A practical approach, adopting a clever litho trim, to spacer double patterning is investigated in detail. In order to produce quarter-pitch small lines of dense arrays (with pitch fragmentation techniques), state-of-the-art ArF photoresists can be used with a subsequent trim etch, to get the tiny line widths on desired target. Critical dimension (CD) control during the trim etch process plays a crucial role. Therefore, we investigated the application of a litho trim in order to reduce the trim etch close to zero bias. This approach has the further advantage to allow the printing of small spaces together with small lines, which reduces the k1 and, therefore, the theoretical resolution. Applying CD trim by litho “overexposure,” thin ArF bilayer system (silicon containing resist on spin-on carbon underlayer) showed basic suitability at k1=0.146 at half pitch of 3xnm with a sufficient process window and a good CD uniformity after litho and after etch. ArF single-layer resists suffer from pattern collapse and resist thickness loss at defocus. For spacer deposition directly on resist, the control of profiles and film thicknesses is shown to be difficult using single-layer resists and more likely to be achieved with bilayer resists. It is also shown that spacer-based double patterning can generate good CD uniformity by use of bilayer resist and litho trim, both with an a-Si carrier and bilayer resist carrier (underlayer).
By assessment of options for the fabrication of small contact holes in DRAM devices the method of focus drilling was
identified and investigated to overcome the depth of focus limitations. By use of ArF-dry lithography a practical shrink
of the target CD by 15nm can be achieved both with a focus offset double exposure (FODEX) and with a tilted stage
approach. This was optimized in simulation and demonstrated by CD measurement on wafer, as well as by electrical
measurement on integrated lots. Application of dual lambda focus drilling is limited by the chromatic magnification error
of the lens. The increase of hole-to-hole CD variations due to a lower dose latitude and to increased MEEF was
characterized. As improvement option the use of a high transmission attPSM was identified.
To avoid expensive immersion lithography and to further use existing dry tools for critical contact layer lithography at
4Xnm DRAM nodes the application of altPSM is investigated and compared to attPSM. Simulations and experiments
with several test masks showed that by use of altPSM with suitable 0°/180° coloring and assist placement 30nm smaller
contacts can be resolved through pitch with sufficient process windows (PW). This holds for arrays of contacts with
variable lengths through short and long side pitches. A further benefit is the lower mask error enhancement factor
(MEEF). Nevertheless 3D mask errors (ME) consume benefits in the PW and the assist placement and coloring of the
main features (MF) put some constraints on the chip design. An altPSM compatible 4Xnm full-chip layout was realized
without loss of chip area. Mask making showed very convincing results with respect to CDU, etch depth uniformity and
defectiveness. The printed intra-field CD uniformity was comparable to attPSM despite the smaller target CDs. Room for
improvement is identified in OPC accuracy and in automatic assist placement and sizing.
Double patterning based on litho-etch-litho-etch techniques requires the fabrication of small lines or of small spaces after
first patterning. If spacer techniques are used for pitch fragmentation small lines are needed as carrier in dense arrays. In
any case the CD control is crucial. Focus of this paper is the patterning of small lines with bilayer resist in comparison
with single layer resist as pre-requisite for both methods, for various litho conditions. The basic suitability of a bilayer
patterning has been demonstrated at k1=0.146 at half pitch of 37.5nm with a sufficient process window and a good CD
uniformity after litho and after etch. Single layer resists suffer from pattern collapse and resist thickness loss at defocus if
a CD trim by litho "overexposure" is applied. This results in deficiency of masking during etch, although the resist
profiles and litho process windows look perfect. If a CD trim is achieved by an etch process the CDU is diminished and
the minimum patterned space is enlarged compared to bilayer, due the widening by trim etch. The bilayer resist for
193nm dry lithography showed convincing overall performance. First results with 193nm immersion bilayer look also
promising but shows grass formation.
