In optical lithography, aberrations induced by lens heating effects of a projection lens lead to degradation of imaging quality. In order to compensate for thermal aberrations, it is crucial to apply an accurate method for thermal aberration prediction. An effective and accurate method for thermal aberration prediction is proposed. A double exponential model is modified in respect of the timing of exposure tools, and a particle filter is used to adjust the double exponential model. Parameters of the model are updated recursively pursuant to the aberration data measured during the exchange of wafers. The updated model is used to predict thermal aberrations during the following exposure of wafers. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by the simulation of a projection lens for argon fluoride lithography. Simulation results show that predictive errors of primary defocus and astigmatism are significantly reduced, and the mean value of wavefront error in the whole field of view is reduced by about 30% in a vertical line/space pattern. The proposed method is easily adaptable to different types of aberration measurement error.
In optical lithography tools, thermal aberration of a projection lens, which is caused by lens heating effect, leads to degradation of imaging quality. In addition to in-line feedforward compensation technology, thermal aberration can be reduced by optimizing optical design of a projector. Thermal aberration analysis of a projection lens benefits the optimization of optical design. A model of lens heating effect for a lithographic projector is introduced, which is capable of evaluating the synthetical thermal aberration of a projector as well as analyzing the contribution of an individual optical element. Simulation results by the introduced model show that not only the deformation of lens surface, the variance of refractive index but also the change of optical path, which depends on optical design, should be considered in thermal aberration analysis. The contributions of optical elements at different locations of the projector are also analyzed. Based on the model and the simulation results, an optimization method is proposed. A projector for i-line lithography is optimized by the proposed method. Main aberrations Z5, Z9, and Z17 are reduced by about 40%. The image quality of the lithographic projector in steady state is also improved.
In optical lithography, lens heating induced aberrations of a projection lens lead to degradation of imaging quality. In order to accurately compensate for thermal aberrations by integrated manipulators in projection lens, it is crucial to apply an accurate method for thermal aberration prediction. In this paper, an effective and accurate method for thermal aberration prediction is proposed. Double exponential model is simplified in respect of the timing of exposure tools, and particle filter is used to adjust the parameters of the double exponential model. Parameters of the simplified model are updated recursively pursuant to the aberration data measured during the exchange of wafers. The updated model is used to predict thermal aberrations of the lens during the following exposure of wafer. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by simulation of a projection lens for ArF lithography. Maximum root mean square (RMS) value of perdition error of thermal aberration under annular illumination and dipolar illumination are reduced by 68.3% and 76.1%, respectively. The proposed method is also of well adaptability to different types of aberration measurement error.
In optical lithography tools, thermal aberration of a projection lens, which is caused by lens heating, leads to degradation of imaging quality. In addition to in-line feedforward compensation technology [1], the thermal aberration can be reduced by optimizing projection lens design. Thermal aberration analysis of a projection lens benefits the optimization of projection lens design. In this paper, thermal aberration analysis methods using physical model and simplified model are compared. Physical model of lens heating provides accurate thermal aberration analysis, but it is unable to analyze the contribution of an element of the lens to thermal aberration which is significant for thermal optimization[2]. Simplified model supports thermal analysis of an element of a lens[3]. However, only the deformation of lens surface and the variance of refractive index are considered in the simplified model. The thermal aberration analysis, in this paper, shows not only the deformation of lens surface, the variance of refractive index but also the change of optical path should be considered in thermal aberration analysis. On the basis of the analysis, a strategy for optimizing projection lens design is proposed and used to optimize thermal behavior of a lithography projection lens. The RMS value of thermal aberration is reduced by 31.8% in steady state.
An in situ aberration measurement method using a phase-shift ring mask is proposed for a lithographic projection lens whose numerical aperture is below 0.8. In this method, two-dimensional phase-shift rings are designed as the measurement mask. A linear relationship model between the intensity distribution of the lateral aerial image and the aberrations is built by principal component analysis and multivariate linear regression analyses. Compared with the principal component analysis of the aerial images (AMAI-PCA) method, in which a binary mask and through-focus aerial images are used for aberration extraction, the aerial images of the phase-shift ring mask contain more useful information, providing the possibility to eliminate the crosstalk between different kinds of aberrations. Therefore, the accuracy of the aberration measurement is improved. Simulations with the lithography simulator Dr.LiTHO showed that the accuracy is improved by 15% and five more Zernike aberrations can be measured compared with the standard AMAI-PCA. Moreover, the proposed method requires less measured aerial images and is faster than the AMAI-PCA.
