Some embodiments of the invention provide methods that can create large area complex patterns for nanoimprint molds without or with very litter of the use of the charged beam or photon beam direct-writing of nanostructures. Some embodiments of the invention use (i) Fourier nanoimprint patterning (FNP), (ii) edge-guided nanopatterning (EGN), and (iii) nanostructure self-perfection, and their combinations.

A planarization apparatus that planarizes a composition on a substrate using a mold includes a substrate holding unit configured to hold the substrate, a mold holding unit configured to hold the mold, a drive unit configured to drive the substrate holding unit and the mold holding unit, a pressing member configured to press a part of the mold which is in contact with the substrate with a composition interposed therebetween to separate the substrate from the mold, and a control unit configured to control a position of the pressing member to a predetermined position.

[Object] To provide a method for the production of a thin plate-like laminate having a film-like resin layer in which a concave/convex shape can stably be formed with high accuracy on the film-like resin layer laminated on a thin plate-like substrate.

[Achieving Means] There are provided a step of creating a mold retention structure 100 in which molds 110, which have been heated to a thermal deformation temperature of a film-like resin composition 84, are arranged on both surface sides of a workpiece 85, and a step of introducing the mold retention structure in which the heated molds are arranged between two compression rollers 52, 54 and compressing outer surfaces of the molds by rotating the compression rollers to integrally thermocompression-bond the film-like resin composition and a substrate 81 to form a thin plate-like laminate 80 having a film-like resin layer 82.

An imprint method using a mold and/or a transfer substrate having a mesa structure includes a resin supply step, a contact step, a curing step, and a mold release step. In the resin supply step, a balance layer is formed by supplying a molded resin also to an area outside of a pattern formation area of the transfer substrate in which a pattern structure is to be formed.

[Object] To provide a device for the production of a thin plate-like laminate having a film-like resin layer in which a concave/convex shape can stably be formed with high accuracy on the film-like resin layer laminated on a thin plate-like substrate.

[Achieving Means] There are provided a setting device 31 for creating a mold retention structure 100 in which molds 110 are arranged on both surface sides of a workpiece 85, a heating device 41 which heats the molds to a thermal deformation temperature of a film-like resin composition 84, a compression roller device 51 in which the mold retention structure, after heating of the molds, is introduced between two compression rollers 52, 54 and outer surfaces of the molds are compressed by, rotating the compression rollers to integrally thennocompression-bond the film-like resin composition and a substrate 81 to form a thin plate-like laminate 80 having a film-like resin layer 82, and an extraction device 61 which extracts the molds from the mold retention structure after compression.

To provide an information processing device, or the like that can reduce cost and time required for adjusting a profile of imprinting of an imprinting device, the information processing device for performing simulation of the imprinting with the imprinting device includes a curvature acquisition unit that acquires a change of a curvature of a pattern part in a vicinity of an outer circumference of a contact surface when the pattern part is brought in contact with an imprinting material in the imprinting, and a profile adjustment unit that adjusts a profile of the imprinting of the pattern part such that the curvature does not fall below a predetermined threshold.

In a method, a resin layer of a stack (e.g., resin layer over sacrificial layer over transparent substrate) is imprinted to form a convex region including first region with first height and second region with second height <first height. Stack portions are etched around the convex region to expose a substrate portion. The stack is utilized to develop a curable layer to define a cured layer over the exposed substrate portion. The convex region and cured layer are etched. The resin layer and a sacrificial layer portion underlying the second region are removed. A second substrate portion is exposed and a third substrate portion remains covered by a remaining sacrificial layer portion. The cured layer is substantially co-planar with the remaining sacrificial layer portion. A depression is formed extending to the second substrate portion. The remaining sacrificial layer portion is utilized to define functionalized layers over different depression regions.

An imprint apparatus including a control unit configured to obtains data for estimating a fluctuation of a positional shift between a mold and a substrate occurring during a contact step, and when performing an imprint process on the substrate, obtains an estimation value by estimating the positional shift occurring during the contact step from the positional shift measured by a measurement unit at a reference time during the contact step and the data, and drives at least one of the mold and the substrate in the contact step based on the estimation value so as to reduce the positional shift at a start of an alignment step.

A stamp for micro-transfer printing includes a support having a support stiffness and a support coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). A pedestal layer is formed on the support, the pedestal layer having a pedestal layer stiffness that is less than the support stiffness and a pedestal layer coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is different from the support coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). A stamp layer is formed on the pedestal layer, the stamp layer having a body and one or more protrusions extending from the body in a direction away from the pedestal layer. The stamp layer has a stamp layer stiffness that is less than the support stiffness and a stamp layer coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from the support coefficient of thermal expansion.

Provided are a method for producing a composition for forming an interlayer for nanoimprint, the method including a filtering step of filtering a precursor composition 1 including a resin having a polymerizable group with a filter, a step of adding a solvent to the precursor composition 1 after the step to obtain a precursor composition 2, and a filtering step of filtering the precursor composition 2 with a filter, in which a proportion of a total solid content of the obtained composition is 0.1% to 1.0% by mass; a method for producing a laminate formed of the composition for forming an interlayer; an imprint pattern producing method using the composition for forming an interlayer; and a method for manufacturing a device, which includes the imprint pattern producing method.