled from the stage 2 side or may be cooled from the pressurizing chamber 51 side. Specifically, a cooling water channel is provided in the stage 2 or on the side of the stage 2 facing the object to be molded, and the mold 100 or the object 200 can be cooled from the stage 2 side. Further, a cooling gas or a liquid that circulates in the pressurizing chamber 51 or the pressure adjusting chamber 31 to cool it may be used.

As another embodiment, the temperature adjustment means includes a fluid supply means for supplying a fluid at a predetermined temperature to the stage 2 from a plurality of supply ports 11 disposed in the pressure adjustment chamber 31, and a fluid in the pressure adjustment chamber 31. And a discharge flow path 4 for discharging water.

Here, liquid such as water or oil can be used as the fluid. A gas such as saturated water vapor can also be used.

The fluid supply means may be any device as long as it can supply a fluid at a predetermined temperature. For example, as shown in FIG. A heating tank 12 that heats the heating tank 12 to a predetermined temperature, a supply passage 13 that connects the heating tank 12 and the supply port 11, and a pump 19 that causes the fluid in the heating tank 12 to flow from the supply port 11 good.

The supply port 11 is arranged so that the fluid can be jetted or sprayed onto the stage 2. In this case, it is preferable that the mold 100 or the molding target 200 held on the stage 2 is appropriately arranged at a position where it can be heated uniformly.

In addition, the pressure regulating chamber 31 side of the stage 2 may have any shape as long as it can receive the fluid supplied from the supply port 11, but in order to efficiently exchange heat with the fluid. It is preferable to have a plurality of irregularities 22 that increase the surface area. The irregularities 22 may have any shape, but may be, for example, a quadrangular pyramid that can be evenly arranged.

The heating tank 12 includes a heating means 12a such as an electric heater that heats the fluid, and a temperature detection means (not shown) such as a thermocouple that detects the temperature of the fluid, thereby heating the fluid to a predetermined temperature. Can do.

The discharge flow path 4 is connected to the flow path 41 and the flow path 42 via the three-way valve 43, and by switching the three-way valve, the fluid in the pressure regulating chamber 31 may be discarded through the flow path 41. It may be returned to the heating tank 12 of the fluid supply means through the path 42 and reused.

With this configuration, the mold 100 or the molding object 200 can be heated at high speed and uniformly.

Further, when cooling the mold 100 or the molding object 200, as shown in FIG. 1, as a fluid supply means, a cooling tank 15 for storing a cooling fluid, a cooling tank 15 and a supply flow path 13 are provided. And a cooling fluid supply flow path 16 connected through a three-way valve 17 may be used.

As the cooling fluid, any fluid may be used as long as it is lower than the temperature of the mold 100 or the molding object 200. For example, a liquid such as water can be used.

Thereby, it is possible to uniformly cool the mold 100 and the molding 200 heated during imprint molding or the like.

In addition, the temperature adjusting means is not provided directly in the pressure adjusting chamber 31, but is disposed below the stage 2 in the pressure adjusting chamber 31 as shown in FIG. A temperature adjustment casing 72 that forms the adjustment chamber 71 may be provided separately. By configuring in this way, the thermal expansion of the temperature adjusting means occurs on the pressure adjusting chamber side, so that the stage can be prevented from being distorted or displaced.

The temperature adjustment casing 72 may be any type as long as it has pressure resistance that can withstand the internal pressure during temperature adjustment. For example, a structure in which a plurality of support columns supporting the stage 2 are formed in the temperature control chamber can be used. Further, it is preferable that the temperature adjustment casing 72 has as high heat insulation as possible. Further, the stage 2 and the greenhouse casing 72 may be integrally formed.

Further, the temperature control means may be a combination of the above-described heating means and cooling means.

Further, a decompression section 9 having a decompression chamber for decompressing the atmosphere around the mold and the workpiece may be provided. Thereby, since the gas existing between the mold 100, the molding object 200, and the stage 2 can be removed, the mold 100 and the molding object 200 can be pressed uniformly.

As the decompression unit 9, for example, a decompression chamber 91 containing either one or both of the mold 100 and the molding object 200 is formed, and the decompression chamber 91 is decompressed to reduce the mold 100, the molding object 200, and the stage 2. What removes the gas between them may be used.

The decompression chamber 91 includes, for example, a pressurization chamber casing 52, a bellows 93 that hangs down from a flange portion that extends horizontally from the top of the pressurization chamber casing 52, and covers the pressurization chamber casing 52. The gas in the decompression chamber 91 is exhausted through the seal member 94 that seals between the bellows 93 and the pressure regulating chamber casing 32 on which the stage 2 or the stage 2 is placed, and the decompression chamber gas supply / discharge passage 95. Formed by a vacuum pump 96. The seal member 94 is disposed in a concave groove formed on the stage 2 side of the bellows 93. Further, the decompression pump 96 only needs to be capable of decompressing the decompression chamber 91 to the extent that no transfer failure occurs when the molding object 200 is pressurized to the mold 100. Needless to say, the bellows 93 and the seal member 94 are strong enough to withstand external force when decompressed.