An in situ aberration measurement technique based on an aerial image with an optimized source is proposed. A linear relationship between the aerial image and Zernike coefficients is established by the principal components and regression matrices, which are obtained in a modeling process through principal component analysis (PCA) and regression analysis. The linear relationship is used to extract Zernike aberrations from the measured aerial image in a retrieval process. The characteristics of regression matrix are analyzed, and the retrieval process of Zernike coefficients is optimized. An evaluation function for the measurement accuracy of Zernike aberrations is proposed, and then a fast procedure to optimize the illumination source is designed. Parameters of the illumination source are optimized according to the evaluation function and applied in our method. The simulators Dr.LiTHO and PROLITH are used to validate the method. Compared to the previous aberration measurement technique based on principal component analysis of an aerial image (AMAI-PCA), the number terms of Zernike coefficients that can be measured are increased from 7 to 27, and the measurement accuracy of Zernike aberrations is improved by more than 20%.
In this paper, we propose an aberration metrology (AM) of a lithographic projection lens based on aerial images (AI) by using a quadratic relationship model (Quad) between the aerial-image intensity distribution and the Zernike coefficients. The proposed method (AMAI-Quad) uses principal component analysis and multiple linear regression analyses for model generation. The quadratic model is, then, used to extract Zernike coefficients by a nonlinear least-squares minimizing technique. The best linear constrain condition is estimated by optimizing the illumination settings. Compared with earlier techniques, based on a linear relationship between Zernike coefficients and AIs, the new method can extend the orders of Zernike coefficients measured. The application of AMAI-Quad to AIs, computed by lithography simulators PROLITH and Dr.LiTHO, demonstrated an extension of measurement range to 90mλ and an enhancement of measurement accuracy by more than 30 percent.
Scatterometry is one of the most promising CD profile metrology technologies for future technology nodes. As critical dimension (CD) continues to decrease, sensitivity of scatterometry needs to be improved to measure even more subtle structures. Sensitivity of a scatterometer highly depends on film stack structure and optical properties of the sample and wavelength, incident angle and polarization implemented by the scatterometer. When measuring different types of sample, scatterometer should be capable of optimizing measuring configurations to get best sensitivity. In this work, we attempt to optimize the measuring sensitivity by introducing a hybrid scatterometer, which is able to measure reflected light from a sample through either an angle-resolved method or a spectroscopic method using two complementary measuring arms. In this setup, improvement of sensitivity can be achieved by choosing better measuring method and adjusting light wavelength, incident angle and polarization.
A novel technique (AMAI-Quad) for aberration extraction of lithographic projection based on quadratic relationship
model between aerial-image intensity distribution and Zernike coefficients is proposed. Zernike coefficients in this case
represent the imaging quality of lithographic projection lens in a semiconductor wafer exposure scanner. The proposed
method uses principal component analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis for model generation. This
quadratic model is then used to extract Zernike coefficients by nonlinear least-squares. Compared with earlier techniques,
based on a linear relationship between Zernike coefficients and aerial images, proposed by Duan, the new method can
extend the types of aberrations measured. The application of AMAI-Quad to computed images of lithography simulators
PROLITH and Dr.LiTHO for randomly varied wavefront aberrations within a range of 50mλ demonstrated an accuracy
improvement of 30%.
An in-situ aberration measurement technique based on aerial image with optimized source is proposed. A linear
relationship between aerial image and Zernike coefficients is established by principle component analysis and regression
analysis. The linear relationship is used to extract aberrations. The impacts of the source on regression matrix character
and the Zernike aberrations measurement accuracy are analyzed. An evaluation function for the aberrations measurement
accuracy is introduced to optimize the source. Parameters of the source are optimized by the evaluation function using
the simulators Dr.LiTHO and PROLITH. Then the optimized source parameters are adopted in our method. Compared
with the previous aberration measurement technique based on principal component analysis of aerial image
(AMAI-PCA), the number terms of Zernike coefficients that can be measured are increased from 7 to 27, and the
Zernike aberrations measurement accuracy is improved by more than 20%.