We present rigorous 3D EMF simulations of isolated features on photomasks using a newly developed finite-element
method. We report on the current status of the finite-element solver JCMsuite, incorporating higher-order
edge elements, adaptive refinement methods, and fast solution algorithms. We demonstrate that rigorous
and accurate results on light scattering off isolated features can be achived at relatively low computational cost,
compared to the standard approach of simulations on large-pitch, periodic computational domains.
Rigorous computer simulations of propagating electromagnetic fields have become an important tool for optical
metrology and optics design of nanostructured components. As has been shown in previous benchmarks some of
the presently used methods suffer from low convergence rates and/or low accuracy of the results and exhibit very
long computation times1, 2 which makes application to extended 2D layout patterns impractical. We address 3D
simulation tasks by using a finite-element solver which has been shown to be superior to competing methods by
several orders of magnitude in accuracy and computational time for typical microlithography simulations.2 We
report on the current status of the solver, incorporating higher order edge elements, adaptive refinement methods,
and fast solution algorithms. Further, we investigate the performance of the solver in the 3D simulation project
of light diffraction off an alternating phase-shift contact-hole mask.
The existence of pitch range with depth of focus below a sustainable limit is a well known fact in lithography. Such
'forbidden pitch' range limits designers' ability to pack more functionality in a logic chip. One of the ways to increase
the process window is to have a careful placement of SRAFs (Sub Resolution Assist Features) that can boost process
window across the pitch range. However the standard SRAF strategy that has been followed historically is not always
able to increase the process window of these 'forbidden pitches' sufficiently to allow sustainable manufacturing. With
shrinking technology node, placement of SRAF is becoming rather difficult due to space limitations between concerned
features and mask house's ability to manufacture mask with small assist features and smaller aspect ratios. In many
cases the number of SRAF that can be inserted between main features in a symmetrical way is not enough to boost the
process window. In this paper we discuss how asymmetrical placement of SRAF can increase process window for
critical feature in layouts where such critical features are placed near not-so-critical patterns. We also discuss how such
concepts can be extended to an array of critical features, where one SRAF is placed near a critical feature instead of
placing them in the center. We finally demonstrate how wafer data confirm process window boost from such
asymmetrical placement of SRAFs in gate layer for 65nm. We also show how to determine the optimal placement of
SRAF in such cases and recommend some rules that can be used for 45nm node based on such results.
We perform 3D lithography simulations by using a finite-element
solver.
To proof applicability to real 3D problems we investigate
DUV light propagation through a structure of size 9μm x 4μm x 65nm.
On this relatively large computational domain we
perform rigorous computations (No Hopkins) taking into account
a grid of 11 x 21 source points with two polarization directions
each.
We obtain well converged results with an accuracy of the
diffraction orders of about 1%.
The results compare well to experimental aerial imaging results.
We further investigate the convergence of 3D solutions towards
quasi-exact results obtained with different methods.
Experiments and full resist simulations of contact patterns using both infinitely thin masks (2D) and 3-dimensional mask topography (3D) were performed to examine the quality of prediction by simulation. Experimental data were acquired by CD-SEM measurements of contact patterns in resist which were generated using a 193 nm scanner with a numerical aperture of 0.75, circular illumination (σ=0.5), and an attenuated phase shifting mask with 6% transmission. Analysis of the data is performed in terms of dose to size, process window, mask error enhancement factor (MEEF), and printed critical dimension (CD) in resist. Furthermore, an error analysis is performed with respect to mask CD, illumination source, dose and focus error. For the same contact size in resist a parabola like dependence of the mask contact length on contact width was found by experiment and simulation. Fair agreement between 2D and 3D simulation was obtained above 180 nm mask CD whereas a strong difference was observed below this region. Especially the location of the minimum at around 140 nm mask CD can be reasonably described only by 3D simulation. Thus, the prediction of accurate mask biases and process windows in the lower mask CD region is only possible by 3D simulation. Simple corrections of the 3D effect like the consideration of a mask CD offset or dose offset fail. Apart from that, 2D simulation in conjunction with a well calibrated resist model is sufficient for delivering reliable predictions for process window, MEEF, and CD.
