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Scatterometry for optimization of injection molded nanostructures at the fabrication line

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Abstract

A compact scatterometer has been build and tested at a production facility. The scatterometer is used to characterize the feature dimensions of injection molded polymer nanostructures and give on-site direct feedback to the operator on the produced quality. In this way, the injection molding process parameters are iteratively improved until accurate replication of the nanostructures has been achieved. The tests are carried out on 2-in. diameter samples with nearly 100 nanostructured areas, consisting of diffractive line gratings with different periods and orientations. It is found that different nanostructures require different process parameters to reach high replication fidelity. Scatterometry measurements are very fast, and will therefore not present a bottleneck when used for quality assurance during production. We furthermore examine the spatial variations in the replicated structures within molded polymer discs using an imaging scatterometer. We demonstrate that the imaging scatterometer is capable of characterizing the entire sample simultaneously, in contrast to the compact scatterometer which performs a local analysis based on measurements on the individual grating regions.

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Funding

The work presented has received funding from The Danish Agency for Institutions and Educational Grants, the Quantum Innovation Center, the Eurostars projects E9745-SuperLens and E8875-InFoScat, and the EMPIR programme co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme through the project 14IND09 MetHPM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Danish Fundamental Metrology A/S, Kogle Allé 5, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark

    Jonas Skovlund Madsen, Søren Alkærsig Jensen, Jørgen Garnæs & Poul Erik Hansen

  2. Center for Quantum Devices, Niels Bohr Institute, Universitetsparken 5, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jonas Skovlund Madsen & Jesper Nygård

  3. Polyoptics GmbH, Fujistrasse 1, 47533, Kleve, Germany

    Lars Nakotte & Arne Vogelsang

  4. NIL Technology ApS, Diplomvej 381, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

    Lasse Højlund Thamdrup, Ilja Czolkos, Alicia Johansson & Theodor Nielsen

Authors
  1. Jonas Skovlund Madsen
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  2. Søren Alkærsig Jensen
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  3. Lars Nakotte
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  4. Arne Vogelsang
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  5. Lasse Højlund Thamdrup
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  6. Ilja Czolkos
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  7. Alicia Johansson
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  8. Jørgen Garnæs
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  9. Theodor Nielsen
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  10. Jesper Nygård
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  11. Poul Erik Hansen
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jonas Skovlund Madsen or Poul Erik Hansen.

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Madsen, J.S., Jensen, S.A., Nakotte, L. et al. Scatterometry for optimization of injection molded nanostructures at the fabrication line. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 99, 2669–2676 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2665-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2665-7

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