E-beam inspection for detection of sub-design rule physical defects

Abstract

E-beam inspection provides a complementary approach to brightfield inspection for detection of otherwise difficult to detect physical defects. Advantages of E-beam inspection include superior resolution, the ability to classify defects using patch images and automatic filtering of prior level defects.A key limitation, however, is throughput. Therefore brightfield inspection should always be used for defection of physical defects when effective. For challenging defects, E-beam inspection data may be used as a gold standard for development of the best optical inspection conditions. For very challenging defects, it may be necessary to rely on E-beam inspection. An efficient inspection should be developed. Three examples are presented of challenging defects to illustrate the usefulness of E-beam inspection for physical defect detection.

Reduction of “Dark-Gate” defects in replacement-metal-gate process and middle-of-line contacts for advanced planar CMOS and FinFET technology

“…The electron beam (e-beam) inspection tool [5][6] is effective in detecting those defects of gate to TScontact in "voltage contrast" at negative surface charging mode, thus when gate is normal (i.e. open) or defective (i.e.…”

E-Beam Hot Spot Inspection for Early Detection of Systematic Patterning Problems for a 22 nm SOI Technology

“…EBHI takes place within sector; therefore feedback to the patterning and integration teams is within days. While some parts of this process have been previously explained [3], [4], this paper presents the methodology as a unified whole and provides much more detail plus the latest findings.…”

Mechanism and Application of NMOS Leakage with Intra-Well Isolation Breakdown by Voltage Contrast Detection

“…Advanced semiconductor process line inclines to require more e-beam scans, especially for the early phase of technology development [6]. The small wavelength of electron beams presents superior resolution that able to inspect sub-design rule defects in nanometre-scale process [7]. Although the low throughput usually is the cost of the high-resolution e-beam inspection, the smart sampling scan can be applied for dedicated defect cases [8].…”