A compact physical CD-SEM simulator for IC photolithography modeling applications

Chao Fang; Mark D. Smith; Alessandro Vaglio Pret; John J. Biafore; Stewart A. Robertson; Joost Bekaert

doi:10.1117/12.2066220

16 September 2014 A compact physical CD-SEM simulator for IC photolithography modeling applications

Chao Fang, Mark D. Smith, Alessandro Vaglio Pret, John J. Biafore, Stewart A. Robertson, Joost Bekaert

Proceedings Volume 9236, Scanning Microscopies 2014; 923618 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2066220
Event: SPIE Scanning Microscopies, 2014, Monterey, California, United States

Abstract

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is widely used to measure Critical Dimensions (CD) in semiconductor lithography processes. As the size of transistors keeps shrinking, the uncertainty associated with CD-SEM accounts for a fast growing contributor to the entire manufacturing error budget. Capability to predict the metrology results from a CDSEM is highly desirable to quantify the uncertainty of metrology. Simulation has proven to be a valuable means of studying both SEM metrology and photolithography. Monte-Carlo based simulators are generally used to model the detailed image formation process of a CD-SEM, while physics-based photolithography simulations, such as PROLITH™ are commonly used for lithography modeling. However, the high computational cost limits the application of Monte- Carlo based CD-SEM simulations in conjunction with lithography simulation. We present here a compact physical CDSEM simulator which simplifies the image formation process while preserving many essential SEM imaging mechanisms. Several applications of our CD-SEM simulator are presented to demonstrate the predicting capability compared with experiments.

Citation Download Citation

Chao Fang, Mark D. Smith, Alessandro Vaglio Pret, John J. Biafore, Stewart A. Robertson, and Joost Bekaert "A compact physical CD-SEM simulator for IC photolithography modeling applications", Proc. SPIE 9236, Scanning Microscopies 2014, 923618 (16 September 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2066220

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

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.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available