Patent ID: 8545709

Claim:
A nanoimprint lithography method for controlling critical dimension variations in patterned features, the method comprising: determining a dispense pattern for dispensing polymerizable material within a volume defined by an imprint lithography mold when the mold is placed in superimposition with a substrate; adjusting the dispense pattern to provide for a residual layer having variations in thickness when a patterned layer of polymerizable material is formed using the imprint lithography mold; dispensing the volume of polymerizable material on the substrate according to the adjusted dispense pattern; positioning the imprint lithography mold in superimposition with the dispensed polymerizable material on the substrate and contacting the dispensed polymerizable material; solidifying the polymerizable material to form a patterned layer having a residual layer and a plurality of features, the residual layer having the variations in thickness; determining thickness of residual layer as a function of location; applying a first etching composition to the formed patterned layer in a first etching process, wherein the magnitude of and variations in the thickness of the residual layer control the magnitude of variation in the critical dimension of the features; and, subsequent to applying the first etching composition, applying a second etching composition to the patterned layer to transfer the features into the substrate.