Qualification of local advanced cryogenic cleaning technology for 14nm photomask fabrication

Ralf Taumer; Thorsten Krome; Chuck Bowers; Ivin Varghese; Tyler Hopkins; Roy White; Martin Brunner; Daniel Yi

doi:10.1117/12.2074473

17 October 2014 Qualification of local advanced cryogenic cleaning technology for 14nm photomask fabrication

Ralf Taumer, Thorsten Krome, Chuck Bowers, Ivin Varghese, Tyler Hopkins, Roy White, Martin Brunner, Daniel Yi

Proceedings Volume 9235, Photomask Technology 2014; 923525 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2074473
Event: SPIE Photomask Technology, 2014, Monterey, California, United States

Abstract

The march toward tighter design rules, and thus smaller defects, implies stronger surface adhesion between defects and the photomask surface compared to past generations, thereby resulting in increased difficulty in photomask cleaning. Current state-of-the-art wet clean technologies utilize functional water and various energies in an attempt to produce similar yield to the acid cleans of previous generations, but without some of the negative side effects. Still, wet cleans have continued to be plagued with issues such as persistent particles and contaminations, SRAF and feature damages, leaving contaminants behind that accelerate photo-induced defect growth, and others. This paper details work done through a design of experiments (DOE) utilized to qualify an improved cryogenic cleaning technology for production in the Advanced Mask Technology Center (AMTC) advanced production lines for 20 and 14 nm processing. All work was conducted at the AMTC facility in Dresden, Germany utilizing technology developed by Eco-Snow Systems and RAVE LLC for their cryogenic local cleaning VC1200F platform. This system uses a newly designed nozzle, improved gaseous CO2 delivery, extensive filtration to remove hydrocarbons and minimize particle adders, and other process improvements to overcome the limitations of the previous generation local cleaning tool. AMTC has successfully qualified this cryogenic cleaning technology and is currently using it regularly to enhance production yields even at the most challenging technology nodes.

Citation Download Citation

Ralf Taumer, Thorsten Krome, Chuck Bowers, Ivin Varghese, Tyler Hopkins, Roy White, Martin Brunner, and Daniel Yi "Qualification of local advanced cryogenic cleaning technology for 14nm photomask fabrication", Proc. SPIE 9235, Photomask Technology 2014, 923525 (17 October 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2074473

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