Scatterometry is a fast indirect optical method for the determination of grating profile parameters of photomasks. Profile parameters are obtained from light diffracted intensities by solving an inverse problem. There are diverse methods to reconstruct profile parameters and to calculate associated uncertainties. To fit the upcoming need for improved accuracy and precision as well as for the reduction of uncertainties different measurements should be combined. Such a combination increases the knowledge about parameters and may yield smaller uncertainties. The Bayesian approach provides an appropriate method to evaluate combined measurements and to obtain the associated uncertainties. However, for computationally expensive problems like scatterometry, the direct application of Bayesian inference is very time consuming. Here, we use an approximation method based on a polynomial chaos expansion. To probe the quality of this approximation, we reconstructed geometry parameters, quantify uncertainties and study the effect of different prior informations onto the obtained grating profile parameters by using simulation data superimposed by noise.
EUV scatterometry is a potential high-throughput measurement method for the characterization of EUV photomask
structures. We present a comparison of angle resolved extreme ultraviolet (EUV) scatterometry and critical dimension
atomic force microscope (CD-AFM) as a reference metrology for measurements of geometrical parameters like line
width (CD), height and sidewall angle of EUV photomask structures. The structures investigated are dense and semidense
bright and dark lines with different nominal CDs between 140 nm and 540 nm. The results show excellent linearity
of the critical dimension measured with both methods within a range of only 1.8 nm and an offset of the absolute values
below 3 nm. A maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method is used to reconstruct the shape parameters and to
estimate their uncertainties from the measured scattering efficiencies. The newly developed CD-AFM at PTB allows
versatile measurements of parameters such as height, CD, sidewall angle, line edge/width roughness, corner rounding,
and pitch. It applies flared tips to probe steep and even undercut sidewalls and employs a new vector approaching
probing (VAP) strategy which enables very low tip wear and high measurement flexibility. Its traceability is ensured by
a set of calibrated step-height and reference CD standards.
The impact of line-edge (LER) and line-width roughness (LWR) on the measured diffraction patters in extreme
ultraviolet (EUV) scatterometry has been investigated in recent publications. Two-dimensional rigorous numerical
simulations were carried out to model roughness. Simple analytical expressions for the bias in the mean
efficiencies stemming from LER and LWR were obtained. Applying a similar approach for DUV scatterometry
to investigate the impact of line roughness we obtain comparable results.
The precise and accurate determination of critical dimensions of photo masks and their uncertainties is important
in the lithographic process to ensure operational reliability of electronic compounds. Scatterometry is known as
a fast, non-destructive optical method for the indirect determination of geometry parameters. In recent years
novel methods for solving the inverse problem of scatterometry have enabled a more reliable determination of
grating parameters. In this article we present results from maximum likelihood parameter estimations based on
numerically simulated EUV scatterometry data. We approximately determine uncertainties of these parameters
by a Monte Carlo method with a limited amount of samplings and by employing the Fisher information matrix.
Furthermore, we demonstrate that the use of incomplete mathematical models may lead to severe distortions in
the calculations of the uncertainties by the approximate Fisher matrix approach as well as to substantially larger
uncertainties for the Monte Carlo method.
The characterization of nanostructured surfaces by scatterometry is an established method in wafer metrology.
From measured light diffraction patterns, critical dimensions (CD) of surface profiles are determined, i.e., line
widths, heights and other profile properties in the sub-micrometer range. As structures become smaller and
smaller, shorter wavelengths like extreme ultraviolet (EUV) at 13.5 nm ensure a sufficient sensitivity of the
measured light diffraction pattern with regard to the structure details. Obviously, the impact of structure
roughness with amplitudes in the range of a few nanometers can no longer be neglected in the course of the profile
reconstruction. To model line roughness, i.e., line edge (LER) and line width (LWR) roughness, a large number
of finite element (FEM) simulations are performed for domains with large periods, each containing many pairs
of line and space with stochastically chosen widths. These structures are composed of TaN -absorber lines with
an underlying MoSi -multilayer stack representing a typical EUV mask. The resulting mean efficiencies and the
variances of the efficiencies in dependence on different degrees of roughness are calculated. A systematic decrease
of the mean efficiencies for higher diffraction orders along with increasing variances are observed. In particular,
we obtain a simple analytical expression for the bias in the mean efficiencies and the additional uncertainty
contribution stemming from the presence of LER and/or LWR. As a consequence, the bias has to be included
into the model to provide accurate values for the reconstructed critical profile parameters. The sensitivity of the
reconstructed CDs in respect of roughness is demonstrated by using numerous LER/LWR perturbed datasets of
efficiencies as input data for the reconstructions. Finally, the reconstructed critical dimensions are significantly
improved toward the nominal values if the scattering efficiencies are bias-corrected.
