Yuki Shiota

Development of attenuating PSM shifter for F2 and high-transmission ArF lithography

A new att-PSM shifter for both F2 and high-transmittance ArF lithography was developed. This shifter consists of SiON / TaHf in stacked layers. SiON for phase shift layer has a moderate transmittance and refractive index, and has sufficient laser durability. The TaHf film, which is a transmittance control layer, was effective as a functional layer in mask dry etching. Adopting the 3 step etching procedure, low damage of the quartz surface and less impact to CD shift was realized. It was confirmed that a new shifter has also sufficient feasibility to the mask inspection and repair process.

Direct evaluation of surface roughness of substrate and interfacial roughness in molybdenum/silicon multilayers using extreme ultraviolet reflectometer

In this study, we developed a method of measuring the intensity of rays scattered from a molybdenum/silicon (Mo/Si) multilayer film using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reflectometer. We examined the correlations between the peak reflectance, the interfacial roughness of multilayer films, and the substrate roughness. We measured the intensity of scattered rays 13.5 nm from the substrate surface for normal smooth quartz (NSQz), supersmooth quartz (SSQz), and Si substrates using the EUV reflectometer. The intensity of rays scattered from the substrate surface was proportional to the atomic force microscopy (AFM) roughness of the surface. For NSQz, there was a particular strong correlation between the surface roughness determined by AFM and the intensity of scattering rays determined using the EUV reflectometer. However, a week correlation was observed for SSQz and Si. The precisions of the AFM and X-ray reflectivity (XRR) measurement were low for the quartz substrate. A direct measurement of the intensity of rays scattered from the substrate surface was used to estimate the relative surface roughness independent of the substrate material. The EUV reflectivity and intensity of rays scattered from the Mo/Si multilayer films with two deposition geometries were measured using the EUV reflectometer. The peak reflectivity was related to the substrate roughness for each deposition geometry. Moreover, the peak reflectivity was related to the intensity of rays scattered from the multilayer films and was not influenced by the deposition geometry. The results obtained using the EUV reflectometer showed an obvious relationship between the intensity of scattering rays and the interfacial roughness of multilayer films.

Evaluating the Optical Index of Ta and Ta-Based Absorbers for an Extreme Ultraviolet Mask Using Extreme Ultraviolet Reflectometry

We developed an accurate method for determining the optical index of Ta and Ta-based absorber layers with added nitrogen, oxygen, and boron for an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask using EUV reflectometry. The optical index at EUV wavelengths was derived from the density and atomic concentration of the composite materials. The atomic concentrations of Ta and Ta-based absorbers were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) analysis methods when no inconsistency occurred between the results of the XPS and RBS analyses. The volume densities of the Ta and Ta-based absorbers were determined using RBS and EUV reflectivity measurements with the grazing angle (EUVRG) or reflectivity (EUVR) when no inconsistency was observed between results. Deriving the volume density was necessary to establish the layer structure and layer thickness, and the surface oxidation layer was especially important for determining the correct volume density. The layer structure and thickness were derived using a pattern-fitting method for the XRR spectrum. The extinction coefficients of Ta and Ta-based absorbers stacked using conventional sputtering were lower than the extinction coefficient of an ideal Ta crystal.