The 14nm node designs is getting more sophisticated, and printability issues become more critical which need more advanced techniques to fix. One of the most critical processes is the contact patterning due to the very aggressive design rules and the process window which becomes quickly limited. Despite the large number of RET applied, some hotspot configurations remain challenging. It becomes increasingly challenging to achieve sufficient process windows around the hot spots just using conventional process such as OPC and rule-based SRAF insertion. Although, it might be desirable to apply Inverse Lithography Technique (ILT) on all hot spots to guarantee ideal mask quality. However, because of the high number of hot spots to repair in the design, that solution might be much time consuming in term of OPC and mask processing.
In this paper we present a hybrid OPC solution based on local ILT usage around hot spots. It is named as Local Printability Enhancement (LPE) flow. First, conventional OPC and SRAF placement is applied on the whole design. Then, we apply LPE solution only on the remaining problematic hot spots of the design. The LPE flow also takes into account the mask rules so that it maintains the mask rule check (MRC) compliance through the borders of the repaired hot spot’s areas. We will demonstrate that the LPE flow enlarges the process window around hot spots and gives better lithography quality than baseline. The simulation results are confirmed on silicon wafer where all the hot spots are printed. We will demonstrate that LPE flow enlarges the depth of focus of the most challenging hot spot by 30nm compared to POR conventional solution. Because the proposed flow applies ILT solution on very local hot spot areas, the total OPC run time remains acceptable from manufacturing side.
With continuing dimension shrinkage using the TWINSCAN NXT:1950i scanner on the 28nm node and beyond, the imaging depth of focus (DOF) becomes more critical. Focus budget breakdown studies [Ref 1, 5] show that even though the intrafield component stays the same this becomes a larger relative percentage of the overall DOF. Process induced topography along with reduced Process Window can lead to yield limitations and defectivity issues on the wafer. To improve focus margin, a study has been started to determine if some correlations between scanner levelling performance, product layout and topography can be observed. Both topography and levelling intrafield fingerprints show a large systematic component that seems to be product related. In particular, scanner levelling measurement maps present a lot of similarities with the layout of the product. The present paper investigates the possibility to model the level sensor’s measured height as a function of layer design densities or perimeter data of the product. As one component of the systematics from the level sensor measurements is process induced topography due to previous deposition, etching and CMP, several layer density parameters were extracted from the GDS’s. These were combined through a multiple variable analysis (PLS: Partial Least Square regression) to determine the weighting of each layer and each parameter. Current work shows very promising results using this methodology, with description quality up to 0.8 R2 and expected prediction quality up to 0.78 Q2. Since product layout drives some intrafield focus component it is also important to be able to assess intrafield focus uniformity from post processing. This has been done through a hyper dense focus map experiment which is presented in this paper.
Resolution Enhancement Techniques have continuously improved over the last decade, driven by the ever growing constraints of lithography process. Despite the large number of RET applied, some hotspot configurations remain challenging for advanced nodes due to aggressive design rules. Inverse Lithography Technique (ILT) is evaluated here as a substitute to the dense OPC baseline. Indeed ILT has been known for several years for its near-to-ideal mask quality, while also being potentially more time consuming in terms of OPC run and mask processing. We chose to evaluate Mentor Graphics’ ILT engine “pxOPCTM” on both lines and via hotspot configurations. These hotspots were extracted from real 28nm test cases where the dense OPC solution is not satisfactory. For both layer types, the reference OPC consists of a dense OPC engine coupled to rule-based and/or model-based assist generation method. The same CM1 model is used for the reference and the ILT OPC. ILT quality improvement is presented through Optical Rule Check (ORC) results with various adequate detectors. Several mask manufacturing rule constraints (MRC) are considered for the ILT solution and their impact on process ability is checked after mask processing. A hybrid OPC approach allowing localized ILT usage is presented in order to optimize both quality and runtime. A real mask is prepared and fabricated with this method. Finally, results analyzed on silicon are presented to compare localized ILT to reference dense OPC.
The resolution enhancement through lithography hardware (wavelength and Numerical Aperture) has come to a stop
putting the burden on computational lithography to fill in the resulting gap between design and process until the arrival
of EUV tools. New Computational Lithography techniques such as Optical Proximity Correction (OPC), Sub Resolution
Assist Feature (SRAF), and Lithography Friendly Design (LFD) constitute a significant transformation of the design.
