Characterization of 8-in wafers printed by nanoimprint lithography

Nanoimprint lithography is a promising technique which should allow good lithography to be achieved on a large surface in a short time and by a relatively simple process. Printing processes have been already demonstrated on 6-in. wafers with a few patterns distributed across the surface. In this paper, results of fully printed 8-in. wafers are presented; it is shown that patterns in the size range of 250 nm-100 gm can be obtained by one printing step on this large surface. The defects which can appear in the polymer during the nanoimprint lithography process are studied. The defect types depend on some printing conditions: air, vacuum, residual solvent. It is demonstrated that some defects are due to Saffman-Taylor instabilities, and that capillary strengths and mold deformation are responsible for the flower defects. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.