Supported by the European Commission and EURAMET, a consortium of 10 participants from national metrology
institutes, universities and companies has recently started a joint research project with the aim of overcoming current
challenges in optical scatterometry for traceable linewidth metrology and to establish scatterometry as a traceable and
absolute metrological method for dimensional measurements. This requires a thorough investigation of the influence of all significant sample, tool and data analysis parameters, which affect the scatterometric measurement results. For this purpose and to improve the tool matching between scatterometers, CD-SEMs and CD-AFMs, experimental and
modelling methods will be enhanced. The different scatterometry methods will be compared with each other and with
specially adapted atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurement systems.
Additionally novel methods for sophisticated data analysis will be developed and investigated to reach significant
reductions of the measurement uncertainties in critical dimension (CD) metrology. To transfer traceability to industrial
applications of scatterometry an important step and one final goal of this project is the realisation of different waferbased
reference standard materials for calibration of scatterometers. The approaches to reach these goals and first design
considerations and preliminary specification of the scatterometry standards are presented and discussed.
Previous work has shown that the reconstruction of geometric parameters describing the profile of an attenuated
phase shift (MoSi) photomask is possible by a least-square minimization of the difference between measurement
data and simulation results. Modelling work on other related systems, in particular EUV scatterometry, has
revealed a strong influence of the uncertainties assigned to the input data. Their choice may introduce a
systematic bias to the determination of the reconstructed geometric quantities like line height, top- and bottom
CDs or side-wall angles. Here we employ a maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to obtain the profile parameters
as well as consistent uncertainty estimates for the input data. The method is applied to a set of goniometric
scatterometry measurements at a wavelength of 193nm on a state-of-the-art MoSi mask.
The task of solving the inverse problem of scatterometry is considered. As a non-imaging indirect optical
metrology method the goal of scatterometry is, e.g., to reconstruct the absorber line profiles of lithography
masks, i.e., profile parameters such as line width, line height, and side-wall angle (SWA), from the measured
diffracted light pattern and to estimate their associated uncertainties. The impact of an appropriate choice of
the statistical model for the input data on the reconstructed profile parameters is demonstrated for EUV masks,
where light with wavelengths of about 13.5 nm is applied. The maximum likelihood method is proposed to
determine more reliable estimations of all model parameters, including the sought profile dimensions. Finally,
this alternative approach is applied to EUV measurement data and the results are compared to those obtained
by a conventional analysis.
Scatterometry is a common technique for the characterization of nano-structured surfaces. The goal is to establish
scatterometry as a traceable and absolute metrological method for dimensional measurements. Scatterometry is an
indirect measuring method. There are three aspects to be investigated for a proper estimation of the measurement
uncertainties. Firstly, the measured optical properties will have measurement uncertainties. The optimization theory
provides well-proven algorithms to propagate the uncertainties of the input parameters to the output, using covariance or
Monte Carlo methods. Secondly, it must be assured that the model represents the measurement object sufficiently well.
Due to the large number of parameters it takes to model a real object, it is not possible to simultaneously determine all of
them from the measured data. Therefore, a priori knowledge about reasonable values for certain model parameters and
their associated variances is needed. Their impact on the uncertainties of the reconstructed parameters describing the
nano-structured surface has to be considered too. Thirdly, there are assumptions in the model which are inherent
properties of the mathematical methods used. The assumption that the structures are periodic over a sufficiently large
area, i.e. the measurement field, is of the most importance. Line-edge or line-width roughness are obviously effects
disturbing the periodicity and the corresponding uncertainty contribution can be derived by an analytical approach to
estimate their influence on the diffracted intensities. In our example the latter contribution is the dominant one.
