Design and analysis of the single-step nanoimprinting lithography equipment for sub-100 nm linewidth

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is the cutting-edge technology to produce sub-100 nm scale features on substrates. The fundamental procedure of nanoimprint lithography is replicating the patterns defined in the stamp to any deformable materials such as photoresist spun on substrates by pressing and the physical shape of the resist is deformed during the imprinting process. In this study, for the single-step nanoimprinting process, the 4-in. imprinting head, the fabricated 4-in. mask, the alignment system for multi-layer processes, and the six-DOF compliant mechanism of a wafer stage for single-step nanoimprinting on a 4-in. wafer are proposed. Using the designed nanoimprinting equipment, the nanoscale patterns with 100 nm linewidth and 150 nm height were clearly patterned on the substrate. Finally, the nanoimprinting results show the validity of the developed equipment. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.