These new Computational Lithography applications have become one of the most computationally demanding steps in
the design process. Computing farms of hundreds and even thousands of CPUs are now routinely used to run these
applications.
The 28nm node presents many difficulties due to low k1 lithography whereas the 20nm requires double patterning
solutions. In this paper we present a global view of enhanced RET and DFM techniques deployed to provide a robust
28nm node and prepare for 20nm.
These techniques include advanced OPC manipulation through end user IP insertion into EDA software, optimized sub
resolution assist features (SRAF) placement and pixilated OPC. These techniques are coupled with a fast litho print
check, aka LFD, for 28nm P&R.
In advanced technology nodes, due to accuracy and computing time constraint, OPC has shifted from discrete simulation
to pixel based simulation. The simulation is grid based and then interpolation occurs between grid points. Even if the
sampling is done below Nyquist rate, interpolation can cause some variations for same polygon placed at different
location in the layout. Any variation is rounded during OPC treatment, because of discrete numbers used in OPC output
file. The end result is inconsistency in post-OPC layout, where the same input polygon will give different outputs,
depending on its position and orientation relative to the grid. This can have a major impact in CD control, in structures
like SRAM for example, where mismatching between gates can cause major issue.
There are some workarounds to minimize this effect, but most of them are post-treatment fix. In this paper, we will try to
identify and solve the root cause of the problem. We will study the relationship between the pixel size and the
consistency of post OPC results. The pixel size is often set based on optical parameters, but it might be possible to
optimize it around this value to avoid inconsistency. One can say that the optimization will highly depend on design and
not be possible for a real layout. As the range of pitch used in a design tends to decrease, thanks to fix pitch layouts, we
may optimize pixel size for a full layout.
In the continuous battle to improve critical dimension (CD) uniformity, especially for 45-nanometer (nm) logic
advanced products, one important recent advance is the ability to accurately predict the mask CD uniformity
contribution to the overall global wafer CD error budget. In most wafer process simulation models, mask error
contribution is embedded in the optical and/or resist models. We have separated the mask effects, however, by
creating a short-range mask process model (MPM) for each unique mask process and a long-range CD
uniformity mask bias map (MBM) for each individual mask. By establishing a mask bias map, we are able to
incorporate the mask CD uniformity signature into our modelling simulations and measure the effects on global
wafer CD uniformity and hotspots. We also have examined several ways of proving the efficiency of this
approach, including the analysis of OPC hot spot signatures with and without the mask bias map (see Figure 1)
and by comparing the precision of the model contour prediction to wafer SEM images. In this paper we will
show the different steps of mask bias map generation and use for advanced 45nm logic node layers, along with
the current results of this new dynamic application to improve hot spot verification through Brion Technologies'
model-based mask verification loop.
At 45 and 32 nm nodes, one of the most critical layers is the Contact one. Due to the use of hyper NA imaging, the
depth of focus starts to be very limited.
Moreover the OPC is rapidly limited because of the increase of the pattern density. The limited surface in the dark field
region of a Contact layer mask enforces the edges movement to stop very quickly.
The use of SRAF (Sub Resolution Assist Feature) has been widely use for DOF enhancement of line and space layers
since many technology node. Recently, SRAF generated using inverse lithography have shown interesting DOF
improvement1. However, the advantage of the ideal mask generated by inverse lithography is lost when switching to a
manufacturable mask with Manhattan structures. For SRAF placed in rule based as well as Manhattan SRAF generated
after inverse lithography, it is important to know what their behavior is, in term of size and placement.
In this article we propose to study the placement of scatter-trenches assist features for the contact layer. For this we have
performed process window simulation with different SRAF sizes and distance to the main OPC. These results permit us
to establish the trends for size and placement of the SRAF.
Moreover we have also take a look of the advantages of using 8 surrounding SRAF (4 in vertical - horizontal and 4 at
45°) versus 4 surrounding SRAF. Based on these studies we have seen that there is no real gain of increasing the
complexity by adding additional SRAF.
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