Leonid Poslavsky

Dark-field optical scatterometry for line-width-roughness metrology

As CMOS transistor critical dimensions (CDs) shrink to 35 nm and below, monitoring and control of line width roughness (LWR) and line edge roughness (LER) will become increasingly important. We used dark-field twodimensional beam profile reflectometry at 405 nm wavelength with a 0.9 numerical aperture (NA) objective to measure the low levels of diffuse scattered light from the roughness on the surfaces of lines in test structures on a wafer created by ISMI. This wafer contains a variety of amorphous etched gate test structures with a range of CDs from approximately 20 nm to 50 nm. Selected structures were thoroughly characterized for CD, LER and LWR by a critical-dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM). The integrated diffuse scattered intensities obtained from structures with different CD and LWR values were compared to LWR as measured by the CD-SEM. The diffuse scattered optical signal intensity showed, at best, a weak correlation to the CD-SEM measured LWR. However a plot of the diffuse scattered intensity versus CD-SEM measured CD showed a strong, but nonlinear, correlation. This indicates that the scattering depends not only on the surface roughness but also on the CD of the line (and presumably other details of the profile).

Dispersion model for band gap tracking

Methods and systems for determining band structure characteristics of high-k dielectric films deposited over a substrate based on spectral response data are presented. High throughput spectrometers are utilized to quickly measure semiconductor wafers early in the manufacturing process. Optical models of semiconductor structures capable of accurate characterization of defects in high-K dielectric layers and embedded nanostructures are presented. In one example, the optical dispersion model includes a continuous Cody-Lorentz model having continuous first derivatives that is sensitive to a band gap of a layer of the unfinished, multi-layer semiconductor wafer. These models quickly and accurately represent experimental results in a physically meaningful manner. The model parameter values can be subsequently used to gain insight and control over a manufacturing process.

Opportunities and challenges for optical CD metrology in double patterning process control

We review early challenges and opportunities for optical CD metrology (OCD) arising from the potential insertion of double patterning technology (DPT) processes for critical layer semiconductor production. Due to the immaturity of these new processes, simulations are crucial for mapping performance trends and identifying potential metrology gaps. With an analysis methodology similar in spirit to the recent NIST OCD extendability study1, but with aperture and noise models pertinent to current or projected production metrology systems, we use advanced simulation tools to forecast OCD precision performance of key structural parameters (eg., CD, sidewall angle) at litho (ADI) and etch (ACI) steps for a variety of mainstream optical measurement schemes, such as spectroscopic or angle-resolved, to identify strengths and weaknesses of OCD metrology for patterning process control at 32 and 22nm technology nodes. Test case geometries and materials for the simulated periodic metrology targets are derived from published DPT process flows, with ITRS-style scaling rules, as well as rather standard scanner qualification use cases. Consistent with the NIST study, we find encouraging evidence of OCD extendability through 22nm node dense geometries, a surprising and perhaps unexpected result, given the near-absence of published results for the inverse optical scattering problem for periodic structures in the deep sub-wavelength regime.