AFM measurement of linewidth with sub-nanometer scale precision

Satoshi Gonda; Kazuto Kinoshita; Hironori Noguchi; Tomizo Kurosawa; Hajime Koyanagi; Ken Murayama; Tsuneo Terasawa

doi:10.1117/12.599442

10 May 2005 AFM measurement of linewidth with sub-nanometer scale precision

Satoshi Gonda, Kazuto Kinoshita, Hironori Noguchi, Tomizo Kurosawa, Hajime Koyanagi, Ken Murayama, Tsuneo Terasawa

Proceedings Volume 5752, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XIX; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.599442
Event: Microlithography 2005, 2005, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

A critical-dimension atomic force microscope system equipped with an ultra-high resolution, three-axis laser interferometer was constructed and tested. The MIRAI (Millennium Research for Advanced Information Technology) project has been improving the precision of critical dimension measurements with atomic force microscopy (AFM) by implementing modularized laser interferometers, to meet requirements for dimensional measurement in 45 nm technology node. The stability of the cross-sectional profile of an AFM image for a rectangular cross-section was greatly improved by optimizing interferometer linearity and resolution with DSP signal processing and reducing the angular motion and mechanical vibration of the monolithic three-dimensional probe scanner with a unique parallel spring mechanism. The repeatability of linewidth measurement of a nominal 100 nm linewidth along the same scanned line showed a standard deviation of 0.5-1.0 nm (3-sigma). This shows AFM to be one of the most promising metrological tools for next-generation nanodevice fabrication processes. Instrumentation, measurement results, and precision will be discussed.

Citation Download Citation

Satoshi Gonda, Kazuto Kinoshita, Hironori Noguchi, Tomizo Kurosawa, Hajime Koyanagi, Ken Murayama, and Tsuneo Terasawa "AFM measurement of linewidth with sub-nanometer scale precision", Proc. SPIE 5752, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XIX, (10 May 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.599442

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