Takeaki Ebihara

Vortex Mask: Making 80nm contacts with a twist!

An optical vortex has a phase that spirals like a corkscrew. Since any nonzero optical amplitude must have a well-defined phase, the axis of a vortex (where the phase is undefined) is always dark. Printed in negative resist, lowest order vortices would produce contact holes with 0.21<0.5, roughly 80-200nm diameter, with 248nm exposure and NA=0.63. Arrays of vortices with kpitch>0.6 can be produced using a chromeless phase-edge mask composed of rectangles with phases of 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°. EMF and Kirchhoff-approximation simulations reveal that the image quality of the dark spots is excellent, and predict a process window with 15% exposure latitude and 400nm DOF for 80nm diameter spots on pitches ≥250nm at σ=0.15. EMF simulations predict that the 0-270° phase step will not be excessively dark if the quartz wall is vertical. Chrome spots at the centers can control the diameters which otherwise are set by the parameters of the imaging system and exposure dose. Unwanted vortices can be erased from the image by exposing with a second, more conventional, trim mask. This method would be superior to the other ways of producing sub-wavelength vias, but successful implementation requires the development of appropriate negative-tone resist processes.

Vortex via process: analysis and mask fabrication for contact CDs <80 nm

In an optical vortex, the wavefront spirals like a corkscrew, rather than forming planes or spheres. Since any nonzero optical amplitude must have a well-defined phase, the axis of a vortex is always dark. Printed in negative resist at 248nm and NA=0.63, 250nm pitch vortex arrays would produce contact holes with 80nmk1<0.4), depending on exposure dose. Arrays of vortices with kpitch>0.6 can be patterned using a chromeless phase-edge mask composed of rectangles with nominal phases of 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°. Analytic and numerical calculations have been performed to characterize the aerial images projected from such vortex masks using the Kirchhoff-approximation and rigorous EMF methods. Combined with resist simulations, these analyses predict process windows with ≈10%Elat and >200nm DOF for 80nm CDs on pitches greater than or equal to 250nm at σ greater than or equal to 0.15. Smaller CDs and pitches are possible with shorter wavelength and larger NA while larger pitches give rise to larger CDs. At pitch >0.8μm, the vortices begin to print independently for σ greater than or equal to 0.3. Such “independent” vortices have a quasi-isofocal dose that gives rise to 100nm contacts with Elat>9% and DOF>500nm at σ=0.3. The extra darkness of the nominal 270° phase step can be accommodated by fine-tuning the etch depth. A reticle fabrication process that achieves the required alignment and vertical wall profiles has been exercised and test masks analyzed. In an actual chip design, unwanted vortices and phase step images would be erased from the resist pattern by exposing the wafer with a second, more conventional trim mask. Vortex via placement is consistent with the coarse-gridded grating design paradigms which would - if widely exercised - lower the cost of the required reticles. Compared to other ways of producing deep sub-wavelength contacts, the vortex via process requires fewer masks and reduces the overlay and process control challenges. A high resolution negative-working resist process is essential, however.

Impact of mask errors and lens aberrations on the image formation by a vortex mask

The images projected by the first vortex via masks, which comprised arrays of closely spaced dark spots that could pattern contacts with critical dimensions smaller than a third of an exposure wavelength in negative photoresist, showed several unexpected anomalies. Under certain conditions, the contact holes were elliptical (rather than round), displaced from their ideal locations, and had major axes oriented in directions that broke the expected symmetries. These effects have now been explained in terms of errors in the mask transmission and phase that give rise to unwanted Fourier components of the image combined with aberrations in the projection lens. Both effects must be present to break all the pattern symmetries. Distortions can be controlled by setting the numerical aperture of the projection lens to filter out four of the nine Fourier components and by proper design of the reticle.