An extremely fast time-harmonic finite element solver developed for the transmission analysis of photonic crystals was applied to mask simulation problems. The applicability was proven by examining a set of typical problems and by a benchmarking against two established methods (FDTD and a differential method) and an analytical example. The new finite element approach was up to 100 times faster than the competing approaches for moderate target accuracies, and it was the only method which allowed to reach high target accuracies.
A new method for simulating the post-exposure bake (PEB) of optical lithography is presented and applied to modeling the reaction-diffusion processes in a chemically amplified resist (CAR). The new approach is based on a mesoscopic description of the photoresist, taking into account the discrete nature of resist molecules and inhibitor groups that are attached to the resist polymers, but neglecting molecular details on an atomistic (microscopic) level. As a result, the time- and space-dependent statistical fluctuations of resist particle numbers, the correlations among them, and their effect on the printing result can be accounted for. The less molecules that are present in the volume of interest, the more important these fluctuations and correlations will become. This is the case for more and more shrinking critical dimensions (CD) of the lithographic structures but unchanged molecular sizes of the relevant resist species. In particular, the new PEB simulation method allows us to predict the behavior of statistical defects of the printed lithographic structures, which may strongly contribute to printing features like line edge roughness (LER).
This paper focuses on a novel methodology for a fast and efficient resist model calibration. One of the most crucial parts when calibrating a resist model is the fitting of experimental data where up to 20 resist model parameters are varied. Although general optimization approaches such as simplex algorithms or genetic algorithms have proven suitable for many applications, they do not exploit specific properties of resist models. Therefore, we have developed a new strategy based on Design of Experiment methods which makes use of these specific characteristics. This algorithm will be outlined and then be demonstrated by applying it to the calibration of a Solid-C resist model for one ArF line/space resist. As characterizing dataset we chose: a) a Focus Exposure Matrix (FEM) for the dense array, b) linearity, c) OPE (optical proximity) curve and e) the MEEF (mask error enhancement factor) for a dense array. It turned out that a simultaneous fit of the complete data set was not possible by varying resist parameters only. Considering the optical parameters appeared to be crucial as well. Therefore the influence of the optical settings (illumination, projection, 3D mask effects) on the lithography process will be discussed at this point. Finally we obtained an excellent matching of model predictions and experimental results.
This paper describes different simplified simulation models which characterize the behavior of the photoresist during lithography processes. The effectiveness of these models is compared with the results of more physics and chemistry containing simulators. The strengths and weaknesses of the simplified models are demonstrated for practical applications. Simplified resist model parameters are calibrated for 193nm chemically amplified resists (CAR). The results are compared with calibration of full simulation models. The validity of the simulation models under different process conditions is investigated.
Besides halftone phase shifting masks (HTPSM) in combination with off-axis illumination alternating phase shifting masks (altPSM) are becoming more and more an important resolution enhancement technique. Their obvious benefits can only yield profit in production if certain mask properties like intensity and phase balance are controlled to a requisite extent. In order to achieve production capable masks within a reasonable time and cost frame simulation tools are of essential importance for mask development and manufacturing. Four our studies we employed solid-CMTM, a 3D EMF (electro magnetic field) simulator that handles arbitrary topographical masks. It is demonstrated by examples that these capabilities are mandatory for altPSM development. In this paper we discuss the effects of various issues relevant for development and manufacturing of altPSM on a basis of systematic 3D EMF simulations. For different balancing options sensitivity to phase errors, mask CD errors and pitch/feature size were investigated. Comparisons to 2D simulation are made for further illustration. We show the influence of certain mask errors on process window and draw conclusions for optimizing altPSM manufacturing.
