Shrinking design rule coupled with complex device geometries and introduction of new materials in the manufacturing of today’s semiconductor devices generate inherent device weak points which in turn give rise to mechanisms that result in yield impacting defects. The development and introduction of finFET has helped considerably in the quest to further shrink design rule. However, the design and complex manufacturing process involved in producing these high performance finFET devices bring with it a whole new class of defects that have considerable impact on device performance and yield. Some of these defects are buried beneath the wafer surface and are very difficult to detect. They are often missed by optical inspection, only to cause fails at final testing. Failure analysis (FA) then becomes the only means by which they are uncovered. FA is a destructive methodology and its benefits are realized only after the fact. Unlike FA, e-Beam inspection is non-destructive. e-Beam uses electron optics and has a unique ability to detect buried defects electrically by voltage contrast (VC) between a defective structure and its reference. As process window gets tighter and tighter process margin becomes difficult to predict. In this work, e-Beam inspection and overlay data is used to identify process weakness regions on wafer to predict fails and help optimize process and improve yield.
As reticle line widths shrink and RET complexity increases, even a single sub-micron defect can reject a photomask.
High-end reticle manufacturers striving for increased yield and reduced cycle times are relying on low incoming
rawstock defect levels and handling via SMIF mini environments for critical manufacturing steps. However, even in
SMIF compatible reticle fabs, human handling is often required to load or unload a reticle to/from a SMIF environment.
In an effort to provide a fully integrated solution to manufacturing 65 nm and below photomasks, Photronics has
introduced a blank inspection/management system developed by Hitachi High Technologies and Fortrend Engineering.
The clustered system is capable of robotic transfers in conjunction with blank storage, inspection, and material tracking
capabilities. It consists of four major systems: a horizontal mask blank transfer system with state-of-the-art blank
sorting capability, an integrated Hitachi GM3000 Mask Blank Surface Inspection System, a totally self-contained and
sufficient Mask Blank Storage Station, and a material logistic control software system for material management and
SPC. The Fortrend Lamina sorting system has a bright light inspection module for gross particle contamination
detection, and a robotic transfer module for mask exchanges between SMIF and other shipping/transport boxes
employed in the mask manufacturing facilities.
The clustered Hitachi inspection system is an integral part of the solution allowing for additional inspections of stored
and incoming blanks by optically detecting foreign particles and pinholes. The data is transferred and stored in the
Foretrend handling system control module and may be used for rawstock management and screening based on a
predefined criteria. The integrated system provides a total solution to mask manufacturing challenges at 65 nm and
below.
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