Silvio J. Rabello

Device based in-chip critical dimension and overlay metrology

The use of optical metrology techniques in process control for microelectronic manufacturing has become widespread. These techniques are fast and non-destructive, allowing a higher sampling rate than non-optical methods like scanning electron or atomic force microscopy. One drawback of most optical metrology tools is the requirement that special measurement structures be fabricated in the scribe line between chips. This poses significant limitations regarding the characterization of lithography processes that may be overcome via in-chip measurements. In this paper we present experimental results for an in-chip optical metrology technique that allows direct measurement of both critical dimensions and overlay displacement errors in the DRAM manufacturing process. This technique does not require special target structures and is performed on the actual semiconductor devices.

Mueller matrix measurement of asymmetric gratings

Scatterometry has been used extensively for the characterization of critical dimensions (CDs) and detailed sidewall profiles of periodic structures in microelectronics fabrication processes. In most cases devices are designed to be symmetric, although errors could occur during the fabrication process and result in undesired asymmetry. Conventional optical scatterometry techniques have difficulties distinguishing between left and right asymmetries. We investigate the possibility of measuring grating asymmetry with Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry (MM-SE) for a patterned hard disk sample prepared by a nanoimprint technique. The relief image on the disk sometimes has an asymmetrical sidewall profile, presumably due to the uneven separation of the template from the disk. Cross section SEM reveals that asymmetrical resist lines are typically tilted toward the outer diameter direction. Simulation and experimental data show that certain Mueller matrix elements are proportional to the direction and amplitude of profile asymmetry, providing a direct indication to the sidewall tilting. The tilting parameter can be extracted using rigorous optical critical dimension (OCD) modeling or calibration methods. We demonstrate that this technique has good sensitivity for measuring and distinguishing left and right asymmetry caused by sidewall tilting, and can therefore be used for monitoring processes for which symmetric structures are desired.

Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis and its applications in OCD measurements

This article describes an Uncertainty & Sensitivity Analysis package, a mathematical tool that can be an effective time-shortcut for optimizing OCD models. By including real system noises in the model, an accurate method for predicting measurements uncertainties is shown. The assessment, in an early stage, of the uncertainties, sensitivities and correlations of the parameters to be measured drives the user in the optimization of the OCD measurement strategy. Real examples are discussed revealing common pitfalls like hidden correlations and simulation results are compared with real measurements. Special emphasis is given to 2 different cases: 1) the optimization of the data set of multi-head metrology tools (NI-OCD, SE-OCD), 2) the optimization of the azimuth measurement angle in SE-OCD. With the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis result, the right data set and measurement mode (NI-OCD, SE-OCD or NI+SE OCD) can be easily selected to achieve the best OCD model performance.

Simultaneous overlay and CD measurement for double patterning: scatterometry and RCWA approach

As optical lithography advances to 32 nm technology node and beyond, double patterning technology (DPT) has emerged as an attractive solution to circumvent the fundamental optical limitations. DPT poses unique demands on critical dimension (CD) uniformity and overlay control, making the tolerance decrease much faster than the rate at which critical dimension shrinks. This, in turn, makes metrology even more challenging. In the past, multi-pad diffractionbased overlay (DBO) using empirical approach has been shown to be an effective approach to measure overlay error associated with double patterning [1]. In this method, registration errors for double patterning were extracted from specially designed diffraction targets (three or four pads for each direction); CD variation is assumed negligible within each group of adjacent pads and not addressed in the measurement. In another paper, encouraging results were reported with a first attempt at simultaneously extracting overlay and CD parameters using scatterometry [2]. In this work, we apply scatterometry with a rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) approach to characterize two double-patterning processes: litho-etch-litho-etch (LELE) and litho-freeze-litho-etch (LFLE). The advantage of performing rigorous modeling is to reduce the number of pads within each measurement target, thus reducing space requirement and improving throughput, and simultaneously extract CD and overlay information. This method measures overlay errors and CDs by fitting the optical signals with spectra calculated from a model of the targets. Good correlation is obtained between the results from this method and that of several reference techniques, including empirical multi-pad DBO, CD-SEM, and IBO. We also perform total measurement uncertainty (TMU) analysis to evaluate the overall performance. We demonstrate that scatterometry provides a promising solution to meet the challenging overlay metrology requirement in DPT.

Scatterometry measurement of asymmetric gratings

Scatterometry has been used extensively for the characterization of critical dimensions (CD) and detailed sidewall profiles of periodic structures in microelectronics fabrication processes. So far the majority of applications are for symmetric gratings. In most cases devices are designed to be symmetric although errors could occur during fabrication process and result in undesired asymmetry. The problem with conventional optical scatterometry techniques lies in the lack of capability to distinguish between left and right asymmetries. In this work we investigate the possibility of measuring grating asymmetry using Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry (MM-SE). A patterned hard disk prepared by nano-imprint technique is used for the study. The relief image on the disk sometimes has asymmetrical sidewall profile, presumably due to the uneven separation of the template from the disk. The undesired tilting resist profile causes difficulties to the downstream processes or even makes them fail. Cross-section SEM reveals that the asymmetrical resist lines are typically tilted towards the outer diameter direction. The simulation and experimental data show that certain Mueller matrix elements are proportional to the direction and amplitude of profile asymmetry, providing a direct indication to the sidewall tilting. The tilting parameter can be extracted using rigorous optical critical dimension (OCD) modeling or calibration method. We demonstrate that this technique has good sensitivity for measuring and distinguishing left and right asymmetry caused by sidewall tilting, and can therefore be used for monitoring processes, such as lithography and etch processing, for which symmetric structures are desired.