KEYWORDS: Extreme ultraviolet, Photomasks, Scatterometry, Inverse problems, Reconstruction algorithms, Diffraction, Monte Carlo methods, Reflectometry, Data modeling, Finite element methods
Scatterometry, the analysis of light diffracted from a periodic structure, is a versatile metrology tool for characterizing
periodic surface structures, regarding the critical dimension (CD) and other properties of the surface
profile. For extreme ultraviolet (EUV) masks, only EUV radiation provides direct information on the mask
performance comparable to the operating regime in an EUV lithography tool. With respect to the small feature
dimensions on EUV masks, the short wavelength of EUV is also advantageous since it provides a large number of
diffraction orders from the periodic structures irradiated. We present measurements at a prototype EUV mask
with large fields of periodic lines-space structures using an EUV reflectometer at the Berlin storage ring BESSY
II and discuss the corresponding reconstruction results with respect to their measurement uncertainties. As a
non-imaging indirect optical method scatterometry requires the solution of the inverse problem, i.e., the determination
of the geometry parameters describing the surface profile from the measured light diffraction patterns.
In the time-harmonic case the numerical simulation of the diffraction process for periodic 2D structures can be
realized by the finite element solution of the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation. Restricting the solutions to
a class of surface profiles and fixing the set of measurements, the inverse problem can be formulated as a nonlinear
operator equation in Euclidean space. The operator maps the profile parameters to special efficiencies of
diffracted plane wave modes. We employ a Gauss-Newton type iterative method to solve this operator equation,
i.e., we minimize the deviation of the calculated efficiencies from the measured ones by variation of the geometry
parameters. The uncertainties of the reconstructed geometry parameters depend on the uncertainties of the
input data and can be estimated by statistical methods like Monte Carlo or the covariance method applied to
the reconstruction algorithm. The input data of the reconstruction are very complex, i.e., they consists not only
of the measured efficiencies, but furthermore of fixed and presumed model parameters such as the widths of the
layers in the Mo/Si multilayer mirror beneath the line-space structure. Beside the impact of the uncertainties on
the measured efficiencies, we analyze the influence of deviations in the thickness and periodicity of the multilayer
stack on the measurement uncertainties of the critical dimensions.
KEYWORDS: Extreme ultraviolet, Deep ultraviolet, Scatterometry, Photomasks, Inverse problems, Diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Diffraction gratings, Monte Carlo methods, Inverse optics
The solution of the inverse problem in scatterometry employing deep ultraviolet light (DUV) is discussed, i.e. we
consider the determination of periodic surface structures from light diffraction patterns. With decreasing dimensions
of the structures on photo lithography masks and wafers, increasing demands on the required metrology
techniques arise. Scatterometry as a non-imaging indirect optical method is applied to periodic line structures
in order to determine the sidewall angles, heights, and critical dimensions (CD), i.e., the top and bottom widths.
The latter quantities are typically in the range of tens of nanometers. All these angles, heights, and CDs are the
fundamental figures in order to evaluate the quality of the manufacturing process. To measure those quantities
a DUV scatterometer is used, which typically operates at a wavelength of 193 nm. The diffraction of light by
periodic 2D structures can be simulated using the finite element method for the Helmholtz equation. The corresponding
inverse problem seeks to reconstruct the grating geometry from measured diffraction patterns. Fixing
the class of gratings and the set of measurements, this inverse problem reduces to a finite dimensional nonlinear
operator equation. Reformulating the problem as an optimization problem, a vast number of numerical schemes
can be applied. Our tool is a sequential quadratic programing (SQP) variant of the Gauss-Newton iteration. In
a first step, in which we use a simulated data set, we investigate how accurate the geometrical parameters of an
EUV mask can be reconstructed, using light in the DUV range. We then determine the expected uncertainties
of geometric parameters by reconstructing from simulated input data perturbed by noise representing the estimated
uncertainties of input data. In the last step, we use the measurement data obtained from the new DUV
scatterometer at PTB to determine the geometrical parameters of a typical EUV mask with our reconstruction
algorithm. The results are compared to the outcome of investigations with two alternative methods namely EUV
scatterometry and SEM measurements.
The solution of the inverse problem in scatterometry, i.e. the determination of periodic surface structures from light
diffraction patterns, is incomplete without knowledge of the uncertainties associated with the reconstructed surface
parameters. With decreasing feature sizes of lithography masks, increasing demands on metrology techniques arise.
