HK1104984A

HK1104984A - Mold made of amorphous fluorine resin and fabrication method thereof

Info

Publication number: HK1104984A
Application number: HK07113330.5A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 李弘熙; 姜逹荣
Original assignee: 米纽塔技术株式会社
Filing date: 2004-05-04
Publication date: 2008-02-01

Description

Mold made of amorphous fluorine resin and method for manufacturing the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a mold for forming wiring patterns having different sizes (ranging from nm to cm) on a substrate; and more particularly, to a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin for forming a pattern (ultra-fine pattern, micro-pattern, and the like) on a substrate (silicon substrate, ceramic substrate, metal layer, polymer layer, and the like) in the process of manufacturing an integrated circuit, an electronic device, an electro-optical device, a magnetic device, and the like, and a method of manufacturing the same.

Background

As is well known in the art, in order to manufacture semiconductor devices, electronic devices, electro-optical devices, magnetic devices, display devices, micro-electromechanical devices, and the like, a process of forming a micro-wiring pattern on a substrate needs to be performed. As a representative technique for forming a micropattern on a substrate, there is a photolithography method for forming a micropattern by using light.

According to the photolithography method, a polymeric material having photosensitivity (e.g., photoresist and the like) is coated on the substrate, a material to be patterned is laminated or deposited on the substrate, and then the polymeric material is exposed to light through an exposure process using a reticle (reticle) designed with a certain target pattern. The exposed polymeric material is then removed by a development process so that a pattern mask or etch mask having a target pattern can be formed on the material to be patterned. Thereafter, the material laminated on the substrate may be engraved with a desired pattern by an etching process using a pattern mask.

Meanwhile, in the above-described photolithography method, the circuit line width or the pattern line width depends on the bandwidth of the light used in the exposure process. Therefore, it is very difficult to form a hyperfine pattern having a line width of, for example, 100nm or less on a substrate by using a conventional photolithography method.

Moreover, since such a conventional photolithography method requires a plurality of steps (e.g., a substrate cleaning process, a substrate surface treatment, a photopolymer coating process, a low temperature heat treatment process, exposure, development, cleaning, a high temperature heat treatment process, and the like), the method itself becomes complicated and requires a considerable processing time. In addition, expensive processing equipment is required, thereby increasing manufacturing costs and reducing productivity.

To overcome the limitations of conventional lithographic methods, non-conventional lithographic methods have been proposed.

One non-conventional lithographic method is the nanoimprint method used to transfer the pattern on the hardmask to the polymer film pattern on the substrate, as follows: a hard mask made of silicon (Si) on which a desired pattern is formed and a substrate coated with a thermoplastic polymer film on a surface thereof are prepared, the hard mask is made to face the substrate, pressing is performed on the hard mask and the substrate at high temperature and high pressure by using a pressing plate, and the pressed mask is separated from the substrate.

One advantage of this nanoimprint method is that it is easy to form a hyperfine pattern because a hard mold made of silicon and the like is used. In fact, according to studies, the minimum dimension of the known pattern is about 7 nm.

However, the conventional nanoimprinting method has drawbacks as described below. First, it is difficult to separate the mold from the substrate after the pressing at high temperature and high pressure is finished. Furthermore, the high pressure during pressing results in possible damage to the mold and the substrate. Furthermore, since patterning is achieved by using a high-temperature polymer material fluid, considerable time is required to complete the above-described patterning, especially in the case of large-sized patterning, and thus the process time is also increased.

Other examples of non-traditional lithographic methods include microcontact printing (μ CP), micro-molding in capillary (MIMIC), micro-transfer molding (μ TM), soft molding, capillary lithography (CFL), and the like. Among these methods, a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer elastomer is commonly used as the mold.

