4 April 2022 Decorrelation of optical critical dimensions in mid-infrared ellipsometric spectroscopy of high aspect ratio etch profiles
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Abstract

Monitoring the high aspect ratio etch profiles in state-of-the-art three-dimensional NAND memory fabrication processes has pushed metrology technologies to new limits. Here, we discuss how a mid-infrared ellipsometric measurement can yield angstrom level discrimination in critical dimension changes of memory channel hole (CH) profiles across such a memory chip. Using finite-difference time-domain and rigorous coupled-wave analysis simulations, we demonstrate how dispersion mitigated mid-infrared beam penetration into these memory structures permits parameter decorrelation and the measurement of the full CH profile.

© 2022 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) 1932-5150/2022/$28.00 © 2022 SPIE
Ahmad Fumani, Bin Yan, Nick Keller, G. Andrew Antonelli, and Troy Ribaudo "Decorrelation of optical critical dimensions in mid-infrared ellipsometric spectroscopy of high aspect ratio etch profiles," Journal of Micro/Nanopatterning, Materials, and Metrology 21(2), 021205 (4 April 2022). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.21.2.021205
Received: 29 September 2021; Accepted: 15 March 2022; Published: 4 April 2022
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KEYWORDS
Mid-IR

Etching

Critical dimension metrology

Silicon

Finite-difference time-domain method

Spectroscopy

Absorption

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