Nanoimprinting method, method for producing a droplet arrangement pattern, and method for fabricating substrates

Abstract

The disclosed nanoimprinting method suppresses fluctuations in thickness of residual film and defects due to residual gas in a resist film, onto which a pattern of protrusions and recesses is transferred, in a nanoimprinting method that employs the ink jet method to coat a substrate with droplets of resist material. Droplets are coated onto a substrate such that the spaces between the droplets along an A direction which is substantially parallel to the direction of the lines of a linear pattern of protrusions and recesses are longer than the spaces between the droplets in a B direction which is substantially perpendicular to the A direction, in a nanoimprinting method that coats a substrate with the droplets of a resist material using the ink jet method.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A nanoimprinting method, comprising:
 coating a substrate with a plurality of droplets of resist material by the ink jet method; and   pressing a linear pattern of protrusions and recesses of a mold onto the surface of the substrate which is coated with the droplets, to spread the droplets on the substrate, to form a resist film constituted by bonds among the spread plurality of droplets and to transfer the linear pattern of protrusions and recesses onto the resist film;   the droplets being coated on the substrate such that the spaces among droplets in an A direction substantially parallel to the direction of the lines of the linear pattern of protrusions and recesses are longer than the spaces among droplets in a B direction substantially perpendicular to the A direction within a line transfer region of the substrate that faces the linear pattern of protrusions and recesses when the linear pattern of protrusions and recesses is pressed against the substrate.   
     
     
         22 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 21 , wherein:
 a ratio Wa/Wb between an average space Wa between droplets in the A direction and an average space Wb between droplets in the B direction satisfy the following formula (1)
   1.8 ≦Wa/Wb ≦0.52 V   1/3   /d    (1)
 
   wherein V represents the average volume of each coated droplet, and d represents the average thickness of the resist film.   
     
     
         23 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 21 , wherein:
 the resolution in the A direction which is defined by an ink jet head that performs the coating with the droplets is set to be lower than the resolution in the B direction which is defined by the ink jet head.   
     
     
         24 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 22 , wherein:
 the resolution in the A direction which is defined by an ink jet head that performs the coating with the droplets is set to be lower than the resolution in the B direction which is defined by the ink jet head.   
     
     
         25 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 23 , wherein:
 one of the A direction and the B direction is set as a main scanning direction in the ink jet method, and the other is set as a sub scanning direction in the ink jet method; and   the ink jet head is set such that the intervals among lattice points along the sub scanning direction is an integer multiple of effective intervals among ink expelling outlets of the ink jet head along the sub scanning direction, when coating the droplets according to a droplet arrangement pattern constituted by a plurality of lattice points that correspond to positions at which each of the plurality of droplets are to be arranged.   
     
     
         26 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 24 , wherein:
 one of the A direction and the B direction is set as a main scanning direction in the ink jet method, and the other is set as a sub scanning direction in the ink jet method; and   the ink jet head is set such that the intervals among lattice points along the sub scanning direction is an integer multiple of effective intervals among ink expelling outlets of the ink jet head along the sub scanning direction, when coating the droplets according to a droplet arrangement pattern constituted by a plurality of lattice points that correspond to positions at which each of the plurality of droplets are to be arranged.   
     
     
         27 . A nanoimprinting method, comprising:
 coating a substrate with a plurality of droplets of resist material by the ink jet method; and   pressing a straight linear pattern of protrusions and recesses of a mold onto the surface of the substrate which is coated with the droplets, to spread the droplets on the substrate, to form a resist film constituted by bonds among the spread plurality of droplets and to transfer the straight linear pattern of protrusions and recesses onto the resist film;   the droplets being coated on the substrate according to a droplet arrangement pattern constituted by a plurality of lattice points that correspond to positions at which each of the plurality of droplets are to be arranged within a straight line transfer region of the substrate that faces the straight linear pattern of protrusions and recesses when the straight linear pattern of protrusions and recesses is pressed against the substrate; and   the droplet arrangement pattern having basic unit lattices having periodicity in each of an A direction substantially parallel to the direction of the lines of the straight linear pattern of protrusions and recesses and in a B direction substantially perpendicular to the A direction, and the periods of the periodicity in the A direction being longer than the periods of the periodicity in the B direction.   
     
     
         28 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 27 , wherein:
 each basic unit lattice is a unit structure that includes lattice points L1=0·a+0·b and L2=½·a+½·b, in the case that an initial point for a vector a that represents a single period in the A direction and an initial point for a vector b that represents a single period in the B direction are set at a single lattice point, and the basic unit lattice is designated as a parallelogram formed by the vector a and the vector b.   
     