It is also possible to make the gas supply / discharge flow path 62 for the pressurizing chamber and the gas supply / discharge flow path 95 for the decompression chamber common. In this case, first, the gas in the decompression chamber 91 and the pressurization chamber 51 is removed in a state where the pressurization chamber 51 is released to remove the gas in the decompression chamber 91, and then the pressurization chamber 51 is closed, A gas may be supplied to the pressurizing chamber 51 to press the molding object 200 against the mold 100.

In addition, when the pressurizing unit 5 includes the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the membrane 57 and the pressurizing chamber casing 52 and the membrane 57 are fixed to each other with an adhesive or the like, the pressurizing portion 5 is pressurized. Pressure reducing pressure adjusting means (not shown) for making the pressure in the chamber 51 and the pressure reducing chamber 91 the same may be provided. As the pressure adjusting means for pressure reduction, for example, a communication path that connects the pressurizing chamber 51 and the pressure reducing chamber 91 via an opening / closing means may be provided. Thereby, the pressurizing chamber 51 and the decompression chamber 91 can be set to the same pressure by opening the opening / closing means during decompression.

Further, when used in the optical imprint process, a light source 15 capable of emitting an electromagnetic wave having a predetermined wavelength to the molding target 200 may be disposed in the pressurizing chamber 51 as shown in FIG. Of course, the light source 15 can be provided on the pressure regulating chamber 31 side.

2 Stage 3 Pressure adjusting section 4 Discharge flow path 5 Pressurizing section 6 Pressurizing means 8 Pressure adjusting means 9 Pressure reducing section 11 Supply port 22 Concavity and convexity 31 Pressure adjusting chamber 51 Pressurizing chamber 52 Pressurizing chamber casing 54 Sealing means 57 Membrane 91 Decompression chamber 100 type 200

Claims

An imprint apparatus for transferring a molding pattern of a mold to a molding object,
A pressurizing unit having a pressurizing chamber for pressurizing the mold and the molding object with a fluid;
A stage that supports the mold and the molding that have been subjected to the pressure of the pressure unit;
A pressure regulating unit provided on a side of the stage facing the pressurizing unit, and having a pressure regulating chamber for pressurizing the stage with a fluid;
Pressurizing means for adjusting the pressure of the fluid in the pressurization chamber;
Pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber to be small;
An imprint apparatus comprising:
2. The imprinting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure adjusting means includes a communication pipe that communicates the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber.
3. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a decompression unit having a decompression chamber for decompressing an atmosphere around the mold and the molding.
4. The imprint apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pressure adjusting means is formed so as to be adjustable so that a pressure difference between fluids in the decompression chamber and the pressure regulating chamber is reduced.
The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising temperature adjusting means for adjusting a temperature of the molding object.
The temperature adjustment means includes a fluid supply means for supplying a fluid having a predetermined temperature to the stage from a plurality of supply ports arranged in the pressure adjustment chamber, a discharge flow path for discharging the fluid in the pressure adjustment chamber,
The imprint apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:
The imprint apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the stage is formed with a plurality of irregularities on the pressure regulating chamber side.
The pressurizing unit includes a pressurization chamber casing that forms the pressurization chamber together with the mold or the molding object, a sealing unit that seals between the mold or the molding object, and the pressurization chamber. The imprint apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising an opening / closing means for opening and closing between the housing for use and the mold or the molding object.
The pressurizing unit includes a flexible film disposed on a surface that comes into contact with the mold or the molding object, and a pressurization chamber casing that forms the pressurization chamber together with the film. The imprint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
A pressurizing device for pressurizing an object to be pressurized,
A pressurizing unit having a pressurizing chamber for pressurizing the object to be pressurized with a fluid;
A stage for supporting the object to be pressurized that has received the pressure of the pressure unit;
A pressure regulating unit provided on a side of the stage facing the pressurizing unit, and having a pressure regulating chamber for pressurizing the stage with a fluid;
Pressurizing means for adjusting the pressure of the fluid in the pressurization chamber;
Pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure difference between the fluid in the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber to be small;
A pressurizing apparatus comprising:
11. The pressurizing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the pressure adjusting means is constituted by a communication pipe that communicates the pressurizing chamber and the pressure regulating chamber.
The pressurizing device according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising a decompression unit having a decompression chamber for decompressing an atmosphere around the object to be pressurized.
13. The pressurizing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the pressure adjusting means is formed so as to be adjustable so that a pressure difference between fluids in the decompression chamber and the pressure regulating chamber is reduced.