Meeting the challenge of advanced lithography reticle inspection

Larry S. Zurbrick; Stephen D. Kirkish

doi:10.1117/12.195814

7 December 1994 Meeting the challenge of advanced lithography reticle inspection

Larry S. Zurbrick, Stephen D. Kirkish

Proceedings Volume 2322, 14th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology and Management; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.195814
Event: 14th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology and Management, 1994, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

New inspection capabilities have been developed in order to meet the emerging needs of reticle inspection. Many proposed optical proximity correction (OPC) methods currently utilize small (< 0.5 micrometers ) edge jogs on the reticle to affect edge feature placement on the wafer. A test plate with 50 nm to 0.50 micrometers edge jogs was fabricated and characterized with automatic inspection equipment. Maintaining input database resolution was found to be a significant factor in eliminating false stops at a high defect detection sensitivity. Inspection of attenuated and embedded attenuated (single layer halftone) phase shifting masks (PSM) has been successfully accomplished for both non-patterned blanks and patterned reticles. A new inspection mode was developed for non-patterned attenuated blank inspection which demonstrated 0.3 micrometers pinhole detection sensitivity and has the capability for +/- 5% absolute transmission error detection. Using programmed defect embedded attenuated phase shift mask test plates, defect detection sensitivity was found to be very similar to that of chrome masks. Deep UV (DUV) stepper technology for the production of 0.25 micrometers linewidths will challenge maskmakers' lithography, inspection, and repair processes.

Citation Download Citation

Larry S. Zurbrick and Stephen D. Kirkish "Meeting the challenge of advanced lithography reticle inspection", Proc. SPIE 2322, 14th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology and Management, (7 December 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.195814

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