Junichi Tashiro

Advanced photomask repair technology for 65-nm lithography (1)

The 65nm photomasks have to meet tight specifications and improve the production yield due to high production cost. The 65nm optical lithography has two candidates, 157nm and 193nm, and we are developing two types of experimental photomask repair systems, FIB and EB, for the 65nm generation. We designed and developed FIB and EB beta systems. The platforms of beta systems consist of anti-vibration design to reduce outer disturbance for repair accuracy. Furthermore, we developed a new CPU control system, especially the new beam-scanning control system that makes it possible to control the beam position below nanometer order. These developments will suppress transmission loss and improve repair accuracy of the systems. We also adopt the 6-inch mask SMIF pod system and the CAD data linkage system that matches the EB mask data image with the SED image to search defects in photomasks with sophisticated patterns such as OPC patterns. We evaluate the EB repair process, and confirm that it generates carbon film, which has possibility to generate the same quality as that of FIB. Furthermore, we confirmed that EB and FIB repair systems were able to deposit carbon film and etch chrome, quartz, and MoSi. In this paper, we report the photomask defect repair experimental systems and the feasibility study on photomask defect repair for the 65nm generation.