In-process defect inspection and characterization study for dry etching chrome-on-quartz binary masks

Weidong Cai; Henry H. Kamberian; Douglas G. Mattis; Kraig Morris; Van Tu

doi:10.1117/12.410692

22 January 2001 In-process defect inspection and characterization study for dry etching chrome-on-quartz binary masks

Weidong Cai, Henry H. Kamberian, Douglas G. Mattis, Kraig Morris, Van Tu

Proceedings Volume 4186, 20th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.410692
Event: Photomask Technology, 2000, Monterey, CA, United States

Abstract

With the inherent advantages of good Critical Dimension (CD) control and good pattern fidelity, dry etching of Chrome-on- Quartz (COG) binary masks is necessary for production of 0.18um or below technology generation masks. Chrome dry etching process, however, tends to produce more defects than the traditional wet etch processes. We have conducted in-process defect inspection studies, which have identified several defect sources and have proposed process controls that minimize the number and size of defects from the entire dry etch process. This paper discusses the design of a defect test vehicle and describes an approach and methodology of defect inspection as a means of understanding the creation mechanisms of process related defects. A Lasertec Corporation (i)-line inspection system is employed along with different microscopy and metrology tools to identify and characterize these defects that can be attributed to the various steps in this entire dry etch process. Our results demonstrate that this approach of in-process inspection is very effective at identifying defects and their sources as they become evident at different process steps.

Citation Download Citation

Weidong Cai, Henry H. Kamberian, Douglas G. Mattis, Kraig Morris, and Van Tu "In-process defect inspection and characterization study for dry etching chrome-on-quartz binary masks", Proc. SPIE 4186, 20th Annual BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology, (22 January 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.410692

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