Metrological applications of Mueller polarimetry in conical diffraction for overlay characterization in microelectronics

Novikova, Tatiana; Martino, A. De; Ossikovski, Razvigor; Drévillon, B.

doi:10.1051/epjap:2005034

Cited by 29 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Unlike the Jones formalism, MM can completely characterize the reflection (or transmission) by a sample and hence, is used to describe samples that exhibit depolarization. 5,14 MM elements are represented by means of experimentally measured quantities, which make it useful in accurate characterization of the sample. The general expression relating the incoming and the emergent polarized light (Stokes-Mueller formalism) is written as …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Novikova et al presented the first theoretical evaluation of MM-based scatterometry and used simulation to demonstrate the benefits of MM for overlay measurement. 5 Later, they successfully implemented MM-based OCD (wavelength range used 450 to 700 nm) on a photo-resist grating on a silicon substrate to extract the feature dimensions. 6 Martino et al reported a comparison study of MM-based scatterometry with other metrology methods (CD-SEM and 3D-AFM), demonstrating the precision and accuracy of the method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of e-beam patterned grating structures using Mueller matrix based scatterometry

Muthinti

Peterson²,

Bonam

et al. 2013

J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS

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Scatterometry is one of the most useful metrology methods for the characterization and control of critical dimensions and the detailed feature shape of periodic structures found in the microelectronics fabrication processes. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and normal incidence reflectometry (NI)-based scatterometry are widely used optical methodologies for metrology of these structures. Evolution of improved optical hardware and faster computing capabilities led to the development of Mueller matrix (MM)-based scatterometry (MMS). Unlike SE and NI, MM data provides complete information about the optical reflection and transmission of polarized light interacting with a sample. This gives MMS an advantage over traditional SE scatterometry due to the ability to characterize samples that have anisotropic optical properties and depolarize light. In this paper, we present the study of full MM (16-element) scatterometry over a wide spectral range from 245 to 1700 nm on a series of one-dimensional, two-dimensional symmetric, and asymmetric grating structures. A series of laterally complex nanoscale structures were designed and fabricated using a stateof-the-art e-beam patterning. Spectroscopic MM and SE data were collected using a dual rotating compensator ellipsometer. Commercial modeling software based on the rigorous coupled-wave approximation was used to precisely calculate the critical dimensions. Results from MMS were compared with scanning electron microscopy.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of e-beam patterned grating structures using Mueller matrix based scatterometry

Muthinti

Peterson²,

Bonam

et al. 2013

J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS

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“…15 The optical response of the scatterometry model is fit to the experimentally measured optical spectra. The MSE is used as the criteria to estimate the degree of mismatch between experimental and model-generated data.…”

Section: Analysis For Ps-b-pmma Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 In contrast to SE and CD-SEM, MMSE data are found to be sensitive to underlying chemical guide pitch for the etched samples. 15 MMSE based scatterometry is more effective in characterizing the etched samples. Changes in MSE values as seen in Tables 1 and 2 are used as the criteria for estimating the degree of disorientation of PS-b-PMMA patterns and PS line-space patterns across the FEM wafer.…”

Section: Analysis For Ps Line-space Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metrology for block copolymer directed self-assembly structures using Mueller matrix-based scatterometry

Dixit

Kamineni

Farrell

et al. 2015

J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS

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Abstract. Patterning based on directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymer (BCP) has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective manufacturing technique for advanced sub-20-nm structures. This paper describes the application of Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry (MMSE) based scatterometry to optically characterize polystyrene-b-polymethylmethacrylate patterns and Si fins fabricated with DSA. A regression-based (inverseproblem) approach is used to calculate the line-width, line-shape, sidewall-angle, and thickness of the DSA structures. In addition, anisotropy and depolarization calculations are used to determine the sensitivity of MMSE to DSA pattern defectivity. As pattern order decreases, the mean squared error value increases, depolarization value increases, and anisotropy value decreases. These specific trends are used in the current work as a method to judge the degree of alignment of the DSA patterns across the wafer. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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“…It has become commercially available [4] though the fundamental understanding of its use is still a part of basic research. Some studies have been carried on the overlay characterization using either incomplete [4] or complete spectral Mueller polarimeter [5]. Our work investigates the possibility of using a complete Mueller polarimeter in the back focal plane with a high aperture microscope objective for the characterization of overlay defect value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications of Mueller polarimetry in the Fourier space for overlay characterization in microelectronics

et al. 2010

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We present a new optical technique using complete Mueller polarimetry in the back focal plane of a microscope objective to characterize the overlay defects in microelectronics industry. Exploiting the fundamental symmetries in the physics of periodic structures and polarized light and the redundancies in the angle-resolved images we prove that it is possible to measure overlay by this fast and non-destructive technique. The simulations of the one-dimensional structures have shown that the values of a chosen criterion exploiting the off-diagonal coefficients symmetries are proportional to the values of overlay defects and can reach 0.25 for a 25nm defect. The accuracy of the polarimeter used for this application becomes even more critical because it is directly linked to the overlay measurement. Beside the redundancies in the acquired data, the angular resolution allows us also to decouple the information along X and Y directions in the Fourier space. Due to this the overlay defect can be characterized and decomposed with respect to these two axes.We show that the proposed new technique is sensitive to both magnitude and sign of the shift. Thus, Mueller polarimetry in the Fourier space (MPFS) offers more parameters for the process quality control compared with conventional spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). It means that MPFS should be more efficient than SE for the overlay characterization in microelectronic industry.

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Metrological applications of Mueller polarimetry in conical diffraction for overlay characterization in microelectronics

Cited by 29 publications

References 17 publications

Characterization of e-beam patterned grating structures using Mueller matrix based scatterometry

Characterization of e-beam patterned grating structures using Mueller matrix based scatterometry

Metrology for block copolymer directed self-assembly structures using Mueller matrix-based scatterometry

Applications of Mueller polarimetry in the Fourier space for overlay characterization in microelectronics

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