Combining lithography and etch models in OPC modeling

Lena V. Zavyalova; Lan Luan; Hua Song; Thomas Schmoeller; James P. Shiely

doi:10.1117/12.2049003

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31 March 2014 Combining lithography and etch models in OPC modeling

Lena V. Zavyalova, Lan Luan, Hua Song, Thomas Schmoeller, James P. Shiely

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Proceedings Volume 9052, Optical Microlithography XXVII; 905222 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2049003
Event: SPIE Advanced Lithography, 2014, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

With constant shrinking of device critical dimensions (CD), the quality of pattern transfer in IC fabrication depends on the etch process and the exposure process fidelities, and the interaction of lithographic and etching processes is no longer negligible. Etch effect correction with accurate models has become an important component in optical proximity correction (OPC) modeling and related applications. It is now commonly accepted that the lithographic and etch effects should be modeled and corrected in a sequential and staged way: a resist (or lithographic) model should be created and used for lithographic effect compensation, and an etch model should be created and used for etch effect compensation. However, there can be various degrees of separation of these two modeling stages. In order to optimally capture the significant variation in the post-development resist patterns and post-etching patterns, it is helpful to integrate these two processes together for the OPC model calibration practice. In this paper, we analyze the integrated simulation approach in OPC modeling where the entire resist model information is made fully accessible in the etch modeling stage to allow the possibility of resist and etch co-optimization, e.g. through adjusting the resist model to optimally fit the etch data. Furthermore, the integrated simulation technique is integrated into a verification flow to simplify the conventional staged flow.

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Lena V. Zavyalova, Lan Luan, Hua Song, Thomas Schmoeller, and James P. Shiely "Combining lithography and etch models in OPC modeling", Proc. SPIE 9052, Optical Microlithography XXVII, 905222 (31 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2049003

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