Since the PDMS mold used in the conventional nanoimprint method is an elastomer, it is easy for the PDMS mold to be in conformal contact with the surface of the substrate to be patterned. Furthermore, since the PDMS mold has a low surface energy, the adhesion of the PDMS mold to the surface of another material is low enough to enable the PDMS mold to be easily separated from the surface of the substrate after the patterning is terminated. In addition, the high gas permeability due to the three-dimensional network structure results in easy absorption of the solvent.

Meanwhile, since the PDMS mold is an elastomer having low mechanical strength, the PDMS mold may be easily deformed, so that the PDMS mold may not be used to form a micro pattern having a size of, for example, about 500 μm or less, and is highly dependent on an aspect ratio of a pattern to be formed. In addition, the PDMS mold is swelled and deformed by a general organic solvent such as toluene and the like, so that the selection of the polymer and the solvent used in the patterning may be limited.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin, which is easily separated from a substrate on which a pattern is to be formed, and has high gas permeability while appropriately maintaining flexibility and mechanical strength, and a method of manufacturing the same.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold,

wherein the mold is made of amorphous fluorine resin.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold,

wherein the mold is made of a composition in which an amorphous fluorine resin and a polymeric elastomer are mixed.

According to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold,

wherein the mold is manufactured by a compression molding technique using a master mold having a pattern structure thereon facing the pattern, and the mold is made of amorphous fluorine resin.

wherein the mold is manufactured by an injection molding technique using a mold box (mold box) having a pattern structure on one side thereof facing the wiring pattern, and the mold is made of amorphous fluorine resin.

According to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold, the method including the steps of:

disposing a master mold having thereon a pattern structure facing the pattern in a container at a position such that the pattern structure faces upward;

filling the container with an amorphous fluororesin solution;

hardening the amorphous fluorine resin solution to produce a hardened amorphous fluorine resin; and

the hardened amorphous fluorine resin is separated from the master mold.

mixing a polymeric elastomer oligomer with a non-crystalline fluororesin solution to produce a mixed solution;

evaporating the solvent to produce a solvent-evaporated mixed solution;

adding a hardening agent to the solvent-evaporated mixed solution to produce a composition;

injecting the composition into a container having a master mold disposed therein, the master mold having a pattern structure facing the pattern;

hardening the composition to produce a hardened composition; and

separating the hardening composition from the master mold.

mixing a polymeric elastomer oligomer, an amorphous fluorine resin, and a hardener to produce a composition;

hardening the composition to produce a hardened composition; and

separating the hardening composition from the master mold.

Drawings

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

fig. 1A and 1B illustrate a process of manufacturing a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2A and 2B illustrate a process of manufacturing a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 3A and 3B illustrate a process of manufacturing a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The above and other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A drawback in the prior art in which Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a kind of polymeric elastomer, is used to manufacture a mold for forming a pattern on a substrate is that PDMS is easily deformed due to its low mechanical strength and its swelling by an organic solvent. However, unlike the prior art, the present invention uses amorphous teflon (amorphous teflon) to manufacture a mold for forming a pattern (having a size ranging from nm to cm) on a substrate because amorphous teflon is easily separated from the mold as a fluorine resin because of its low surface energy and has appropriate mechanical strength, high gas permeability, non-swelling property against an organic solvent, and conformal contact with the surface of the substrate. The object of the invention can be achieved by using such technical means.

Thereafter, the mold made of amorphous fluorine resin according to the present invention may be manufactured by compression molding, injection molding and the like using amorphous fluorine resin powder, or by coating, casting and the like using amorphous fluorine resin solution.

As the amorphous fluorine resin used as a main material of the mold, Teflon AF ® developed by dupont, usa can be used. Teflon AF ®, an amorphous Teflon, is a copolymerized polymer resin of TFE (tetrafluoroethylene) and PDD (2, 2-bis (trifluoromethyl) -4, 5-difluoro-1, 3-dioxane). The copolymerization rates can range from 0 to 100% and are commercially available, including AF-1600, AF-2400, and the like, with varying copolymerization rates between TFE and PDD.

The mold made of amorphous fluorine resin has the following advantages compared to the conventional PDMS mold.

