Analysis and characterization of contamination in EUV reticles

Uzodinma Okoroanyanwu; Kornelia Dittmar; Torsten Fahr; Tom Wallow; Bruno La Fontaine; Obert Wood; Christian Holfeld; Karsten Bubke; Jan-Hendrik Peters

doi:10.1117/12.847269

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22 March 2010 Analysis and characterization of contamination in EUV reticles

Uzodinma Okoroanyanwu, Kornelia Dittmar, Torsten Fahr, Tom Wallow, Bruno La Fontaine, Obert Wood, Christian Holfeld, Karsten Bubke, Jan-Hendrik Peters

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Proceedings Volume 7636, Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography; 76361Y (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847269
Event: SPIE Advanced Lithography, 2010, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

A host of complementary imaging techniques (Scanning Electron Microscopy), surface analytical technique (Auger Electron Spectroscopy, AES), chemical analytical and speciation techniques (Grazing Incidence Reflectance Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, GIR-FTIR; and Raman spectroscopy) have been assessed for their sensitivity and effectiveness in analyzing contamination on three EUV reticles that were contaminated to varying degrees. The first reticle was contaminated as a result of its exposure experience on the SEMATECH EUV Micro Exposure Tool (MET) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, where it was exposed to up to 80 hours of EUV radiation. The second reticle was a full-field reticle, specifically designed to monitor molecular contamination, and exposed to greater than 1600J/cm² of EUV radiation on the ASML Alpha Demo Tool (ADT) in Albany Nanotech in New York. The third reticle was intentionally contaminated with hydrocarbons in the Microscope for Mask Imaging and Contamination Studies (MIMICS) tool at the College of Nanoscale Sciences of State University of New York at Albany. The EUV reflectivities of some of these reticles were measured on the Advanced Light Source EUV Reflectomer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories and PTB Bessy in Berlin, respectively. Analysis and characterization of thin film contaminants on the two EUV reticles exposed to varying degrees of EUV radiation in both MET and ADT confirm that the two most common contamination types are carbonization and surface oxidation, mostly on the exposed areas of the reticle, and with the MET being significantly more susceptible to carbon contamination than the ADT. While AES in both surface scanning and sputter mode is sensitive and efficient in analyzing thin contaminant films (of a few nanometers), GIRFTIR is sensitive to thick films (of order of a 100 nm or more on non-infra-red reflecting substrates), Raman spectroscopy is not compatible with analyzing such contaminants because of laser-induced evaporation of the contaminant film. SEM and EUV reflectometry are effective in quantifying the impact of contamination on imaging performance and reflectivity, respectively.

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Uzodinma Okoroanyanwu, Kornelia Dittmar, Torsten Fahr, Tom Wallow, Bruno La Fontaine, Obert Wood, Christian Holfeld, Karsten Bubke, and Jan-Hendrik Peters "Analysis and characterization of contamination in EUV reticles", Proc. SPIE 7636, Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography, 76361Y (22 March 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.847269

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