Real-time on-wafer evaluation of contaminant-induced defects from resist processing

John K. Lowell; Paul W. Ackmann; Stuart E. Brown; Julia Sherry; Tim Z. Hossain

doi:10.1117/12.240085

21 May 1996 Real-time on-wafer evaluation of contaminant-induced defects from resist processing

John K. Lowell, Paul W. Ackmann, Stuart E. Brown, Julia Sherry, Tim Z. Hossain

Proceedings Volume 2725, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography X; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.240085
Event: SPIE's 1996 International Symposium on Microlithography, 1996, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

In this paper we present a new non-contact, non-destructive method for real-time evaluation of both surface and interface metallic contamination from resists. The method allows for independent testing at the completion of a coat/ash or ash/removal/clean steps in processing. Using a standard 1.2 micrometer resist in both as-received and intentionally doped versions wherein alkaline and transition metals such as K, Fe, Cr, and Cu were added to the initial solution, we demonstrate that at both these crucial steps in resist processing important electrical and material parameters such as bulk Fe concentration, minority carrier diffusion length, relative surface recombination velocity, and surface charge can be detected directly on- a processed test wafer with no electrical test structures using a combination of low and high injection level surface photovoltage. Since most production fabs only test for residual particles in-line, or rely on expensive, time-consuming analytical techniques such as AAS, DLTS, or TXRF to evaluate contaminant metals, this approach offers a faster and a more economical way to control this problem.

Citation Download Citation

John K. Lowell, Paul W. Ackmann, Stuart E. Brown, Julia Sherry, and Tim Z. Hossain "Real-time on-wafer evaluation of contaminant-induced defects from resist processing", Proc. SPIE 2725, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography X, (21 May 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.240085

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