First, a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin is easily separated from a substrate due to low surface energy of amorphous fluorine resin after the patterning process is terminated.

Second, the mold made of amorphous fluorine resin provides high permeability, but does not swell against a specific solvent, and thus is not easily deformed.

Third, the mold made of amorphous fluorine resin has relatively high mechanical strength compared to an elastomer, and thus can be ultra-finely patterned, wherein the pattern size is less than or equal to, for example, 500 nm.

Fourth, since a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin can be used to fabricate a very thin and flexible thin film, it is possible to implement a conformal contact with a substrate.

Hereinafter, a process of fabricating a mold from the amorphous fluorine resin will be described.

Fig. 1A and 1B provide a flowchart illustrating a process of manufacturing a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1A, there is shown a master mold 104 mounted inside a fixture 102. The master mold 104 has some pattern structure, that is, a pattern structure facing the pattern of the mold to be manufactured, the pattern structure of the mold facing upward. Then, the inside of the jig 102 was filled with Teflon AF powder 106a of a desired thickness.

Next, a press plate is used for pressing; or more specifically, a platen 108 with a heater 110 inside is prepared and used to perform compression molding on Teflon AF powder 106a over a period of time (e.g., 120 minutes) under process conditions including a temperature of 340 c and a pressure of 3000 psi.

Thereafter, the pressing plate 108 is lifted, and the press-molded Teflon AF powder 106a is separated from the jig 102, thereby completing the manufacture of the mold 106 having a pattern such as that shown in fig. 1B. A mold 106 made of amorphous fluorine resin is used to form a pattern (having a size ranging from nm to cm) on a substrate.

Meanwhile, unlike the above-mentioned method, the mold 106 may be formed using a press molding method (an imprint method) including the steps of: filling the clamp with Teflon AF powder; compressing the Teflon AF powder with a pressing plate to form a flat plate; and pressing the flat plate by using a master mold having a certain pattern structure.

Also, the mold made of fluororesin according to the present invention may be manufactured by using an injection molding method, wherein for the above-described compression molding method, a molding box having a certain pattern structure on one side thereof (i.e., a pattern structure facing the pattern of the mold to be manufactured by injection molding) is used.

Fig. 2A and 2B illustrate a flowchart illustrating a process of manufacturing a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 2A, there is shown a master mold 204 mounted inside a container 202. The master mold has some pattern structure, that is, a pattern structure facing the pattern of the mold to be manufactured, the pattern structure of the mold facing upward. Then, the interior of the container 202 is filled with a desired amount of Teflon AF solution 206 a. In this case, the method of filling the container 202 with the solution 206a includes, for example, spin coating, spray coating, dip coating, solution casting, and the like.

Thereafter, the Teflon AF solution is hardened by evaporating the solution at a certain treatment temperature (e.g., 25 ℃) for a certain time (e.g., 240 minutes). This hardening process is more rapidly achieved by performing the heat treatment under a high temperature condition (or a high temperature vacuum condition) and rotating the container 202 containing the Teflon AF solution at a high speed to facilitate the evaporation of the solvent contained in the solution.

Next, the mold 206 is completed by separating the hardened Teflon AF from the container 202, the mold having a pattern structure such as that shown in fig. 2B. The mold 206 made of amorphous fluorine resin is used to form a pattern (having a size ranging from nm to cm) on a substrate.

Meanwhile, in this embodiment, a mold having a target thickness may be realized by repeating the process of filling the container 202 having the master mold 204 therein with a Teflon AF solution and evaporating the solvent for a desired time.

Fig. 3A and 3B provide a flowchart illustrating a process of manufacturing a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 3A, there is shown a master mold 304 mounted inside a jig or container 302 with the pattern structure of the master mold facing upward. Next, by using the aforementioned method according to the first and second embodiments and modifications thereof, a press mold or hardened Teflon AF mold layer 306 having a thickness ranging from several μm to several hundred μm is formed in the jig or container 302.

