Patent ID: 8268220

Claim:
An imprint lithography method comprising: (a) disposing a quantity of a first surfactant on a surface of an imprint lithography mold; (b) disposing a first polymerizable composition a surface of an imprint lithography substrate, wherein the first polymerizable composition comprises a bulk material and an additional quantity of the first surfactant in a selected weight ratio; (c) contacting the first polymerizable composition with the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the quantity of the first surfactant disposed thereon; and (d) polymerizing the first polymerizable composition between the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the quantity of the first surfactant disposed thereon and the surface of the imprint lithography substrate to form a first polymerized layer between the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the quantity of the first surfactant disposed thereon and the surface of the imprint lithography substrate; and (e) separating the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the quantity of the first surfactant disposed thereon from the first polymerized layer, wherein the first polymerizable composition wets the surface of the mold having the quantity of the first surfactant disposed thereon more readily than a second polymerizable composition wets the surface of the mold having a similar quantity of a second surfactant disposed thereon, such that the first polymerizable composition spreads more rapidly on the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the quantity of the first surfactant disposed thereon than the second polymerizable composition spreads on the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the similar quantity of the second polymerizable composition disposed thereon, the second polymerizable composition comprising the bulk material and the second surfactant in the selected weight ratio, wherein the second surfactant has the formula: where x is an integer in a range of 0 to 6, inclusive; and y is an integer in a range of 0 to 15, inclusive, and wherein less force is required to separate the first polymerized layer from the surface of the mold with the quantity of the first surfactant disposed thereon than to separate a second polymerized layer from the surface of the mold with the similar quantity of the second surfactant disposed thereon, the second polymerized layer formed by contacting the second polymerizable composition with the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the similar quantity of the second surfactant disposed thereon and polymerizing the second polymerizable composition between the surface of the imprint lithography mold having the similar quantity of the second surfactant disposed thereon and the imprint lithography substrate.