Printability study of opaque and transparent defects using standard and modified illumination

Sonya Yvette Shaw; Shane R. Palmer; Steven J. Schuda

doi:10.1117/12.209313

26 May 1995 Printability study of opaque and transparent defects using standard and modified illumination

Sonya Yvette Shaw, Shane R. Palmer, Steven J. Schuda

Proceedings Volume 2440, Optical/Laser Microlithography VIII; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.209313
Event: SPIE's 1995 Symposium on Microlithography, 1995, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

Defect printability was investigated to assess the reticle defect size tolerance for 0.50 micrometers wafer lithography through the study of programmed reticle defect within line/space pairs. Improvement in the recent generation of steppers with higher numerical aperture and the drive toward design shrinks and 0.35 micrometers wafer technology has made the printability of smaller defects more important. We have studied the printability of opaque and thin flat transparent defects with reticle fabricated with both types of defects ranging in size from 0.3 to 3.0 micrometers . These defects are located on edge and between 2.5 micrometers line/space pairs. Using a 0.60 NA i-line stepper, wafers were printed with four illumination methods: standard with sigma of 0.60, quadrapole, annular, and higher coherence with sigma of 0.30 and the results were observed on a SEM. In addition, the reticle defects were characterized and the measured sizes simulated for further validate the observed results. Transparent defects larger than 0.5 micrometers showed greater printability than their opaque counterparts but had similar printability at the smaller sizes for all illumination methods. Opaque center defects had more influence on CD (critical dimension) loss than those on edge for standard and quadrapole illuminations but were comparable for annular and higher coherence illuminations. With a 10% loss of CD as the tolerance, defect sizes of 0.4 micrometers for opaque and 0.35 micrometers for transparent were determined to be the maximum acceptable for printability of 0.5 micrometers line/space at the wafer plane.

Citation Download Citation

Sonya Yvette Shaw, Shane R. Palmer, and Steven J. Schuda "Printability study of opaque and transparent defects using standard and modified illumination", Proc. SPIE 2440, Optical/Laser Microlithography VIII, (26 May 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.209313

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