Arc-shaped slit effect of EUV lithography with anamorphic high-NA system in terms of critical dimension variation

Kim, In-Seon; Kim, Guk-Jin; Yeung, Michael S.; Barouch, Eytan; Oh, Hye−Keun

doi:10.1117/12.2258188

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Due to reflective optics, EUV light incidents in mask and oblique incidence of EUV lithography led to arc-shaped exposure slit. 15) So an arc-shaped slit was implemented in the simulation.…”

Section: Modeling Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overlay and CD uniformity variation due to wafer thermal deformation caused by EUV exposure

Ko¹,

Choi²,

Kim³

et al. 2023

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) process allows for the manufacturing of better- performance chips. However, the EUV exposure process might contribute to significant variations in the patterns of circuits, which cause serious image placement and flatness change. And, during the exposure, the EUV absorption might cause local wafer thermal deformation that might cause the overlay and local critical dimension (CD) variation. In this study, we investigated the wafer thermal deformation with different CDs and pitches with EUV exposure and the thermo-mechanical behavior of the photoresist using the finite element method (FEM) simulation. It is found that the thermal deformation caused during EUV exposure is different inside a die. In the direction along the scan, thermal deformation is increased as it is nearer to the center of the slit. The deformation in the perpendicular direction is increased as it approaches the edges and deforms in the opposite direction relative to the center of the slit. In both directions, the thermal deformation increases gradually as the scan progresses, and it could be as large as ~ 1.5 nm in a die. There was no difference in thermal deformation by CD change, but it is changed with pitch.

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Section: Modeling Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overlay and CD uniformity variation due to wafer thermal deformation caused by EUV exposure

Ko¹,

Choi²,

Kim³

et al. 2023

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In EUV lithography, arc-shaped slits are used for scan exposure, but for convenience, the simulation used a rectangular shape to approximate the scan slit region as can be seen in Fig. 1 [2]. The simulation applied the following time conditions: 0.01 s exposure time per slit, 0.1 s exposure time per die, 0.1 s die alignment time, and 6.5 s wafer alignment time.…”

Section: Simulation Conditions 21 Euv Exposure Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of particle defect to extreme ultra-violet pellicle

Jeon

Kang

et al. 2023

Optical and EUV Nanolithography XXXVI

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The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicle on the EUV mask is used to prevent the image distortion, and the lifetime of the pellicle is important because it is directly related to the yield. However, particle defects can significantly impact the lifetime of the pellicle, causing thermal or mechanical damage such as deformation or increased temperature. To study these effects, we explored how particle defects affect the pellicle, including scenarios where defects on the pellicle or collide with it. We found that there was no temperature and stress accumulation with repeated exposure of the pellicle regardless of the defect exitance. The collision of flying particles gave little mechanical effect with the known impulse inside the scanner. The metal-silicide core pellicles showed better thermal stability compared to the poly-silicon core pellicles and that could be the reason why metal-silicide pellicles showed longer lifetime.

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“…The absorber topography will induce different shadowing and phase effects through slit and feature orientation. 31 As feature sizes decrease with the next patterning nodes, it is expected that a thinner, more absorbing material for the binary EUV mask will further reduce these orientation-dependent imaging effects.…”

Section: Absorber Patterningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing extreme ultraviolet mask three-dimensional effects by alternative metal absorbers

Philipsen

Luong

Souriau

et al. 2017

J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS

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Over the recent years, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography has demonstrated the patterning of ever-shrinking feature sizes (enabling the N7 technology node and below), whereas the EUV mask has remained unaltered, using a 70-nm tantalum (Ta)-based absorber. This has led to experimentally observed mask three-dimensional (M3D) effects at the wafer level, which are induced by the interaction between the oblique incident EUV light and the patterned absorber with typical thickness values on the order of several wavelengths. We exploit the optical properties of the absorber material of the EUV mask as an M3D mitigation strategy. Using rigorous lithographic simulations, we screen potential single-element absorber materials for their optical properties and optimal thickness for minimum best focus variation through pitch at the wafer level. In addition, the M3D mitigation by absorber material is evaluated by process window comparison of foundry N5-specific logic clips. To valid ate the rigorous simulation predictions and test the processing feasibility of the alternative absorber materials, we have selected the candidate single elements nickel and cobalt for an experimental evaluation on wafer substrates. We present the film characterization as well as the first patterning tests of these single-element candidate absorber materials

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Arc-shaped slit effect of EUV lithography with anamorphic high-NA system in terms of critical dimension variation

Cited by 4 publications

References 4 publications

Overlay and CD uniformity variation due to wafer thermal deformation caused by EUV exposure

Overlay and CD uniformity variation due to wafer thermal deformation caused by EUV exposure

Effect of particle defect to extreme ultra-violet pellicle

Reducing extreme ultraviolet mask three-dimensional effects by alternative metal absorbers

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