In this paper, we propose a new method that can extract aberrations using aerial image measurements and present its experimental results on lithographic tools. Based on physical simulation and statistical analysis, a linear regression matrix is obtained establishing a connection between principal component coefficients of specific aerial images and Zernike coefficients. In the application phase, the aberrations of the projection lens are solved via the use of this regression matrix. An engineering model is established based on an extension of theoretical model that incorporates all the significant systematic errors. The performance of the engineering model as applied on a 0.75 NA ArF scanner is reported. In the experiment, measurement marks oriented in orthogonal directions are used and aerial images at 9 field points are measured. To verify the repeatability of this technique, every point is measured 20 times. By inputting the aerial images into the engineering model, Zernike coefficients are solved and the results are analyzed. The wafer exposures were performed to evaluate the results of aberration correction.
As feature sizes decrease, requirements on critical dimension uniformity have become very strict. To monitor variations
in lithography process and perform advanced process control it is important to establish a fast and accurate measurement
technique for characterizing critical dimension, sidewall angle and height of the resist profile. Various techniques for
feature measurement such as CD-SEM, AFM, FE-SEM, and scatterometry have been developed. Among these
techniques, scatterometry has both high accuracy and a non-deconstructive measurement modality. It thus provides
advantages of low-cost, high throughput, and robustness. Angle-resolved scatterometry has already been shown to
provide in-line feedback information necessary for tight process control.
In present paper, we introduce a novel angle-resolved scatterometer with pupil optimization. The intensity distribution of
the incident light in the pupil plane is optimized considering the feature and the image sensor response properties, which
improve the measurement performance of the scatterometer. A first order analysis of measurement sensitivity at different
polarization conditions is carried out on resist-coated wafers with 45nm and 22nm features using Rigorous Coupled-
Wave analysis (RCWA). Based on the criteria defined as the sum of the absolute difference of the relative intensity
values between the nominal and varied conditions in the pupil, the sensitivity of the new technique and traditional
scatterometer is compared. Simulation results show that, for 45nm feature, the sensitivity in s and p-polarization is
increased by 400% and 300% respectively. While for 22nm feature, the sensitivity is increased by 200% and 130%.
Reproducibility of measurement is also analyzed on 45nm and 22nm features using a Monte Carlo method and models
for detector noise. Comparison of reproducibility for CD, sidewall angle, and resist height measurement is demonstrated.
To minimize the adverse effects of polarization aberrations in the projection optical system, methods to compensate the
polarization aberrations are required for high resolution lithography. In this paper, we propose a symmetric polarization
aberration compensation method based on scalar aberration control for lithographic projection lens. This method focuses
on the compensation of polarization aberrations induced by radially symmetric retardances. The foundation of the
compensation method is the linear relationship between conventional even aberration and polarization aberration induced
by radially symmetric retardances. The compensation accuracy is dependent on the even aberration adjustment accuracy
of the projection lens and the sensitivity of the mask pattern to even aberrations. By this polarization aberration
compensation method, the lithographic process window can be improved obviously.
KEYWORDS: Overlay metrology, Semiconducting wafers, Metrology, Optical alignment, Source mask optimization, Data modeling, Control systems, Software development, Time metrology, Process control
Based on the in-line metrology sampling and modeling, the Advanced Process Control (APC) system has been widely
used to control the combined effects of process errors. With the shrinking of overlay budgets, the automated optimized
overlay management system has already been necessary. To further improve the overlay performance of SMEE
SSA600/10A exposure system, the overlay manager system (OMS) is introduced. The Unilith software package
developed by SMEE included in the OMS is used for the decomposition and analysis of sampled data. Several kinds of
correction methods integrated in the OMS have been designed and have demonstrated effective results in automated
overlay control. To balance the overlay performance and the metrology time, the exponential weighting method for
sampling is also considered.
Control of CD uniformity is a key aspect of IC manufacturing. Ability to accurately predict wafer-measured CD prior to
exposure is critical to CDU control. In this paper we present a method to calculate a predicted CD value based on in-situ
measurements, and estimate CD uniformity across the field of an exposure tool. This method is based on direct
measurements of aerial image using a sensor built into the wafer stage of SMEE SSA600-series exposure scanners.
Using this sensor to measure image of several features at 9 points across the exposure field, we compare predicted CD
and ADI CD obtained using a standard wafer process and CD-SEM.
