We fabricated sub-50-nm pitch reference grating with positional identification mark
for specifying the location. The address mark of silicon groove was fabricated by EB
lithography and dry etching processes. The sub-50-nm pitch multilayer substrate was
bonded with the address mark silicon substrate and polished as a flat chip. Next the fine
pitch grating reference pattern was fabricated by SiO2 selective chemical etching.
Finally the sub-50-nm pitch grating pattern was set on the flat surface for CD-SEM due
to retarding bias system for low voltage inspection. As a result of the fundamental
characteristics evaluation using CD-SEM, the uniformity of the pitch size in the
reference chip was smaller than 1 nm in 3σ. The positional identification marks are
useful for obtaining accurate calibrations by specifying the location of the grating and
the number of calibrations. Also, the pitch-size was obtained by diffraction angle
measurements with a high-accuracy grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering
(GI-SAXS). The traceability of calibration is under vertification.
We present a novel multilayer grating pattern with a sub-50-nm pitch for critical dimension-scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) magnification calibration as an advanced version of the conventional 100-nm pitch grating reference. A 25-nm pitch grating reference is fabricated by multilayer deposition of alternating materials and then material-selective chemical etching of the polished cross-sectional surface. A line and space pattern with 25-nm pitch is easily resolved, and a high-contrast secondary electron image of the grating pattern is obtained under 1-kV acceleration voltage using the CD-SEM. The uniformity of the 25-nm pitch of the grating is <1 nm in three standard deviations of the mean. The line-edge roughness of the grating pattern is also <0.5 nm. Such a fine and uniform grating pattern will fulfill the requirements of a magnification calibration reference for a next-generation CD-SEM.
We have developed a 25-nm pitch multilayer grating pattern for CD-SEM magnification
calibration instead of the conventional 100-nm pitch grating reference. The 25-nm pitch
grating reference was fabricated by multilayer deposition of alternative alternating SiO2 and Si layers and then the reference chip was fabricated by substrate bonding and
polishing process. Finally the 25-nm pitch grating pattern was achieved using the material-selective chemical etching of the polished cross-sectional surface. We
evaluated the 25-nm pitch grating reference chip using CD-SEM. A high-contrast
secondary electron image of the grating pattern was obtained under 1-kV acceleration
voltage. The uniformity of the 25-nm pitch size of the grating was less than 1 nm in 3σ.
The line edge roughness of the grating pattern was also less than 1 nm. Such a fine and
uniform grating pattern will fulfill the requirements of a magnification calibration reference for next-generation CD-SEM.
We have developed high-resolution grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (HRGIXD) pitch calibration system with
wavelength of 0.1540593 nm (Cu K α1 line). In order to ensure accuracy of this calibration system, we measured average
pitch of a 100-nm pitch grating reference, which is being used for magnification calibration of a current critical-dimension
scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM), and compared with the results of deep ultra violet (DUV) laser
diffraction pitch calibration system with wavelength of 193 nm. The average pitch determined by the HRGIXD system
agrees with that determined by the DUV laser diffraction system within the range of uncertainty. We measured average
pitch of a fine 25-nm pitch grating, which will be used for magnification reference. In the DUV laser diffraction,
wavelength of 193 nm no longer satisfies diffraction condition for the 25-nm pitch grating, because wavelength must be
shorter than twice of the pitch size. On the other hand, wavelength of x-ray is much shorter than the pitch size. We have
successfully detected more than ten sharp diffraction peaks corresponding to the 25-nm period. The average pitch of the
grating is measured in very high-accuracy with standard uncertainty of less than 10 pm.
We have developed a novel multi-layer grating pattern with a sub-50-nm pitch
size for CD-SEM magnification calibration instead of the conventional 100-nm pitch
grating reference. The sub-50-nm pitch size grating reference was fabricated by
multi-layer deposition of alternative two alternating materials and then the
material-selective chemical etching of the cleaved cross-sectional surface. A line and
space pattern with 10-nm pitch size was easily resolved and a high-contrast secondary
electron image of the grating pattern was obtained under 1-kV acceleration voltage
using CD-SEM. The uniformity of the 20-nm pitch size of the grating was less than 1
nm in 3σ. The line edge roughness of the grating pattern was also less than 1 nm. Such a
fine and uniform grating pattern will fulfill the requirements of a magnification
calibration reference for next-generation CD-SEM.
