Gate patterning is critical to the final yield and performance of logic devices. Because of this, gate linewidth control is
viewed by many as the most critical application for integrated metrology on etch systems. For several years, integrated
metrology and wafer-level process control have been used in high volume manufacturing of 90 and 65nm polysilicon
gate etch [1], [3], [17], [22]. These wafer-level CD control systems have shown the ability to significantly reduce CD
variation. With gate linewidth under control (< 2nm 3σ wafer-to-wafer), the next parameter to impact gate electrical
performance is side wall angle (SWA). SWA had not been considered a critical control parameter due to the difficulty
of measurement with conventional scanning electron microscope (SEM). With scatterometry, SWA measurement of
litho and etch profiles are included with the critical dimension (CD) measurements. Recently, it has become visible that
the polysilicon SWA correlates to electrical device parameters, and is thus, an important parameter to control. This
paper will examine the current relationship between litho and etch profile control, determine potential limitations for
future technology nodes, and introduce novel etch process control techniques based on multiple input multiple output
(MIMO) modeling.
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