Scatterometry as a non-imaging indirect optical method is applied to periodic line-space structures in order to determine
geometric parameters like side-wall angles, heights, top and bottom widths and to evaluate the quality of the
manufacturing process. The numerical simulation of the diffraction process is based on the finite element solution of the
Helmholtz equation. The inverse problem seeks to reconstruct the grating geometry from measured diffraction patterns.
Restricting the class of gratings and the set of measurements, this inverse problem can be reformulated as a non-linear
operator equation in Euclidean spaces. The operator maps the grating parameters to the efficiencies of diffracted plane
wave modes. We employ a Gauss-Newton type iterative method to solve this operator equation and end up minimizing
the deviation of the measured efficiency or phase shift values from the simulated ones. The reconstruction properties and
the convergence of the algorithm, however, is controlled by the local conditioning of the non-linear mapping and the
uncertainties of the measured efficiencies or phase shifts. In particular, the uncertainties of the reconstructed geometric
parameters essentially depend on the uncertainties of the input data and can be estimated by various methods. We
compare the results obtained from a Monte Carlo procedure to the estimations gained from the approximative covariance
matrix of the profile parameters close to the optimal solution and apply them to EUV masks illuminated by plane waves
with wavelengths in the range of 13 nm.
At PTB a new type of DUV scatterometer has been developed. The concept of the system is very variable, so that many
different types of measurements like e. g. goniometric scatterometry, ellipsometric scatterometry, polarisation
dependent reflectometry and ellipsometry can be performed. The main applications are CD, pitch and edge profile
characterisation of nano-structured surfaces mainly, but not only, on photomasks. Different operation wavelength down
to 193nm can be used. The system is not only a versatile tool for a variety of different at-wavelength metrology
connected with state-of-the-art photolithography. It allows also to adapt and to vary the measurand and measurement
geometry to optimise the sensitivity and the unambiguity for the measurement problem. For the evaluation of the
measurements the inverse diffraction problem has to be solved. For this purpose we developed a special FEM-based
software, which is capable to solve both the direct diffraction problem and the inverse diffraction problem. The latter
can be accomplished using different optimisation schemes. Additionally this software allows also to estimate the quality
of the measured data and the model based measurement uncertainty. This paper gives an overview about the PTB DUV
scatterometer, it's metrological potential and the evaluation methods applied using the software DIPOG2.1.
We discuss numerical algorithms for the determination of periodic surface structures from light diffraction patterns.
With decreasing feature sizes of lithography masks, increasing demands on metrology techniques arise.
Scatterometry as a non-imaging indirect optical method is applied to simple periodic line structures in order to
determine parameters like side-wall angles, heights, top and bottom widths and to evaluate the quality of the
manufacturing process. The numerical simulation of diffraction is based on the finite element solution of the
Helmholtz equation. The inverse problem seeks to reconstruct the grating geometry from measured diffraction
patterns. Restricting the class of gratings and the set of measurements, this inverse problem can be reformulated
as a non-linear operator equation in Euclidean spaces. The operator maps the grating parameters to special
efficiencies of diffracted plane wave modes. We employ a Gauss-Newton type iterative method to solve this operator
equation. The reconstruction properties and the convergence of the algorithm, however, is controlled by the
local conditioning of the non-linear mapping. To improve reconstruction and convergence, we determine optimal
sets of efficiencies optimizing the condition numbers of the corresponding Jacobians. Numerical examples are
presented for "chrome on glass" masks under the wavelength 632.8 nm and for EUV masks.
We investigated the potential, applicability, and advantages of DUV scatterometry including DUV ellipsometry for the
dimensional characterisation of the absorber structures on EUV photomasks. By means of numerical investigations on
the basis of rigorous diffraction calculations we demonstrate the sensitivity of DUV scatterometry with regard to
dimensions and geometry of the absorber structures. Further we show, that in contrast to at-wavelength scatterometry in
the EUV scatterometry in the DUV spectral range is nearly insensitive to perturbations of the reflecting MoSi multilayer.
As for EUV scatterometry the separation of absorber structure and multilayer parameters is sometimes difficult the
application of DUV scatterometry allows for an easy separation. It is further on verified, that for this reason a quite good
reconstruction of geometry and size of the absorber structures from measured data is possible. Finally we prove the
sensitivity of DUV ellipsometric measurements, a feature, which is not (yet) available in the EUV spectral range.
Because of these results we estimate DUV scatterometry to be an excellent metrology method for in-line monitoring and
process optimization in the fabrication process of EUV masks.
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