Defect printability of alternating phase-shift mask: a critical comparison of simulation and experiment

Aerial image-based mask inspection: a development effort to detect what might impact printing image quality on wafers

“…The most prominent one is AIMS TM [1][2][3][4], most commonly used for final qualification of reticles after repair. AIMS TM is considered a reliable tool for defect dispositioning and many studies in the past have shown compatibility between printability and AIMS TM imaging [1].…”

“…The most prominent one is AIMS TM [1][2][3][4], most commonly used for final qualification of reticles after repair. AIMS TM is considered a reliable tool for defect dispositioning and many studies in the past have shown compatibility between printability and AIMS TM imaging [1]. AIMS TM is an optical review tool, used to re-create the aerial image that will be created by the stepper when exposing the reticle in the wafer fab -employing similar numerical aperture and sigma settings (projection and illumination apertures) as would be used in the wafer exposure.…”