We fabricated a grating reference with EB cell projection lithography and silicon dry etching, instead of conventional 240-nm pitch grating references fabricated with laser-interferometer lithography and anisotropic chemical wet etching. We developed a novel 100-nm pitch grating reference based on our grating reference for critical dimension-scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) calibration. We obtained high-contrast secondary electron signals and uniform grating patterns within 3 nm in 3σ during CD-SEM measurements because we eliminated the proximity effect of EB exposure. The reference has an array of 100-nm grating cells in the x-and y-directions. Each cell consists of a 100-nm grating unit, an X-Y coordinate number in the array, and an addressing mark for the CD-SEM to identify the calibration position. These positional identification marks enable accurate calibration by specifying the location of the grating and the number of calibrations. Also, the pitch size of the reference grating can be accurately calibrated by optical diffraction angle measurements with a deep ultraviolet (DUV) laser.
A silicon grating pattern with a 100-nm pitch size for calibration of electron-beam (EB) metrology systems was formed by EB cell projection writing using a grating stencil mask and dry etching. According to the evaluation results from a critical-dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM), the uniformity of the pitch size in a 1.8 x 1.8-mm chip was smaller than 3 nm within 3 sigma in the x and y directions. The obtained 100-nm pitch size was calibrated by DUV laser diffraction. The difference between designed 100-nm pitch size and the calibrated pitch size by DUV laser diffraction was smaller than 0.1 nm. It is thus concluded that more precise calibration of the CD-SEM using this 100-nm pitch grating is expected compared with conventional calibration using 240-nm pitch reference grating fabricated by laser-interferometer lithography and anisotropic chemical etching.
PXL technologies in Japan have highly improved during the period of ASET program. A newly developed EB writer and the writing processes achieved accuracy of image-placement <10nm and CD uniformity <7nm(3(sigma) ). Together with the improvement of absorber materials, X-ray masks required for the 100nm technical node were fabricated and those for 70nm node are within achievable levels. The alignment accuracy about 20nm and the use of magnification correction have verified the overlay accuracy <30nm, which is sufficient to 100nm node. BY improving the alignment accuracy, the exposure of 70nm node may be possible by using the present stepper. Furthermore, the next generation system with shorter wavelength may open the door for 50nm node and below.
Key issues of x-ray mask fabrication are EB mask writer and writing process on thin membrane. This paper shows precise x-ray mask writing technology using 100-kV EB writer on x- ray membrane mask. After several improvements of writing process including non-deformation mask holding and precise temperature control, absolute image placement accuracy within 10nm was obtained for giga-bit level ULSI pattern. Also the delineation characteristics of membrane mask writing using high-energy electron-beam including proximity effect and fogging effect were evaluated. Then accurate critical dimension control within 8 nm was achieved for such high density ULSI patterns. These good results satisfied the mask precision requirements for 100-nm node generation and below. So we fabricated precise x-ray masks having fine patterns of sub 100-nm node device for evaluation of advanced x-ray stepper.
Most important issues in a precise X-ray mask fabrication are the mask materials and EB writing to achieve good accuracy in critical dimension (CD) control and image placement (IP). However, 1-to-1 X-ray mask is required severe accuracy in comparison with photo reticles. The following discussions focus on how to realize the precise IP accuracy. We installed and evaluated 100-kV electron-beam (EB) mask writer (EB-X3), and developed the writing process on a thin membrane. Key factors in accurate EB mask writing include not only EB positioning accuracy but also mask distortions caused by mask holding and the temperature change of the mask and a mask holder. This paper presents mask distortion characteristics due to the holding, temperature change, and then, good results of mask accuracy of 4-Gb dynamic random access memory (DRAM) test patterns (gate and contact layers) and 90 nm SRAM test patterns. In addition, we employed the advanced PAT method with 4-multi-pass writing that adequately compensates the process-induced mask distortion and the beam drift. These improvements resulted in IP accuracy of better than 10 nm (3(sigma) ), 100 nm CD uniformity within 8 nm (mean shift +/- 3(sigma) ) and the overlay accuracy within 10 nm for 4-Gb gate and contact layers with a 24 mm x 24 mm area on the X-ray membrane mask. These results demonstrate that we can actually fabricate precise X-ray membrane masks that meet our final target of IP accuracy corresponding to the 100 nm technology node.
