Actinic EUVL mask blank inspection and phase defect characterization

Yamane, Takeshi; Iwasaki, Teruo; Tanaka, Toshihiko; Terasawa, Tsuneo; Suga, Osamu; Tomie, Toshihisa

doi:10.1117/12.824258

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The development of the current tool is based on the concept developed by AIST and MIRAI-ASET [19] and finished as a full-field prototype by MIRAI-SELETE [12,13,14]. In 2011 the core technology was transferred to Lasertec with a goal to develop an HVM tool for 16 nm within two years (see Figure 1 for the program overview) with technical support of EIDEC.…”

Section: Abi Program Overview and Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

EUV actinic blank inspection: from prototype to production

Tchikoulaeva

Miyai

Suzuki

et al. 2013

Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography IV

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The availability of actinic blank inspection is one of the key milestones for EUV lithography on the way to high volume manufacturing. Placed at the very beginning of the mask manufacturing flow, blank inspection delivers the most critical data set for the judgment of the initial blank quality and final mask performance. From all actinic metrology tools proposed and discussed over the last years, actinic blank inspection (ABI) tool is the first one to reach the pre-production status. In this paper we give an overview of EIDEC-Lasertec ABI program, provide a description of the system and share the most recent performance test results of the tool for 16 nm technology node.

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Section: Abi Program Overview and Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

EUV actinic blank inspection: from prototype to production

Tchikoulaeva

Miyai

Suzuki

et al. 2013

Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography IV

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“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] To address this issue, we have developed an actinic full-field EUVL mask blank inspection system to detect multilayer phase defects by employing a dark field imaging technique. [10][11][12][13][14] Based on our estimation of impact of a phase defect on a wafer for 22 nm HP devices, we maintain that our target of inspection sensitivity was to capture a phase defect caused by a 1.5 nm-high and 40 nm-wide protrusion on a multilayer surface. In this system, the light scattered from a mask blank surface reaches a CCD camera where a defect is captured as a spot signal brighter than a pre-determined threshold.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of actinic blank inspection and phase defect analysis

Yamane¹,

Tanaka²,

Terasawa³

et al. 2010

SPIE Proceedings

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We have developed an actinic full-field inspection system to detect multilayer phase defect with dark field imaging. A new CCD camera was installed onto the system with an objective of throughput and inspection sensitivity improvement. As the result, the throughput was improved from 14.25 to 4.75 hours per plate, and the detection probability for 1.2 nmhigh 40 nm-wide defect was found to be 95.7 %. This means that the system has a potential of its extendibility to beyond 22 nm HP inspection.

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“…Because defects in EUV mask blanks are one such major issue, much research is focusing on defect printability. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Absorber defects, which can be detected as clear and opaque defects and particles, are common to conventional optical masks. However, EUV masks have ML phase defects that must be classified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

EUV mask multilayer defects and their printability under different multilayer deposition conditions

Kwon¹,

Harris-Jones²,

Cordes³

et al. 2012

SPIE Proceedings

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Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) patterning appears feasible using currently available EUV exposure tools, but some issues must still be resolved for EUV patterning to be used in production. Defects in EUV mask blanks are one such major issue and inspection tools are needed to detect phase defects on EUV mask blanks that could possibly print on the wafer. Currently available inspection tools can capture defects on the mask, but they also need to be able to classify possible printable defects. Defect classification for repair and mitigation of printable defects is very difficult using deep ultraviolet (DUV) inspection tools; however, if the actinic inspection tool (AIT) could gather defect information from more multilayer (ML) stacks, it may be able to separate printable defects from unprintable defects. If unprintable defects could be eliminated, the defect information could be used for mask pattern shifts to reduce printable defects. Fewer defects would need to be repaired if there were a better chance of capturing printable defects using an actinic inspection tool. Being able to detect printable defects on EUV blanks is therefore critical in mask making.In this paper, we describe the characterization of programmed ML phase defects in the manufacturing of EUV mask blanks using the state-of-the-art mask metrology equipment in SEMATECH's Mask Blank Development Center (MBDC). Programmed defects of various dimensions were prepared using e-beam patterning technology and Mo/Si MLs were deposited with SEMATECH's best known method (BKM) and pit smoothing conditions on programmed defects to characterize ML phase defects. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study ML profile changes, while SEMATECH's AIT was used to image ML phase defects and predict their printability. Multilayer defect reconstruction (MDR) was done using AFM images, which were then compared to TEM images. Defect printability simulation (DPS) was used for comparison to AIT through-focus images. 22 nm, 27 nm, and 32 nm line and space (L/S) absorber patterns were positioned on top of programmed ML phase defects and simulated defect printability. The ML phase defects are located at the edge of L/S patterns and at the center of space patterns and Bossung plot was used to separate printable defects from unprintable defects.

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Actinic EUVL mask blank inspection and phase defect characterization

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

EUV actinic blank inspection: from prototype to production

EUV actinic blank inspection: from prototype to production

Improvement of actinic blank inspection and phase defect analysis

EUV mask multilayer defects and their printability under different multilayer deposition conditions

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