Computational lithographic study of 0.55 NA EUV single patterning for metal layers for the 2nm logic node and beyond

Gao, Weimin; Zhu, Boer; Chiou, Tsann-Bim; Tseng, Shih En; Lin, Will Y.; Chen, Chun-Kuang; Zimmermann, J.; Yen, Anthony

doi:10.1117/12.2614225

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…The results of NILS and O-CD-DoF of the four cases are displayed in the graph on the right side of Figure 2.3. If a NILS of 2.4 and a O-CD-DoF of 40nm @ 10% EL are considered as a viable reference for high NA EUV imaging [2,10] , it can be found that neither the case with the highest NILS (Case I), nor the case with the largest O-CD-DoF (Case IV) meet both conditions. Instead, Case III reveals to be the optimal SMO configuration that compromises the requirement of peak NILS and O-CD-DoF simultaneously.…”

Section: Compromise the Nils Of The Minimum Pitch And The Through-pit...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our approach is simple: (1) we vary each aberration term (Titian 5-36) [12] by multiple values ranging from -0.2nm to +0.2nm, one at a time. (2) We use high NA EUV to image the M0 layouts with each of these aberrations. (3) We extract the edge placement error (EPE) for each edge (referred to as EPE1 and EPE2) of the gauges on the selected patterns.…”

Section: Simulations Of Aberration Sensitivity On M0 Layer In High Na...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the future, with the advancement of technology, the minimum metal pitch for 1.4nm and 1.0nm logic nodes is expected to be further shrunk to the range of 20-24nm [1][2] . However, if the current 0.33NA EUV process is used, metal layers in this pitch range would require at least three rounds of EUV patterning, leading to a complex, time-consuming and costly process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We describe this investigation in Section 2. It should be noticed that we had employed the same settings of imaging (bright field), mask (lown/medium-k) and high NA EUV system configurations as the same in the reference [2], except using a 3.5% flare instead of a 2% flare value. All the simulations in this paper are bright field high NA EUV imaging unless otherwise specified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Computational evaluation of critical logical metal layers of pitch 20-24nm and the aberration sensitivity in high NA EUV single patterning

Gao

Chen

Zimmermann

2023

DTCO and Computational Patterning II

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As chip manufacturers seek to reduce the pitch of metal layers, there is growing interest in replacing the multiple patterning process of 0.33NA EUV with a single patterning of high NA (0.55NA) EUV. However, to resolve a logic metal layout with a minimum pitch of 20-24nm, careful use of resolution enhancement techniques (RETs) and SMO (source mask optimization) is required in high NA EUV. Logic metal patterns are complex and have various feature designs, making it essential to ensure sufficient patterning performance across all pitches and for variations of tip-to-tip (T2T) structures with a tight size. In this study, we simulated and evaluated patterning on a typical logic metal layout representing 1.4nm to 1nm technology nodes. Our study demonstrates that compromised criteria are necessary to ensure the NILS (normalized image log-slope) level of the minimum pitch and the overlap critical dimension (CD) process window (PW). In optical proximity correction (OPC), sub-resolution assistant features (SRAF) help to improve the process window of isolated and semi-iso line-and-space (L/S) patterns. However, we found that the limiting patterns are the tight T2T structures. Aberration sensitivity showed a linear response that is more pronounced to pattern placement errors (PPE) than to CDs. The coma series aberration showed the highest sensitivity to PPE and CD. Overall, our study demonstrates that RETs, rigorous SMO solutions, and a minimum T2T size are required to achieve the replacement of 0.33NA EUV multi-patterning with a 0.55NA EUV single patterning (SP) for logic metal layers with minimum pitches of 20-24nm.

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Section: Compromise the Nils Of The Minimum Pitch And The Through-pit...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Simulations Of Aberration Sensitivity On M0 Layer In High Na...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Computational evaluation of critical logical metal layers of pitch 20-24nm and the aberration sensitivity in high NA EUV single patterning

Gao

Chen

Zimmermann

2023

DTCO and Computational Patterning II

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show abstract

“…For example, using HyperLith (from Panoramic Technology) and Tachyon (from ASML) simulators, Ref. 8 gives a maximum NILS of 2.4 for a binary mask, at λ=13.5 nm and p=20 nm, with 1:1 line-to-space ratio; switching to a phase-shift mask with a corresponding 2-nm reduction in linewidth boosts the NILS to 2.6. Work on extreme ultraviolet masks continues, striving to come up with NILS numbers closer to π.…”

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confidence: 99%

Three-dimensional aerial images of periodic patterns and the depth of focus for lines-and-spaces patterns

Yen¹

2023

J. Micro/Nanopattern. Mats. Metro.

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A prescription for obtaining the three-dimensional irradiance of any periodic pattern is given and applied to obtaining the irradiance and the depth of focus (DOF) for linesand-spaces patterns. As is well known, the DOF for such patterns can be made large by restricting the angular spread of the illuminating light. At a fixed k 1 , the so-called tip-to-tip distance between two opposing line-ends can be made smaller if the numerical aperture of the imaging optics is increased.

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Fast source mask co-optimization method for high-NA EUV lithography

Li,

Dong,

et al. 2024

OEA

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Computational lithographic study of 0.55 NA EUV single patterning for metal layers for the 2nm logic node and beyond

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Computational evaluation of critical logical metal layers of pitch 20-24nm and the aberration sensitivity in high NA EUV single patterning

Computational evaluation of critical logical metal layers of pitch 20-24nm and the aberration sensitivity in high NA EUV single patterning

Three-dimensional aerial images of periodic patterns and the depth of focus for lines-and-spaces patterns

Fast source mask co-optimization method for high-NA EUV lithography

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