Removal of UV-cured resin using a hybrid cleaning process for nanoimprint lithography

Abstract

Removal of resin residues from quartz surfaces is one of the most critical issues in ultraviolet (UV) nanoimprint lithography (NIL) processes. Traces of resin residues on a quartz stamp cause pattern defects in the subsequent UV NIL process. This study investigates the effect of UV/O3 pretreatment and ozone dissolved water (DIO3) cleaning with megasonic (MS) on UV-cured resin removal. The bulk resin was oxidized and removed partly by UV/O3 pretreatment. The resin residues which remained on the surface in the form of a thin layer were removed by cleaning with 40ppm DIO3 along with megasonic. Subsequently, cleaning was performed using a 10% KOH solution to remove the adhesion promoter. Contact angle measurements showed that the surface was hydrophilic in nature, which confirms the complete removal of the UV-cured resin and adhesion promoter from the SiO2 substrate.