Besides assist features in combination with HTPSM (half-tone phase shifting mask} and off-axis illumination altPSM (alternating phase shifting mask} is the major resolution enhancement technique to extend optical lithography to low k1. AltPSM in addition has the potential of superior CD control. However to achieve this in production altPSM has to fullfil a number of specifications with respect to phase and transmission. Another important aspect to obtain maximum CD control and overlapping process window for all kinds of structures at different pitches is that the phase shifters need to be optimized. Optimizing shifters by means of simulation results provides valuable input for both setting up design rules for altPSM application and for development of OPC strategies and software. Therefore various systems with different widths of lines and shifters were studied with special focus on basic asymmetric cases. We applied Solid-CM TM, a 3D EMF (electro magnetic field) simulator for our studies. Some results obtained from simulation were experimentally verified by wafer printing results (SEM imaging and CD measurement}. In addition, comparison to 2D simulation results clearly allows the determination of cases in which 3D effects have to be taken into account. The effect of varying shifters is monitored by pattern placement and process window analysis. We apply this investigation to develop solution strategies and to optimize shifter dimensions.
Alternating phase shifting masks have proven their capability to enhance the process window and to reduce the mask error enhancement factor effectively. The application of this mask type requires additional mask-properties compared to binary masks or halftone PSM. In this paper two of these mask-properties, the intensity and the phase balancing, are investigated experimentally for 4X and 5X masks at DUV and compared with simulations applying the T-Mask configuration of the SOLID-CM™ program. In a first part the experimentally determined balancing results are discussed. For the measurements two independent methods are compared: Balancing measurements with an AIMS-system (MSM100) and direct optical phase and transmission measurements using a MPM-248 system. The T-Mask as a 3D Maxwell solver allows the simulation of real 3D mask topography. We compare the results of simulations with measured AIMS data. All available mask data like depth of trenches, thickness and composition of chromium/CrxOy layers, etc. are taken as input for the simulations. The comparison enables an assessment of the possibilities and limitations of 3D mask- simulation. Based on 3D mask simulations CD-sensitivity of the different balancing methods was investigated also taking the influence of proximity into account. The simulations allow an assessment of the CD-sensitivity for four analyzed mask types for feature sizes below 150nm on the wafer.
By means of simulation techniques using the SAMPLE and SPLAT programs the potential of self-aligned phase-shifting reticles for applications in microlithography is investigated and compared with conventional reticles and, to some extent, also with alternating and chromeless phase-shifter edge-line reticles. The analysis concentrates on partially coherent imaging ((sigma) equals0.5) of isolated spaces, line/space gratings and contact holes at k1 factors of 0.5 and 0.63, but wider and finer structures are also considered. The resist technique is found to have a considerable influence on the results. The work also includes a rough analysis of the necessary manufacturing tolerances of the phase reticles.
The basic chemistry and lithographic characteristics of anhydride- containing, diazo-based NUV and DUV resists as well as silylation of top resist patterns with aqueous solutions of silicon-containing diamines in the Si-CARL bilayer process (CARL: Chemical Amplification of Resist Lines) were reported recently. This paper describes technical control of the Si-CARL process for g-line and DUV in a 6 inch pilot line using automatic equipment. Linewidth uniformity of top resist patterns is not affected by silylation and is found to be 0.045 micrometers (3(sigma) ) for nominal 0.4 micrometers lines/spaces, the resolution limit of the 0.55 NA g- line stepper used. Both overexposure and linewidth increase due to silylation conditions can be used in the Si-CARL process for optimization of defocus latitudes. With the use of a 0.55 NA g-line stepper total defocus latitudes are 2.8 micrometers for 0.6 micrometers equal lines and spaces and > 3.2 micrometers for isolated 0.6 micrometers spaces. In order to meet the requirement for sufficient throughput on KrF-excimerlaser steppers the sensitivity of DUV top resists is improved by chemical variations of resist polymers. The use of maleimide-containing resist polymers with improved alkaline solubility in diazo-inhibited top resists allows resolution of 0.25 micrometers lines and spaces at 161 mJ/cm2 on a 0.37 NA KrF-excimerlaser stepper. Further considerable improvement of DUV sensitivity to 11 mJ/cm2 was achieved using an acid-catalyzed top resist based on onium-salt and a terpolymer containing N-t-BOC-maleimide-units.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.