At-wavelength detection of extreme ultraviolet lithography mask blank defects

Jeong, Seongtae; Idir, Mourad; Lin, Yun; Johnson, Lewis; Rekawa, Senajith; Jones, Michael; Denham, Paul; Batson, Phillip J.; Levesque, R. A.; Kearney, Patrick A.; Yan, Pei-yang; Gullikson, Eric M.; Underwood, J. H.; Bokor, Jeffrey

doi:10.1116/1.590473

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Multi-beam confocal inspection, a deep UV non-actinic method, has been the primary inspection method for substrates and blanks [104,105,[109][110][111]. However, the sensitivity of current non-actinic inspection may be not high enough, because actinic methods can diagnose multilayer defects [112][113][114] with better sensitivity [115,116] than the state-of-the-art non-actinic mask blank inspection system.…”

Section: Maskmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Next-generation lithography for 22 and 16 nm technology nodes and beyond

2011

Sci. China Inf. Sci.

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In this paper, next-generation lithography (NGL) for the 22 and 16 nm technology nodes and beyond is reviewed. A broad range of topics, including history, technologies, critical challenges, and the most plausible candidates are discussed. The 22 and 16 nm technology nodes rely on NGL. NGLs have been extensively studied. Because of technological issues, the semiconductor industry has stopped pursuing several NGLs, such as X-ray proximity lithography, ion projection lithography, and scattering with angular limitation projection electron lithography. Currently, the primary candidate technologies are extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL), maskless lithography (ML2), and nanoimprint lithography (NIL), with EUVL being the leading candidate. Since EUVL was first proposed in 1988, many studies have been conducted. Currently, there is no "show stopper" for EUVL. Moreover, challenges are present in almost all aspects of EUVL technology. Almost all primary semiconductor manufacturing companies plan to implement commercial pre-production step-and-scan exposure tools in 2011. However, EUVL power at an intermediate focusing level has not yet met the volume manufacturing requirements. EUVL resists have been significantly improved recently, but there is still a critical need to meet requirements on resolution, line width roughness, and sensitivity. Creating a defect-free EUVL mask is another obstacle to the application of EUVL. ML2 and NIL, like EUVL, have also undergone significant progress recently, but throughput, defect control, and cost remain the critical impediments for practical application.

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Section: Maskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, for an EUVL mask, both blank and pattern inspections are necessary using deep UV light (non-actinic) [102][103][104] or at-wavelength light (actinic) [105][106][107][108].…”

Section: Maskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Next-generation lithography for 22 and 16 nm technology nodes and beyond

2011

Sci. China Inf. Sci.

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“…7,8 Once one knows what size defects are problematic, one can then properly design the mask blank inspection system. 1-4 A defect free multilayer mirror has perfectly smooth mirror layers and there exist analytical descriptions of their reflective properties 5,6 which have been taken advantage of when simulating.…”

Section: A Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme ultraviolet mask defect simulation

Pistor

Neureuther

1999

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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“…[32][33][34] Production cost control requires that the EUVL mask blanks be inspected and repaired. Amplitude defects can be identified by using optical or electron-beam inspection; however, phase defects have to rely on at-wavelength light (actinic) [35][36][37][38] to carry out inspections. The actinic EUVL mask inspection tool is composed of a stable EUV source, optical system, and signal capture/processing system, with higher costs.…”

Section: Maskmentioning

confidence: 99%