Patent ID: 8119052
Filing Date: 2012-02-21
Classification: B82Y,G03F,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method forming a patterned layer on a substrate in imprint lithography, the method comprising: providing a fluid dispense system with a multiplicity of fluid dispensers; selecting an imprinting surface having a plurality of pattern features; generating a fluid map, wherein the fluid map represents a distribution of fluid volume effective to allow successful replication of the imprinting surface, the fluid map having an array of cells with each cell representing a spatial region of the imprinting surface and having a fluid volume associated therewith; generating a fluid drop pattern using the fluid map by first generating a theoretical drop pattern with each theoretical drop having a volume chosen to fill the fluid volume of an associated cell of the fluid map and then optimizing the theoretical drop pattern to provide a fluid drop pattern with drop locations for drops of substantially equal volume that are substantially aligned with dispense locations of the fluid dispenser of the fluid dispense system and that allow for successful replication of the imprinting surface; wherein the optimizing further comprises generating an approximate centroidal Voronoi tessellation representation of the theoretical drop pattern comprising Voronoi regions, with each Voronoi region having a center of mass that is weighted based on its volume deficit and distance between centers of mass of adjacent Voronoi regions, and where a theoretical drop location is moved to a location that coincides with a weighted mean of all the Voronoi regions centers of mass; applying fluid to the substrate with the fluid dispense system according to the generated fluid drop pattern; contacting the fluid with the imprinting surface; solidifying the fluid on the substrate to form a patterned layer on the substrate, wherein the patterned layer is a successful replication of the imprinting surface.