In this paper, we propose a method named as AMAI-PCA to extract aberration levels using aerial image measurements
and present its experimental results on lithographic tools. Based on physical simulation and statistical analysis, a linear
regression matrix is obtained establishing a connection between principal component coefficients of specific aerial
images and Zernike coefficients. In the application phase, the aberrations of the projection lens are solved via the use of
this regression matrix. An engineering model is established based on an extension of theoretical model that incorporates
all the significant systematic errors. The performance of the engineering model applied on a 0.75 NA ArF scanner is
reported. In the experiment, measurement marks oriented in orthogonal directions are used and aerial images on 9 field
points are measured. To verify the repeatability of this technique, every point is measured 20 times. By inputting the
aerial images into the engineering model, Zernike coefficients are solved and the results are analyzed. The wafer
exposures were performed to evaluate the results of aberration correction.
Lithographic tool performance is the main contributor to CDU. The tool designers and users require an accurate method
to measure the tool's error factors on the wafer side in order to improve CDU. Engineers typically use the FEM method
to estimate DOF and EL, and then predict the CDU. However, based on the exposure data, it is often difficult to separate
systematic level physical errors, such as DOSE repeatability, focus repeatability, dynamic errors and all the other tool's
imperfections.
In this paper, we introduce a wafer data based method to diagnose tool's performance for CDU improvement. As the
systematic errors have a specific signature, they generate a fingerprint in the exposure data. Based on the knowledge of
the exposure process and process flow, multiple dimensions exposure matrix is designed to analyze and diagnose the
tool's systematic error from wafer data fingerprint.
For SMEE's scanner tool (SSA600/10), we use this method to diagnose tool's systematic error and improve the CDU.
Some typical result is represented in this paper.
A new company in the lithography world, SMEE has developed and produced a prototype wafer exposure tool, with an
ArF laser light source. This tool, SMEE SSA600/10, adopted step and scan technology to obtain a large exposure filed
and to average optical aberrations for a scanned image to improve CD uniformity and reduce distortion. The maximum
numerical aperture is 0.75 and the maximum coherence factor of illumination system is 0.88. The illuminator provides
continuously variable conventional and off-axis illumination modes to improve resolution. In this paper, the
configuration of the exposure tool is presented and design concepts of the scanner are introduced. We show actual test
data such as synchronization accuracy, focus and leveling repeatability, dynamic imaging performance (resolution, depth
of focus) and overlay.
In this paper, we present a streamlined aerial image model that is linear with respect to projection optic's aberrations. The
model includes the impact of the NA, partial coherence, as well as the aberrations on the full aerial image as measured on
an x-z grid. The model allows for automatic identification of image's primary degrees of freedom, such as bananicity and
Y-icity among others. The model is based on physical simulation and statistical analysis. Through several stages of
multivariate analysis a reduced dimensionality description of image formation is obtained, using principal components
on the image side and lumped factors on the parameter side. The modeling process is applied to the aerial images
produced by the alignment sensor in a 0.75NA ArF scanner while the tool is integration mode and aberration levels are
high. Approximately 20 principal components are found to have a high signal-to-noise ratio in the image set produced
by varying illumination conditions and considering aberrations represented by 33 Zernike polynomials. The combined
coefficients are extracted and the measurement repeatability is presented. The analysis portion of the model is then
applied to the measured coefficients and a subset of projection lens' aberrations are solved for.
As the critical dimension shrinks, degradation of lithographic quality because of axial aberrations in the projection optics
has become more obvious. To minimize the adverse effect of axial aberrations on imaging, accurate in-situ measurement
of axial aberrations is necessary.
In this paper, a novel in-situ method to measure axial aberrations is proposed. In this novel method, a new type of
measurement mark for measuring the axial aberrations is designed. By using new marks, the axial aberrations can be
obtained by the linewidth variation of two bars in the marks. The linewidth variation is proportional to the focus shift in
which the measurement mark is exposed. The proportional factor can be obtained by the simulation software Prolith.
From the linewidth variation and proportional factor, the focus shift of the measurement mark in different positions can
be calculated. The axial aberrations can be obtained by the calculated focus shift. In this novel measurement method,
both the measurement procedure and data-processing are simple. As the measurement accuracy of the focus shift in z
direction is increased, the measurement accuracy of axial image quality increases by more than 25%.
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