Current approaches to control critical dimensions (CD) uniformity during lithography is primarily based on run-to-
run (R2R) methods where the CD is measured at the end of the process and correction is done on the next
wafer (or batch of wafers) by adjusting the parameter set-points. In this work, we proposed a method to monitor the various photoresist parameters (e.g. photoresist thickness, photoactive compound) and CD in-situ and in real-time. Through modeling and real-time identification, we develop new in-situ measurement techniques for the various parameters of interest in the lithography sequence using existing available data in the manufacturing process.
KEYWORDS: Semiconducting wafers, Photoresist materials, Mass attenuation coefficient, Lithography, Spectroscopy, Reflectivity, Microelectronics, Process control, Signal attenuation, Control systems
The rapid transition to smaller microelectronic feature sizes involves the introduction of new lithography technologies,
new photoresist materials, and tighter processes specifications. This transition has become increasingly
difficult and costly. The application of advanced computational and control methodologies have seen increasing
utilization in recent years to improve yields, throughput, and, in some cases, to enable the actual process to
print smaller devices. In this work, we demonstrate recent advances in real-time monitoring and control of these
photoresist parameters with the use of innovative technologies, control and signal processing techniques; and
integrated metrology to improve the performance of the various photoresist processing steps in the lithography
sequence.
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