Design of a fine alignment system featuring active orientation adjustment for nano imprint lithography

Abstract

The fine alignment between a template with nano patterns and a wafer substrate, especially the parallelism between the two surfaces, is critical to Nano Imprint Lithography. A fine alignment system featuring active orientation adjustment which is composed of an imprint unit and a 6-DOF micromanipulator is proposed in this work. Deformations of a compact flexure layer caused by imprint loads are measured by four identical force sensors embedded in the imprint unit. The tilt of the flexure layer can thus be eliminated by adjusting the orientation of the 6-DOF micromanipulator. Kinematics and stiffness analysis are then developed, followed by dynamic performance evaluations. Based on the proposed system, an imprint tool is further developed and corresponding experiments are conducted. A saw shape grating pattern with 1.6 μm linewidth and a lattice pattern with 0.9 μm period are both imprinted with a minimum feature of 30 nm well reserved on the substrate. A maximum parallelism error of 14 nm across the template surface is also demonstrated by further section analyses on the imprinted patterns, hence the feasibility and superiority of the proposed method is verified.

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

“…In UV-NIL, the mold is brought into contact with a wafer previously coated with photoresist and solidified with UV light. A resolution of 30 nm can be achieved [77]. …”

Harnessing Hierarchical Nano‐ and Micro‐Fabrication Technologies for Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering

“…Given that the extracellular matrix (ECM) provides cells with nano‐ to microscale biophysical signals necessary for maintaining and regulating vital cellular functions, an increasing number of studies utilises imprinted patterns onto engineered scaffolds in an attempt to understand how topographical cues influence cell behaviour and consequently rationalise the design of implantable devices. Molecular imprinting, photoinduced imprinting, nanoimprint lithography (NIL), electron beam lithography, and soft lithography are the most widely used techniques to imprint patterns ( Figure ). Molecular imprinting refers to the topographical patterning of substrate surfaces based on sacrificial templates or “stamps” designed to introduce precise structural patterns that will act as complementary binding sites and thus impact the ability to recognise specific receptors on the substrate.…”

Optimum Design of a Dual-Range Force Sensor for Achieving High Sensitivity, Broad Bandwidth, and Large Measurement Range

“…NIL is believed to be a promising technology to replace the conventional photolithography method for semiconductor industry due to its low cost, high throughput and high resolution characteristics [2]- [4]. In a general plate-to-plate (P2P) nanoimprinter, parallel alignment between the template and the substrate plays a critical role in assuring the uniformity of the imprinted structures [5], [6]. Compared to position feedback control, force control is a better alternative because force signal is believed to be more direct and is less likely to be influenced by the thickness of the photoresist layer.…”