On product overlay (OPO), with its continually shrinking budget, remains a constraint in increasing device yield. The OPO performance consists of both scanner and process-related contributors. Both groups need to be addressed and optimized to minimize the overlay in order to keep up with Moore’s law. Examples of process-related overlay contributors are wafer distortion due to patterned stressed thin films and/or etch. Masks can never be made identical since they represent different layers of the device. It has been shown that shape measurements of the wafer can help to correct for most process-induced wafer distortions up to the 3rd order. However, another contributor to overlay challenges is related to photomask flatness. Wafer overlay errors due to non-flatness and thickness variations of a mask need to be minimized. Overlay metrology capability lags the need for improved overlay control, especially for multi-patterning applications. In this paper, we present a new metrology method that generates a very high-resolution shape map of an entire optical photomask optimized for DUV lithography. The technique is measuring the wave front phase change of the reflected light from both the front and backside of a quartz photomask. In this paper we introduce Wave Front Phase Imaging (WFPI), a new method for measuring flatness of an optical photomask that generates a shape map based on local slope. It collects 810 thousand (K) data points on an 86.4mm × 86.4mm area with a spatial resolution of 96μm.
Wafer overlay errors due to non-flatness and thickness variations of a mask need to be minimized to achieve a very accurate on-product-overlay (OPO). Due to the impact of overlay errors inherent in all reflective lithography systems, EUV reticles will need to adhere to flatness specifications below 10nm, which metric is not possible to achieve using current tooling infrastructure; current metric is showing Peak-to-Valley (PV) flatness of around 60nm. In this paper, we present a new method to generate a very high-resolution photomask shape measurement of an entire optical photomask used in DUV lithography, by measuring both from front side and backside, a technique based on detecting the wave front phase of the reflected light from a quartz photomask. We introduce Wave Front Phase Imaging (WFPI), a new method for measuring flatness that generates a shape map based on local slope. It collects 810 thousand (K) data points on an 86.4mm× 86.4mm area with a spatial resolution of 96μm.
On product overlay (OPO) is one of the most critical parameters for continued scaling according to Moore’s law. Besides the lithography scanner, also non-lithography processes contribute to the OPO performance. For example, processes like etching and thin film deposition can introduce stress, or stress changes, in the thin films on top of the silicon wafers. In general, the scanner Higher Order Wafer Alignment model up to 3rd order (HOWA3) has proven to be adequate to correct for most process-induced wafer distortions. This model is typically used with 28 wafer alignment marks placed across the wafer to correct for more global stress-induced distortions. It is evident that if the stress variation manifests itself on shorter length scales, either more alignment marks are needed in combination with a more sophisticated wafer alignment model, or an alternative measurement of the wafer distortion is required. A viable alternative to characterize local wafer deformations is by measuring the free-form wafer-shape change due to processing. In case the wafer-shape change can be translated into a wafer distortion map, it can be complementary to what is already captured by the scanner wafer alignment model. In this paper, we would like to explore this functionality that is based on a new method to measure the free-form wafer shape. Wave Front Phase Imaging (WFPI) generates the wafer shape by registering the intensity of the light reflected off the patterned or blank silicon wafer surface at two different locations along the optical path. The wafer is held vertically to allow for the free-form wafer shape to be measured without being affected by gravity. We show data acquired on specialty made silicon wafers using a WFPI lab tool that acquired 16.3 million data points on a 300mm wafer with 65μm spatial resolution. The obtained free-form wafer-shape measurements are fed into existing prediction models and the resulting wafer distortion maps are compared with scanner measurements.