Generating sub-30-nm polysilicon gates using PECVD amorphous carbon as hardmask and anti-reflective coating

A PECVD deposited carbon hardmask is combined with dielectric anti-reflective coating (DARC) for the patterning of sub-90nm lines with 248nm lithography. Using this CVD dual layer stack, <1% reflectivity control is demonstrated for both 248nm and 193nm lithography. The film stack is tested with an etch integration scheme to reduce polysilicon gate critical dimension (CD). The dual layer stack can be defined with less than 100nm thick photoresist. Because of the minimal resist required to open the stack, this film stack enables an integration scheme that extends conventional photoresist trim processes up to 70% of the starting line width. In addition to conventional trim process, a resistless carbon mask trim process is investigated to further shrink the gate critical dimension. The results show that the carbon hardmask has greater than 6:1 etch selectivity to polysilicon, enabling the extension of the resist trimming technique to generate sub-30nm structures using 248nm lithography.

150-nm dense/isolated contact hole study with Canon IDEAL technique

This paper presents the results of a joint development effort between Canon USA, Inc. and Photronics, Inc. on 150nm contact hole application. A double exposure technique, Canons IDEAL technique, is used to achieve the very small dense contact hole and isolated contact hole simultaneously. Canons IDEAL exposure technique has shown, through numerous documented investigations to be beneficial for extending the current lithography tool life with regards to line patterns. However, it is also now equally important to evaluate IDEALs advantages for contact holes. We look to apply the IDEAL technique to contact holes by using a Hole-shaped alternating Phase Shift Mask for the grid and a binary mask for trimming. This experiment was performed on a Canon FPA- 3000EX6 5X stepper with maximum NA0.65, using JSR TMX1260Y 300nm thick resist. All masks were made by Photronics. Since image intensity imbalances of Hole shaped alt-PSMs were too large to generate a perfect grid, we exposed twice with the same Hole-shaped alt-PSM reticle. The second exposure was shifted to combine 0 degree and 180-degree space, thereby creating a well-balanced grid. Subsequently, we used a binary mask for trimming. Through this method, 0.15 micrometers dense holes and 0.15 micrometers isolated holes with simple reticle bias were resolved simultaneously, and over 0.6 micrometers common DOF was obtained. Due to the high accuracy alignment between the PSM hole mask and binary mask from this experiment, double and triple exposure schemes can be used in actual production. Based on these experimental result, we also confirmed that the IDEAL technique allows fora 50nm combination error of stage stepping and reticle alignment without including significant CD error. A well- balanced grid can be generated using the vertical line PSM and horizontal line PSM, by minimizing image intensity imbalances due to PSM structures, however, the three-reticle application may prove prohibitive due to the increase in reticle cost.

Advances in vortex via fabrication

Vortex masks composed of rectangles with nominal phases of 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° have been shown to print sub-100nm vias and via arrays when projected into negative resist using 248nm light. Arrays with pitches down to 210nm and CDs as small as 64nm have been reported. While promising, 248nm vortex via images showed some anomalies: The developed contacts were somewhat elliptical, with four different repeating via shapes. The common depth of focus for these four classes of via was limited by their different behaviors through focus. Phase edges in isolated vortex pair structures tended to print, also limiting the useful DOF. These issues can be ameliorated by employing 193nm illumination and a new negative-tone resist. Smaller NAs and higher coherence extend the common depth of focus and larger NAs can be used to print even more tightly spaced patterns. Advanced optical proximity correction techniques can also be applied to reduce the via ellipticity and placement error, and a more optimal choice of geometrical phase depth reduces pattern variability. Further developments and incremental improvements in vortex via design and processing may make it the method of choice for via patterning at the 45nm node.