Thereafter, the top of the compression-molded or hardened Teflon AF mold layer 306 is filled with a certain amount of a polymeric elastomer precursor 308a made of, for example, PDMS and PU, and then a hardening process is performed to harden the polymeric elastomer mold precursor 308a to form the polymeric elastomer mold layer 308.

Next, the mold having the two-layer structure composed of the Teflon AF mold layer 306 and the polymeric elastomer mold layer 308 is separated from the jig or container 302, thereby completing the manufacture of the mold having the two-layer structure, such as the pattern structure shown in fig. 3B. A two-layer mold made of amorphous fluorine resin is used to form a pattern (having a size ranging from nm to cm) on a substrate.

The mold manufactured according to this embodiment has a structure in which a polymeric elastomer (made of PDMS, PU, and the like) is coupled to a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin, making it possible to easily form a mold having a pattern of different sizes on a substrate.

Meanwhile, the material and structure of the mold according to the present invention are not limited to an amorphous resin such as teflon and a two-layer structure in which a polymeric elastomer (made of PDMS, PU, and the like) is connected to a portion of the teflon structure (on which no pattern is formed), respectively. Also, the mold may be made of a composite material in which amorphous fluorine resin and polymeric elastomer are mixed.

A composite mold made of a material in which amorphous fluorine resin such as teflon and the like is mixed with a polymeric elastomer such as PDMS, PU and the like can be manufactured by using a method including the steps of: mixing the polymeric elastomer oligomer with the non-crystalline fluororesin solution in an appropriate mixing ratio; evaporating the solvent; adding a hardening agent to produce a composition by a mixing process; filling a container having a master mold therein with the composition; hardening the composition by using, for example, heat, ultraviolet rays, and the like; and separating the hardened composition from the master mold.

In this case, in order to facilitate the removal of the solvent, it is possible to carry out the heat treatment under the high-temperature condition or under the high-temperature vacuum condition or under the high-speed rotation container condition in the aforementioned embodiment.

Further, unlike the above-described method, the composition mold can also be manufactured by using a method comprising the steps of: simultaneously mixing a very fine amorphous fluorine resin powder having a nano-size, a polymeric elastomer oligomer and a hardener to produce a composition thereof; pouring the composition into a container having a master mold therein; hardening the composition; and separating the hardened composition from the master mold. At this time, the hardening may be achieved by using heat, ultraviolet rays, and the like as in the above-described method.

Application of the present invention a mold made of amorphous fluorine resin was manufactured, and then an experiment for forming a micro pattern on a substrate was performed by using the mold.

When an amorphous teflone mold was molded to form a master mold by using a silicon substrate having a pattern thereon under a process condition including a temperature of 340 c, a pressure of 2000psi and a process time of 5 minutes and naturally cooled to a temperature of room temperature, the amorphous teflone mold had a pattern with a line and a pitch of 1 μm. In this test example, a silicon substrate was used as a master mold and polystyrene was used as a polymer. Furthermore, the pattern was realized by using capillary lithography with an amorphous teflone mold (under the processing conditions of 150 ℃ C. temperature and 30 minutes processing time).

According to the results of the experiments achieved by the application of the present invention, the amorphous fluorine teflone mold of the present invention is easily separated from the substrate after the completion of the patterning, and has high permeability, high non-deformability against a specific solvent, relatively high mechanical strength compared to an elastomer, and conformal contact with the substrate due to its flexibility. Also, by using such an amorphous teflon mold, a stable and reliable micro pattern can be formed on a substrate.

