Petra Spies

Electron-beam-based photomask repair

High-resolution electron-beam-assisted deposition and etching is an enabling technology for current and future generation photomask repair. NaWoTec in collaboration with Carl Zeiss NTS (formerly LEO Electron Microscopy) has developed a mask repair tool capable of processing a wide variety of mask types, such as quartz binary masks, phase shift masks, extreme ultraviolet masks, and e-beam projection stencil masks. Specifications currently meet the 65nm device node requirements, and tool performance is extendible to 45nm and below. The tool combines LEO’s ultra-high-resolution Supra scanning electron microscope platform with NaWoTec’s proprietary e-beam deposition and etching technology, gas delivery system, and mask repair software. In this article, we focus on tool performance results; that is, the reproducibility and accuracy of repair of clear and opaque programmed defects on Cr binary and MoSi phase shift masks. These masks have in the past been difficult to repair due to beam position instability caus...

EUV mask stack optimization for enhanced imaging performance

EUVL requires the use of reflective optics including a reflective mask. The reticle blank contains a reflecting multilayer, tuned for 13.5nm, and an absorber which defines the dark areas. The EUV mask is a complex optical element with many more parameters than the CD uniformity of the patterned features that impact the final wafer CDU. Peak reflectivity, centroid wavelength and absorber stack height variations need to be tightly controlled for optimum performance. Furthermore the oblique incidence of light in combination with the small wavelength compared to the mask topography causes a number of effects which are unique to EUV, such as an H-V CD offset and an orientation dependent pattern placement error. These so-called shadowing effects can be corrected by means of OPC, but also need to be considered in the mask stack design. In this paper we will show that it is possible to improve the imaging performance significantly by reducing the sensitivity to mask making variations such as capping layer thickness and absorber stack height variations. The impact of absorber stack height variations on CD and proximity effects will be determined experimentally by changing the local absorber stack height using the novel e-beam based reticle repair tool MeRiT® HR 32 from Carl Zeiss in combination with exposures on ASMLs alpha demo tool. The impact of absorber reflectivity will be shown experimentally and used to derive requirements for the reticle border around the image field, as well as possible correction techniques.

Imaging performance improvements by EUV mask stack optimization

EUVL requires the use of reflective optics including a reflective mask. The mask contains a reflecting multilayer, tuned for 13.5 nm light, and an absorber which defines the dark areas. The EUV mask itself is a complex optical element with many more parameters than just the mask CD uniformity of the patterned features that impact the final wafer CDU. One of these parameters is absorber height. It has been shown that the oblique incidence of light in combination with the small wavelength compared to the mask topography causes a so-called shadowing effect manifesting itself particularly in an HV wafer CD offset. It was also shown that this effect can be essentially decreased by reducing absorber height and, in addition, it can be corrected by means of OPC. However, reduction of absorber height has a side effect that is an increased reflectivity of a mask black border resulting in field-to-field stray light due to parasitic reflections. One of the solutions to this problem is optical process correction (OPC) at field edges. In this paper we will show experimental data obtained on ASML EUV Alpha tool illustrating the black border effect and will demonstrate that this effect can be accurately predicted by Brion Tachyon EUV model allowing for a significant cross field CD uniformity improvement with mask layout correction technique. Also we show by means of rigorous 3D simulations that it is possible to improve the imaging performance significantly by performing global optimization of mask absorber height and mask bias in order to increase exposure latitude, decrease CD sensitivity to mask making variations such as CD mask error and absorber stack height variations. By sacrificing some exposure latitude throughput of exposure tool can be increased essentially and HV mask biasing can be reduced. For four masks with different absorber thicknesses from 44 nm to 87 nm it is proven experimentally by means of the EUV Alpha tool exposures of 27 nm L/S that the absorber thickness can be tuned to maximize exposure latitude. It was also proven that dose to size grows with absorber height and optimal feature bias depends on mask absorber height.

A novel electron-beam-based photomask repair tool

High-resolution electron-beam assisted deposition and etching is an enabling technology for current and future generation photo mask repair. NaWoTec in collaboration with LEO Electron Microscopy has developed a mask repair beta tool capable of processing a wide variety of mask types, such as quartz binary masks, phase shift masks, EUV masks, and e-beam projection stencil masks. Specifications currently meet the 65 nm device node requirements, and tool performance is extendible to 45 nm and below. The tool combines LEOs ultra-high resolution Supra SEM platform with NaWoTecs e-beam deposition and etching technology, gas supply and pattern generation hardware, and repair software. It is expected to ship to the first customer in October this year. In this paper, we present the tool platform, its work flow oriented repair software, and associated deposition and etch processes. Unique features are automatic drift compensation, critical edge detection, and arbitrary pattern copy with automatic placement. Repair of clear and opaque programmed defects on Cr, TaN, and MoSi quartz masks, as well as on SiC and Si stencil masks is demonstrated. We show our development roadmap towards a production tool, which will be available by the end of this year.

Bringing mask repair to the next level

Mask repair is an essential step in the mask manufacturing process as the extension of 193nm technology and the insertion of EUV are drivers for mask complexity and cost. The ability to repair all types of defects on all mask blank materials is crucial for the economic success of a mask shop operation. In the future mask repair is facing several challenges. The mask minimum features sizes are shrinking and require a higher resolution repair tool. At the same time mask blanks with different new mask materials are introduced to optimize optical performance and long term durability. For EUV masks new classes of defects like multilayer and phase defects are entering the stage. In order to achieve a high yield, mask repair has to cover etch and deposition capabilities and must not damage the mask. These challenges require sophisticated technologies to bring mask repair to the next level. For high end masks ion-beam based and e-based repair technologies are the obvious choice when it comes to the repair of small features. Both technologies have their pro and cons. The scope of this paper is to review and compare the performance of ion-beam based mask repair to e-beam based mask repair. We will analyze the limits of both technologies theoretically and experimentally and show mask repair related performance data. Based on this data, we will give an outlook to future mask repair tools.