     
         29 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 27  , wherein:
 a ratio Ta/Tb between a length Ta of a single period in the A direction and a length Tb of a single period in the B direction satisfy the following formula (2)
   1.8 ≦Ta/Tb 0.52 V   1/3   /d    (2)
 
 
 wherein V represents the average volume of droplets corresponding to representative lattice points of the basic unit lattice, and d represents the average thickness of the resist film. 
 
     
     
         30 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 28 , wherein:
 a ratio Ta/Tb between a length Ta of a single period in the A direction and a length Tb of a single period in the B direction satisfy the following formula (2)
   1.8 ≦Ta/Tb 0.52 V   1/3   /d    (2)
 
   wherein V represents the average volume of droplets corresponding to representative lattice points of the basic unit lattice, and d represents the average thickness of the resist film.   
     
     
         31 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 27 , wherein:
 the resolution in the A direction which is defined by an ink jet head that performs the coating with the droplets is set to be lower than the resolution in the B direction which is defined by the ink jet head.   
     
     
         32 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 28 , wherein:
 the resolution in the A direction which is defined by an ink jet head that performs the coating with the droplets is set to be lower than the resolution in the B direction which is defined by the ink jet head.   
     
     
         33 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 29 , wherein:
 the resolution in the A direction which is defined by an ink jet head that performs the coating with the droplets is set to be lower than the resolution in the B direction which is defined by the ink jet head.   
     
     
         34 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 30 , wherein:
 the resolution in the A direction which is defined by an ink jet head that performs the coating with the droplets is set to be lower than the resolution in the B direction which is defined by the ink jet head.   
     
     
         35 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 31 , wherein:
 one of the A direction and the B direction is set as a main scanning direction in the ink jet method, and the other is set as a sub scanning direction in the ink jet method; and   the ink jet head is set such that the intervals among lattice points along the sub scanning direction is an integer multiple of effective intervals among ink expelling outlets of the ink jet head along the sub scanning direction, when coating the droplets according to the droplet arrangement pattern.   
     
     
         36 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 32 , wherein:
 one of the A direction and the B direction is set as a main scanning direction in the ink jet method, and the other is set as a sub scanning direction in the ink jet method; and   the ink jet head is set such that the intervals among lattice points along the sub scanning direction is an integer multiple of effective intervals among ink expelling outlets of the ink jet head along the sub scanning direction, when coating the droplets according to the droplet arrangement pattern.   
     
     
         37 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 33 , wherein:
 one of the A direction and the B direction is set as a main scanning direction in the ink jet method, and the other is set as a sub scanning direction in the ink jet method; and   the ink jet head is set such that the intervals among lattice points along the sub scanning direction is an integer multiple of effective intervals among ink expelling outlets of the ink jet head along the sub scanning direction, when coating the droplets according to the droplet arrangement pattern.   
     
     
         38 . A nanoimprinting method as defined in  claim 34 , wherein:
 one of the A direction and the B direction is set as a main scanning direction in the ink jet method, and the other is set as a sub scanning direction in the ink jet method; and   the ink jet head is set such that the intervals among lattice points along the sub scanning direction is an integer multiple of effective intervals among ink expelling outlets of the ink jet head along the sub scanning direction, when coating the droplets according to the droplet arrangement pattern.   
     
     
         39 . A method for producing a droplet arrangement pattern, which is to be a reference for arranging droplets to be employed in a nanoimprinting method comprising coating a first substrate with a plurality of droplets of resist material by the ink jet method, and pressing a linear pattern of protrusions and recesses of a mold onto the surface of the first substrate which is coated with the droplets, comprising:
 coating a plurality of droplets of resist material at a standard amount onto a second substrate different from the first substrate;   pressing a second mold having a pattern of protrusions and recesses, which is at least partially the same as the linear pattern of protrusions and recesses, against the surface of the second substrate which is coated with the droplets, to spread the droplets to a degree that the droplets contact each other;   causing the shapes of the spread droplets of the standard amount to approximate ellipses;   measuring the arrangement of the ellipses;   rearranging the arrangements of the measured ellipses such that the plurality of ellipses are closely packed; and   obtaining a droplet arrangement pattern constituted by a plurality of lattice points that correspond to positions at which the plurality of droplets are to be arranged, by designating the centers of each of the rearranged plurality of ellipses as lattice points.