A review of scatterometry technology and its relevance to high volume silicon manufacturing is presented First, an introduction and history of the technology are provided, with the technology being broadly described in two parts known as the “forward” and “inverse” problems In the forward problem, the scatterometry signature is acquired by some optical measurement Both single wavelength, angle scanning and fixed angle, wavelength scanning approaches to the forward problem are described In the inverse problem, the scatterometry signature is analyzed to determine dimensional parameters that are of interest for the application Two common approaches to the inverse problem are summarized The most common approach involves a direct comparison to a pre‐computed database of theoretically generated signatures Another approach, often called a “real time” regression, uses optimization methods to compare the measured signature against modeled signatures dynamically Strengths and weaknesses of each method are discussed Finally, a review of scatterometry applications with high potential in mainstream volume manufacturing will be presented In particular, the emphasis will be on lithography applications that are readily addressable from a technology perspective and compelling in terms of their value to reducing costs and increasing yields in the manufacturing process The increasing role of scatterometry for integrated metrology applications, and limits of the technology as the silicon industry moves well into the sub‐100 nm regime, will also be discussed

Overview Of Scatterometry Applications In High Volume Silicon Manufacturing

The ever decreasing size of semiconductor features demands the advancement of critical dimension atomic force microscope (CD-AFM) technology, for which the fabrication and use of more ideal probes like carbon nanotubes (CNT) is of considerable interest. The recent progress in the precise control of CNT orientation, length, and end modification, using manipulation and focused ion beam processes, allowed us to implement ball-capped CNT tips and bent CNT tips for CD-AFM. Such CNT tips have been tested for the first time in a commercial CD-AFM to image a grating and line edge roughness samples. We found out that CNT tips can reasonably scan the pattern profiles including re-entrant sidewalls with the CNT tip geometries we used and with the available range of scan parameters. There still remain important issues to address - including tighter control of tip geometry and optimization of scan parameters and algorithms for using CNT tips.

Application of Carbon Nanotube Probes in a Critical Dimension Atomic Force Microscope | NIST

At SPIE 2013 in Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography an invited paper was published titled “In-line E-beam wafer metrology and defect inspection: the end of an era for image-based critical dimensional metrology? New life for defect inspection”. Three years have passed and numerous developments have occurred as predicted in this paper. The development of E-beam tools that can concurrently handle metrology and defect applications is one of the primary developments. In this paper, the capabilities of these new E-beam tools and their current use cases will be discussed in the areas of Critical Dimension Uniformity (CDU), In-die overlay, Hot spot and Physical defect inspection. Emphasis will be placed on use cases where “massive” CDU data is collected in order to increase yield learning for manufacturing (14nm) and decrease cycles of learning for development (7nm). Additionally, some of the other subject material from the previous publication will also be discussed such as the current state of E-beam critical dimension image fidelity and physical defect detection capabilities. Lastly, future directions and opportunities for In-line E-beam including Multi-beam and/or Multi-column E-beam will be discussed.

In-line E-beam metrology and defect inspection: industry reflections, hybrid E-beam opportunities, recommendations and predictions

Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurement of periodic structures ("scatterometry") has become a standard method for critical dimension and topography measurement in the integrated circuit industry. As dimensions are reduced, this method may not be adequate for research and process control. Use of immersion mode measurements may extend the usefulness of near UV specular scatterometry. In this paper, we present the first experimental measurements of gratings in water immersion and discuss the issues in achieving improved nano-topography measurements with this method.

Immersion scatterometry for improved nano-scale topography measurements

We report a study of the effect of target size on CD measurement by angular scatterometry in two ways One is reducing the spot size (say to 40 mm) to permit the use of a smaller target; another is to overfill the target Starting with standard grating targets of 80 x 80 mm size, with fixed CD 400 nm and LS (Linewidth to Spacing) ratio 1:1, test gratings have been designed with X and Y dimensions varied from 80 to 10 mm in 10 mm intervals We show how the scattering signatures are influenced by the varying target sizes and spot sizes especially when the target grating is overfilled The errors in CD measurements caused by the target and spot size variations are also quantified Working with an overfilled small grating target and filtering out the specular noise offers a promising way to present the scattering signal from diffraction An empirical model to predict the scattering signatures as a function of target size is under development

Performance study of CD mark size for angular scatterometry

One of the many technology decisions facing the semiconductor industry for the 45 nm node (and beyond) is the selection of the best critical dimension (CD) metrology equipment to meet the needs of process equipment suppliers and semiconductor manufacturers. In an effort to address this need we fabricated advanced metrology structures using the Nanowriter e-beam writing tool at the Center for X-Ray Optics (CXRO) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The structures include lines and holes both in resist and etched into substrates. The smallest isolated CDs are 16 nm, while the smallest holes are less than 50nm. We used these samples to characterize a variety of metrology technologies. In this paper we discuss the capability of those technologies to measure structures having dimensions representative of the 45 nm and 32 nm nodes.

CD metrology for the 45-nm and 32-nm nodes

The variation in the printing of nominally identical contacts with electron-beam exposure is used to quantitatively determine the statistical variation in chemically amplified resists (KRS-XE with and without top coat, TOK) and non-chemically-amplified resists (PMMA and HSQ). Uniform 17×23 arrays of 24 and 32nm contacts were exposed at fixed doses with a 100keV electron beam. By looking at data observed from top view scanning electron microscopy images, a normal distribution was fitted to the fraction of contacts that printed versus dose to determine the standard deviation of the distribution relative to the dose at which 50% of the contacts printed. The top coat on KRS-XE increased contact uniformity and reduced the required dose. Quantitative analysis shows that PMMA contained as much noise as the chemically amplified resist systems, KRS-XE and TOK. Except HSQ, this normalized standard deviation ranged from 0.16 to 0.21 which is indicative that the contact hole printing process may be dominated by less ...

Pattern noise in electron beam resists: PMMA, KRS-XE, TOK, HSQ

We have designed, fabricated, and optically measured several different nano-scale metamaterials. We employ e-beam nano-lithography technology at LBNL's CXRO for fabricating these structures on extremely thin SiN substrates so that they are close to free-standing. Optical properties were measured as a function of incidence angle and polarization using the ALS synchrotron IR beamlines. We directly observe strong magnetic resonances consistent with negative magnetic permeability in our samples at THz through near-IR optical frequencies. We will compare the results to detailed simulations. Finally, we will report on our progress towards constructing a negative index of refraction nano-scale metamaterial.

Nano-scale Metamaterials: Fabrication and Optical Measurements from THz towards visible

This paper reports on efforts to create fully left-handed meta-materials at multi-THz frequencies, detailed optical characterizations of various structures fabricated, and understanding to date of what the materials limitations are for making these structures smaller and smaller Presently, authors are using CXRO's nano-writer to create sub-micron structures with 60 nm smallest features Present results on these and other nano-fabricated structures with resonance frequencies in the 100 THz and higher range

/pdf/fabrication-and-optical-measurements-of-nanoscale-meta-1hm04zcedc.pdf

Fabrication and optical measurements of nanoscale meta-materials: terahertz and beyond

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CD metrology for the 45-nm and 32-nm nodes

Pattern noise in electron beam resists: PMMA, KRS-XE, TOK, HSQ

Nano-scale Metamaterials: Fabrication and Optical Measurements from THz towards visible

Fabrication and optical measurements of nanoscale meta-materials: terahertz and beyond