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The ever-growing demand for hard drives with greater storage density has motivated a technology shift from continuous magnetic media to patterned media hard disks, which are expected to be implemented in future generations of hard disk drives to provide data storage at densities exceeding 1012 bits per square inch. Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL) technology has been employed to pattern the hard disk substrates. This paper discusses the infrastructure required to enable S-FIL in high-volume manufacturing; namely, fabrication of master templates, template replication, high-volume imprinting with precisely controlled residual layers, and dual-sided imprinting. Imprinting of disks is demonstrated with substrate throughput currently as high as 180 disks/hour (dualsided). These processes are applied to patterning hard disk substrates with both discrete tracks and bit-patterned designs.

Step-and-Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL) is a promising lithography strategy for semiconductor manufacturing at device nodes below 32nm. The S-FIL 1:1 pattern transfer technology utilizes a field-by-field ink jet dispense of a low viscosity liquid resist to fill the relief pattern of the device layer etched into the glass mask. Compared to other sub 40nm CD lithography methods, the resulting high resolution, high throughput through clustering, 3D patterning capability, low process complexity, and low cost of ownership (CoO) of S-FIL makes it a widely accepted technology for patterned media as well as a promising mainstream option for future CMOS applications. Preservation of mask cleanliness is essential to avoid risk of repeated printing of defects. The development of mask cleaning processes capable of removing particles adhered to the mask surface without damaging the mask is critical to meet high volume manufacturing requirements. In this paper we have presented various methods of residual (cross-linked) resist removal and final imprint mask cleaning demonstrated on the HamaTech MaskTrack automated mask cleaning system. Conventional and non-conventional (acid free) methods of particle removal have been compared and the effect of mask cleaning on pattern damage and CD integrity is also studied.