Vortex via validation

The first vortex masks composed of rectangles with phases of 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° - as proposed at Photomask 2002 - have been fabricated and shown to print sub-100nm contacts. The walls of the phase trenches are very nearly vertical, with all four phase regions meeting at sharp corners which define the phase singularities. Arrays with pitches down to 210nm have been printed in negative DUV resist using KrF illumination with NA=0.73 and sigma=0.15. The developed contacts are somewhat elliptical, but their shapes can be corrected (if necessary) by OPC techniques. The depth of focus for +/-10% CD variation is >400nm for 85nm CD vias at 210nm pitch and >700nm for 100nm vias at 250nm pitch. The exposure latitude is ~15% at best focus. At constant exposure dose, the via CDs vary with pitch as predicted by simulations. Increasing exposure dose makes the openings smaller, more uniform and more circular. No significant surface development has appeared due to phase-edge printing. However, the spacewidth alternation phenomenon familiar from linear chromeless phase-edge lithography does cause small positional errors for vortex vias, and each of the four vortices in the repeating pattern behaves somewhat differently through focus, potentially limiting the common process window.

Performance of the FPA-7000AS7 1.35 NA immersion exposure system for 45-nm mass production

Canon has developed an immersion exposure tool, the FPA-7000AS7 (AS7), with the industrys highest NA of 1.35. This paper reports on its performance. The AS7s projection lens achieves ultra-low aberration with total RMS of less than 5 mλ and flare of less than 0.5%. The resolution capability is 37 nm with k1 = 0.259, and DOF of 0.8 μm was obtained owing to the ultra-low aberration and low flare. Regarding focus performance, a 3σ value of 19.3 nm for Lstage and 16.1nm for R-stage were attained in a whole area. The result of CD uniformity of 1.91nm (3σ) was obtained across the wafer with a total of 4032 measurement points. Distortion was 3.9 nm at the worst value. On the other hand the most critical issue of immersion is defects, so the nozzle, lens and stage must be cleaned to reduce defects. The result of defect evaluation of the AS7 was an average of 0.042 defect/cm2 from 25 wafers in a lot and average 0.046 defect count/cm2 from long-term defect evaluation for two months. From these results, we are confident that the AS7 is capable of 45-nm node device production.

Immersion exposure tool for 45-nm HP mass production

Canon has renewed its platform of exposure tools. The new platform, the FPA-7000, is designed to cover multiple generations. The lens performance of the FPA-7000AS5 achieves less than 6m&lgr;, while that of the AS7 is estimated to be less than 4m&lgr;. The illumination performance meets the target required for the 45nm node. The in-situ aberration monitor, called iPMI, attains the measurement repeatability of 1.45m&lgr;. Focus and overlay units have improved process robustness. A solution tool for optimization is introduced to be connected with the FPA-7000. Moreover, latest studies of immersion, such as nozzle pressure, temperature control and defect inspection result are reported, and we also discuss the possibility of high-refractive-index immersion.

Characterization of imaging performance: considering both illumination intensity profile and lens aberration

Achieving accurate low k1 imaging performance requires that the illumination intensity profile (effective light source profile) no longer be neglected. Simultaneously, simulation techniques have taken on an unprecedented level of importance because it is not practical for all low-k1 imaging applications to be performed experimentally. The impetus is now on the simulation to efficiently narrow down the numerous those options. Moreover, we are concerned that current metrology methods, such as the SEM, will be no longer be used with full confidence in terms of data reliability and accuracy because the specification may reach its measurement limit and the sample reproducibility may dominate the CD budget. We therefore anticipate that a simulation, which incorporates all factors potentially impacting performance, will predict experimental results accurately and repeatedly. We have been newly developing a reticle-based metrology tool, entitled REMT (Reticle Effective light source Measurement Tool), to precisely quantify the illumination shape. The illumination light, which first passes through a pinhole and traverses an optical path within REMT, is then detected by a CCD camera located over the reticle stage to form the illumination intensity profile. The measurement reproducibility of the σ size for REMT is less than ±0.0002. We have developed a lens metrology tool, entitled SPIN (Slant projection through the PIN-hole), to accurately quantify lens aberrations. SPIN is also a reticle-based metrology tool, with repeatability of less than 1mλ. In this paper, we will investigate Left-Right CD Difference (LR-CD), the well-known detection method for coma aberration, comparing experimental results with those from simulations that consider both lens aberrations and illumination shape as measured by SPIN and REMT, respectively. In this discussion, the factors causing LR-CD for dipole illumination will be also analyzed and quantified.