The prior art in which PDMS, i.e., a polymeric elastomer, is used to manufacture a mold for forming a pattern on a substrate has a drawback in that PDMS is easily deformed due to its low mechanical strength and its swelling by an organic solvent. However, unlike the prior art, the present invention uses amorphous teflone, i.e., amorphous fluorine resin, to manufacture a mold for forming patterns of different sizes on a substrate because it has low surface energy and provides appropriate mechanical strength, high gas permeability, non-swelling property against organic solvents, and conformal contact with the surface of the substrate, so that amorphous teflone can be easily separated from the mold, and thus the mold can be easily separated from the substrate, and has high gas permeability, non-deformability against specific solvents, relatively high mechanical strength compared to elastomers, and conformal contact with the substrate due to its flexibility.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold,

wherein the mold is made of amorphous fluorine resin.

2. The mold of claim 1, wherein the mold is a two-layer structure in which a polymeric elastomer having a thickness is attached to the other side of the mold opposite the pattern.

3. A mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold,

4. A method for manufacturing a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold,

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the manufacturing method comprises the steps of:

arranging the master mold in a jig at a position such that the pattern structure of the master mold faces upward;

filling the jig with amorphous fluorine resin powder;

disposing a pressing plate to be contactable with the amorphous fluorine resin powder; and

performing a press molding on the amorphous fluorine resin powder under certain process conditions to produce a press-molded amorphous fluorine resin; and

separating the compression-molding amorphous fluorine resin from the master mold to obtain the mold.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the manufacturing method comprises the steps of:

arranging the master mold at a position inside a jig with the pattern structure of the master mold facing upward;

filling the jig with amorphous fluorine resin powder;

filling a PDMS elastomer precursor on top of the compression-molded amorphous fluorine resin in the jig;

hardening the PDMS elastomer precursor to obtain a PDMS elastomer; and

separating the two-layer structure including the compression-molded amorphous fluorine resin and the PDMS elastomer from the master mold to obtain the mold having a two-layer structure.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the manufacturing method comprises the steps of:

filling amorphous fluorine resin powder with a certain thickness into a fixture;

disposing a pressing plate to be contactable with the amorphous fluorine resin powder;

performing a press molding on the amorphous fluorine resin powder under certain process conditions to form an amorphous fluorine resin sheet;

aligning the amorphous fluorine resin plate with the pattern structure of the master mold;

performing a press molding on the amorphous fluorine resin sheet to obtain a press-molded amorphous fluorine resin; and

8. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the manufacturing method comprises the steps of:

hardening the PDMS elastomer precursor to obtain a PDMS elastomer; and

9. A method for manufacturing a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold,

wherein the mold is manufactured by an injection molding technique using a mold case having a pattern structure on one side thereof facing the pattern, and the mold is made of amorphous fluorine resin.

10. A method for manufacturing a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold, comprising the steps of:

disposing a master mold having thereon a pattern structure facing the pattern at a position in a container, the pattern structure facing upward;

filling the container with an amorphous fluororesin solution;

the hardened amorphous fluorine resin is separated from the master mold.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the hardening step is accomplished by a high temperature heat treatment process.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the hardening step is accomplished by a high temperature vacuum heat treatment process.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the hardening step is accomplished by rotating the container at a high speed.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein prior to the separating step, the method of manufacturing further comprises the steps of:

filling a PDMS elastomer precursor on top of the hardened amorphous fluorine resin; and

curing the PDMS elastomer precursor to produce a PDMS elastomer,

wherein the mold has a two-layer structure including a hardened amorphous fluorine resin and the PDMS elastomer.

15. A method for manufacturing a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold, comprising the steps of:

evaporating the solvent to produce a solvent-evaporated mixed solution;

hardening the composition to produce a hardened composition; and

separating the hardening composition from the master mold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the evaporating step is accomplished by a high temperature heat treatment process.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the evaporating step is accomplished by a high temperature vacuum heat treatment process.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the evaporating step is accomplished by rotating the container at a high speed.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the hardening step is accomplished by using heat or ultraviolet light.

20. A method for manufacturing a mold for forming a target wiring pattern on a substrate by using a pattern formed on one side of the mold, comprising the steps of:

hardening the composition to produce a hardened composition; and

separating the hardening composition from the master mold.