Barometric pressure compensation to control photoresist film thickness

Vandana Vishnu; Mai Randall; Carole J. Pillette; Kyoshige Katayama; Kazuhisa Omura; Ryoichi Uemura; Hiroshi Tomita; Ryoji Ando; Kunie Ogata; Hiromitsu Maejima; Anthony DiDonato; Jim Nicholson

doi:10.1117/12.535113

24 May 2004 Barometric pressure compensation to control photoresist film thickness

Vandana Vishnu, Mai Randall, Carole J. Pillette, Kyoshige Katayama, Kazuhisa Omura, Ryoichi Uemura, Hiroshi Tomita, Ryoji Ando, Kunie Ogata, Hiromitsu Maejima, Anthony DiDonato, Jim Nicholson

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5375, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XVIII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.535113
Event: Microlithography 2004, 2004, Santa Clara, California, United States

Abstract

Barometric pressure variations are known to affect the coating process resulting in photo resist film thickness variations in lithography track coat processes. The results of an internal TEL evaluation showed a strong correlation between barometric pressure variations and photo resist film thickness variations (as shown in introduction section). Based on those results, a "Barometric pressure compensation system" was developed to estimate and automatically correct for potential film thickness variations which would otherwise result from barometric pressure variations. An Inline system installed on a photo resist track at IBM was used to gather data for a variety of resist systems. A strong correlation was observed between barometric pressure variations and film thickness variations, and the effectiveness of automatic correction for this effect was demonstrated. In the case of KrF Escap-type resists (Resist A), the film thickness and barometric pressure are expressed in a primary approximate expression; the slope is -0.11nm/hPa, and the correlation coefficient (R²) is 0.93. As for the case of KrF Acetal-type resists (Resist B), the slope is -0.12 nm/hPa, and the correlation coefficient (R²) is 0.89. Through the use of the "Barometric pressure compensation system," photo resist film thickness variations were reduced from 2.7 nm (daily coating processed by the same recipe) to 0.6 nm for Resist A and from 5.0 nm to 1.4 nm for Resist B. The studies conducted showed that the "Barometric pressure compensation system" provides significantly improved photo resist film thickness control during variations in barometric pressure, and demonstrated that the technique can be applied effectively to a variety of photo resist materials.

Citation Download Citation

Vandana Vishnu, Mai Randall, Carole J. Pillette, Kyoshige Katayama, Kazuhisa Omura, Ryoichi Uemura, Hiroshi Tomita, Ryoji Ando, Kunie Ogata, Hiromitsu Maejima, Anthony DiDonato, and Jim Nicholson "Barometric pressure compensation to control photoresist film thickness", Proc. SPIE 5375, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XVIII, (24 May 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.535113

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

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
9 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Photoresist processing

Semiconducting wafers

Coating

Thin film coatings

Control systems

Photoresist materials

Wafer testing

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years