On product overlay (OPO) is one of the most critical parameters for the continued scaling according to Moore’s law. Without good overlay between the mask and the silicon wafer inside the lithography tool, yield will suffer. As the OPO budget shrinks, non-lithography process induced stress causing in-plane distortions (IPD) becomes a more dominant contributor to the shrinking overlay budget. To estimate the process induced in-plane wafer distortion after cucking the wafer onto the scanner board, a high-resolution measurement of the freeform wafer shape of the unclamped wafer, with the gravity effect removed, is needed. A high-resolution wafer shape map using a feed-forward prediction algorithm, as has been published by ASML, can account for both intra and inter die wafer distortions, minimizing the need for alignment marks on the die and wafer in addition to that it can be performed at any lithography layer. Up until now, the semiconductor industry has been using Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) interferometry or Fizeau interferometry to generate the wave front phase from the reflecting wafer surface to measure the free form wafer shape. However, these techniques have only been available for 300mm wafers. In this paper we introduce Wave Front Phase Imaging (WFPI), a new technique that can measure the free form wafer shape of a patterned silicon wafer using only the intensity of the reflected light. In the WFPI system, the wafer is held vertically to avoid the effects of gravity during measurements. The wave front phase is then measured by acquiring only the 2-dimensional intensity distribution of the reflected non-coherent light at two or more distances along the optical path using a standard, low noise, CMOS sensor. This method allows for very high data acquisition speed, equal to the camera’s shutter time, and a high number of data points with the same number of pixels as available in the digital imaging sensor. In the measurements presented in this paper, we acquired 7.3 million data points on a full 200mm patterned silicon wafer with a lateral resolution of 65μm. The same system presented can also acquire data on a 300mm silicon wafer in which case 16.3 million data points with the same 65μm spatial resolution were collected.
On-product overlay (OPO), with its continually shrinking overlay budget, remains a constraint in the continued effort at increasing device yield. Overlay metrology capability currently lags the need for improved overlay control, especially for multi-patterning applications. The free form shape of the silicon wafer is critical for process monitoring and is usually controlled through bow and warp measurements during the process flow. As the OPO budget shrinks, non-lithography process induced stress causing in plane distortions (IPD) becomes a more dominant contributor to the shrinking overlay budget. To estimate the wafer process induced IPD parameters after cucking the wafer inside the lithographic scanner, a high-resolution measurement of the freeform wafer shape of the unclamped wafer is needed. The free form wafer shape can then be used in a feed-forward prediction algorithm to predict both intra field and intra die distortions, as has been published by ASML, to minimize the need for alignment marks on the die and wafer and allows for overlay to be performed at any lithography layer. Up until now, the semiconductor industry has been using Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) interferometry or Fizeau interferometry to generate the wave front phase from the reflecting wafer surface. The wave front phase is then used to calculate the slope which again generates a shape map of the silicon wafer. However, these techniques have only been available for 300mm wafers. In this paper we introduce Wave Front Phase Imaging (WFPI), a new technique that can measure the free form wafer shape of a patterned silicon wafer using only the intensity of the reflected light. In the WFPI system, the wafer is held vertically to avoid the effects of gravity during measurements. The wave front phase is then measured by acquiring only the 2- dimensional intensity distribution of the reflected non-coherent light at two or more distances along the optical path using a standard, low noise, CMOS sensor. This method allows for very high data acquisition speed, equal to the camera’s shutter time, and a high number of data points with the same number of pixels as available in the digital imaging sensor. In the measurements presented in this paper, we acquired 7.3 million data points on a full 200mm patterned silicon wafer with a lateral resolution of 65μm. The same system presented can also acquire data on a 300mm silicon wafer in which case 16.3 million data points with the same 65μm spatial resolution were collected.
The shrinking depth of focus of high numerical aperture immersion microlithography optics requires a tight wafer flatness budget. Bare wafer surface topography variation is a significant part of the focus budget for microlithography. Thus, as the wafer surface quality becomes increasingly important, the metrology to control the surface quality is increasingly challenged1. Advanced lithographic patterning processes require a detailed map of the free, non-gravitational, wafer shape, to avoid overlay errors caused by depth-of-focus issues2. The semiconductor industry has been using interferometry-based techniques for measuring the free form wafer shape of blank silicon wafers for several years1. In this paper we introduce a new measurement technique, Wave Front Phase Imaging (WFPI), that can measure the free form wafer shape of a silicon wafer by acquiring only the intensity of the reflected light. In the WFPI system, the wafer is held vertically to avoid the effects of gravity during measurements. The wave front phase is then measured by acquiring the 2-dimensional intensity distribution of the reflected, non-coherent, light at two or more distances along the optical path. This method allows for very high data acquisition speed and a high number of data points equal to the number of pixels available in the CMOS imaging sensor used. In the measurements presented in this paper, we acquired 16.3 million data points on the full 300mm blank silicon wafer, generating a lateral resolution of about 65μm per pixel. Blank silicon wafer manufacturers need to acquire such metrics as bow, warp, and flatness among other parameters, to provide with the silicon wafer when sent to the device maker fabs. These metrics are easily derived by generating a free form wafer shape map of both the front and the back surfaces.
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