Proximity X-ray Lithography (PXL) has been demonstrated to be powerful tool for fabricating patterns at the 130-nm technology node and to be extendable to the 70-nm node and below. On the other hand, the capabilities of optical lithography have now reached the 150-nm node, and it is widely discussed that it will be applicable to the 100- and 70-nm nodes. In this study, we have investigated the printing characteristics of PXL and compare them to those of ArF and F2 optical lithography for several model patterns of DRAMs, SRAMs, and logic devices at the 100- and 70-nm nodes. We used aerial image simulations and carried out PXL exposure experiments to confirm the simulation results. Both the aerial images and the exposure results show that PXL has sufficient resolution for patterns with a 100-nm design rule and offers a wide latitude in the proximity gap. For ArF and F2 lithography with a Levenson-type mask, the same patterns were resolved with a lower fidelity and the depth of focus (DOF) was less than 0.2 micrometer. No resolution enhancement techniques (RET), such as optical proximity correction (OPC) to masks, are required in PXL; but they are indispensable in optical lithography. At the 70-nm node, PXL provides acceptable resolution, even at a gap of 10 micrometer; and the simulations show that the resolution can be increased by setting the gap in the range of 5 - 10 micrometer.
The keys to precision x-ray mask fabrication are the EB mask writer and the process of writing on a thin membrane. This paper concerns the delineation performance for 100 kV EB writing on x-ray membrane mask. We installed and evaluated an advanced EB mask writer, the EB-X3, which features an accelerating voltage of 100 kV and a 5-axes laser interferometer stage employing a laser measurement system with a resolution of 0.6 nm for high resolution and accuracy. The stable 100 kV EB has a good resolution around 50 nm and a beam address of 1 nm, which provide a repeatability of mark detection within 4 nm. As a result, an absolute image placement accuracy within 15 nm was obtained for 1G-bit level ULSI patterns. In addition, the combination of 100 kV EB and membrane process was found to reduce proximity effects. By several improvements including higher-order height correction and membrane process refinement, the final target of an absolute image placement error within 10 nm and a CD accuracy within 8 nm should be achieved in FY2000.
A novel alignment technology for electron-beam lithography is proposed for hybrid use with i-line steppers. This alignment technology was developed based on the evaluation of alignment characteristics and on the investigation of alignment errors in electron-beam lithography systems used in the mix-and-match process. In this alignment method, global alignment using representative chips on a wafer effectively achieves accurate overlay and high throughput. Overlay measurements showed that the deviation in the alignment error is smaller than 70 nm within 3 sigma.
A novel silicon shaping mask for electron-beam cell projection lithography has been developed for use in the HL-800D system, a high-throughput electron-beam direct writing system for ULSI device fabrication. This shaping mask has 125 shaping apertures corresponding to the ULSI's cell patterns and 25 square apertures for the conventional VSB method. In fabricating of the shaping masks, advanced ULSI processes are applied. In particular, an SOI wafer contributes to mask thickness uniformity and low-temperature etching with microwave plasma enables the side wall angle to be perpendicular. The fabrication errors for each aperture size are less than 0.25 micrometers . Consequently, the beam size errors on the wafer are less than 0.01 micrometers due to the 1/25 reduction ratio of the HL-800D system. By using the HL-800D cell projection, ULSI patterns corresponding to a 256-Mb DRAM gate level were exposed. As this experimental results, the average value for patterns designed to be 0.20 micrometers is 0.197 micrometers with a standard deviation of 0.013 micrometers .
A novel submicron dimension reference for calibrating electron-beam metrology systems has been developed. A fine rectangular-profile diffraction grating fabricated by laser interferometer lithography and anisotropic chemical etching of (110) crystalline silicon satisfies any conditions for submicron dimension reference. In this reference, pitch size of about 0.2 micrometers is easily obtained by laser interferometer lithography with an accuracy, shown by optical diffraction measurement, of within 1 nm. This reference also satisfies several requirements for electron-beam metrology systems. It is stable and free from build-up of charge under electron-beam irradiation because it is fabricated from a conductive silicon single crystal. Also it generates high-contrast secondary electron signals due to high-aspect ratio grating profile. Evaluation of this reference by optical diffraction measurement and electron- beam CD measurements show high performance for submicron dimension calibration. In electron-beam CD measurements, the deviation of repeated measurements is under 5 nm within 3 (sigma) .
A novel calibration method of electron-optics in cell projection method was proposed. The electron-optics of the cell projection method requires more severe reduction ratio and rotation adjustments than the conventional variable-shaped method. This method uses a calibration aperture pattern fabricated in the same silicon shaping mask. The reduction ratio and the rotation of the cell mask have been calibrated within 1% and within several m-rad, respectively. Such a silicon shaping mask was fabricated by new processes using SOI wafer. In the delineation experiment, an ULSI pattern corresponding to 256-Mbit DRAM gate pattern having 0.2 micrometers minimum feature size was exposed. The stitching error of each shot was smaller than 0.02 micrometers .
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