Surface effects in simulations of scanning electron microscopy images

L. van Kessel; C. W. Hagen; P. Kruit

doi:10.1117/12.2514824

26 March 2019 Surface effects in simulations of scanning electron microscopy images

L. van Kessel, C. W. Hagen, P. Kruit

Proceedings Volume 10959, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XXXIII; 109590V (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2514824
Event: SPIE Advanced Lithography, 2019, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

We have investigated the contributions of surface effects to Monte Carlo simulations of top-down scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The elastic and inelastic scattering mechanisms in typical simulations assume that the electron is deep in the bulk of the material. In this work, we correct the inelastic model for surface effects. We use a model for infinite flat surfaces, and apply it to non-flat, but smooth, geometries. Though this is a simplification, it captures most qualitative differences to the bulk model, including coupling to surface plasmons. We find that this correction leads to an increased SE signal near a feature’s sidewall in low-voltage critical dimension SEM (CD-SEM). The effect is strongest for low beam energies. Due to some of the assumptions in our model, we are unable to quantitatively predict the extent by which the signal from the sidewall is enhanced. The enhancement of signal from the sidewall may be large enough to cause the measured edge position to shift significantly.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

L. van Kessel, C. W. Hagen, and P. Kruit "Surface effects in simulations of scanning electron microscopy images", Proc. SPIE 10959, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XXXIII, 109590V (26 March 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2514824

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