Safe separation for nano imprinting

Abstract

Control of lateral strain and lateral strain ratio (d t /d b ) between template and substrate through the selection of template and/or substrate thicknesses (T t and/or T b ), control of template and/or substrate back pressure (P t and/or P b ), and/or selection of material stiffness are described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A nanolithography imprint system comprising:
 a substrate having a thickness T b  and formed of a material having a Young's modulus (E b );   a template in superimposition with the substrate, the template having a thickness T t  and formed of a material having a Young's modulus (E t ), the template thickness T t  selected such that, during separation of the template and substrate, the lateral strains d t  and d b  associated with the template and substrate, respectively, are matched.   
     
     
         2 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 1  wherein the substrate is Si and the template is fused silica. 
     
     
         3 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 2  wherein T b  is approximately 0.775 mm and T t  is approximately 1.1 mm. 
     
     
         4 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 1  wherein template thickness T t  is greater than substrate thickness T b . 
     
     
         5 . A nanolithography imprint system comprising:
 a substrate having a thickness (T b ) and being formed of a material having a Young's modulus (E b );   a template in superimposition with the substrate, the template having a thickness (T t ) and being formed of a material having a Young's modulus (E t );   chucks and systems configured for supplying and controlling back pressure to the template and/or back pressure to the substrate, such that, during separation of the template and the substrate, the lateral strains d t  and d b  associated with the template and substrate, respectively, are matched.   
     
     
         6 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 5 , wherein the amount and degree of back pressure applied to the template and to the substrate is predetermined based on the Young's modulus, thickness of the template and substrate, and the separation force to be applied. 
     
     
         7 . The nanolithography system of  claim 6 , further comprising a system configured for controlling a back pressure applied to the template and a system configured for controlling the back pressure applied to the substrate. 
     
     
         8 . The nanolithography system of  claim 7 , wherein the template and the substrate are formed of the same material, such that E t  and E b  are the same, wherein the template thickness T t  is greater than the substrate thickness T b , and wherein the systems for controlling back pressure are configured such that positive back pressure is applied to the template and negative back pressure is applied to the substrate. 
     
     
         9 . The nanolithography system of  claim 7 , wherein the template and the substrate are formed of the same material, such that E t  and E b  are the same, wherein the template thickness T t  is less than the substrate thickness T b , and wherein the systems for controlling back pressure are configured such that negative back pressure is applied to the template and positive back pressure is applied to the substrate. 
     
     
         10 . The nanolithography system of  claim 7  wherein the systems for controlling back pressure are configured to
 determine the differences between the lateral strains d t  and d b  using an analytical model and/or finite element analysis prior to application of back pressure; and 
 based on the determined differences between lateral strains d t  and d b , determine the amount of back pressure to apply to the template, the substrate, or both, such that the lateral strains d t  and d b  become matched when the separation force is applied. 
 
     
     
         11 . A nanolithography imprint system comprising:
 a substrate and a template for forming a patterned layer on the substrate, the template and the substrate having lateral strains d t  and d b  associated therewith, respectively, when subsequently subjected to a separation force to separate the template from the patterned layer once formed;   systems configured for controlling a back pressure applied to the template and the substrate, and further configured to determine the differences between the lateral strains d t  and d b  using an analytical model and/or finite element analysis and based on the determined differences between the lateral strains d t  and d b , determine the amount of back pressure to apply to the template, the substrate, or both, such that the lateral strains d t  and d b  become matched when the separation force is applied.   
     
     
         12 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11 , wherein the amount and degree of back pressure applied to the template and to the substrate is predetermined based on the Young's modulus, thickness of the template and substrate, and the separation force to be applied. 
     
     
         13 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply back pressure prior to applying the separation force. 
     
     
         14 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply back pressure concurrently with applying the separation force. 
     
     
         15 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply back pressure only to the template. 
     
     
         16 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply back pressure only to the substrate. 
     
     
         17 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply positive pressure. 
     
     
         18 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply negative pressure. 
     
     
         19 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply positive pressure to the template and negative pressure to the substrate. 
     
     
         20 . The nanolithography imprint system of  claim 11  wherein the back pressure control systems are further configured to apply negative pressure to the template and positive pressure to the substrate.