Evaluation of roughness transfer from Litho to Etch using CD-SEM

M. Tanaka; T. Ishimoto; H. Kazumi; S. Cheng

doi:10.1117/12.917962

5 April 2012 Evaluation of roughness transfer from Litho to Etch using CD-SEM

M. Tanaka, T. Ishimoto, H. Kazumi, S. Cheng

Proceedings Volume 8324, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XXVI; 83242H (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.917962
Event: SPIE Advanced Lithography, 2012, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Roughness transfer from Litho to Etch has been evaluated. The impact of Line width roughness (LWR) or Line edge roughness (LER) is getting larger with shrink of semiconductor devices. In this study, the roughness measurement by using a single frame SEM image was brought in to avoid resist shrinkage, and image enhance technique is used to compensate low S/N ratio in this one frame image. CD-AFM was used as reference, and LWR measured by CD-AFM was compared to the results of one frame enhanced image taken by CD-SEM. And roughness spectrum analysis was used for evaluation of roughness characteristics taken by CD-SEM and CD-AFM, and its transition by resist shrink or by etching process. It was enabled to observe the resist roughness profile with minimum shrink by using one frame enhanced image, then roughness transfer between Litho and Etch was evaluated by comparing in exactly the same position as pre- and post-etch. As a result, it was confirmed that transferred roughness by etching was remaining the peak and valley profile in resist observed by CD-SEM, but the roughness amplitude was reduced in higher frequency domain. This result consists with the roughness characteristics comparison from Litho to Etch. This also means roughness characteristics analysis shows the actual nanoscopic event.

Citation Download Citation

M. Tanaka, T. Ishimoto, H. Kazumi, and S. Cheng "Evaluation of roughness transfer from Litho to Etch using CD-SEM", Proc. SPIE 8324, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XXVI, 83242H (5 April 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.917962

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