KEYWORDS: Diffraction gratings, Optical filters, Linear filtering, Modulation transfer functions, Image filtering, Near field diffraction, Digital cameras, Charge-coupled devices, Optical design, Spatial frequencies
A systematic method for the model-based optical proximity correction in presented. This is called optical proximity effect reducing algorithm (OPERA) and has been implemented to TOPO, an in-house program for optical lithography simulations. Comparing simulational results as well as experimental results, we found that OPERA is not only suitable for shape restoration but also for resolution enhancement. However, the resulting optimized patterns have a high degree of complexity and this brought up a number of issues for mask manufacturing. First, data volume and exposure time were dramatically increased for conventional e-beam file formats. This was solved by using the MODE6 format that preserves data hierarchy. Second, due to excessive shot divisions, a variable-shaped beam machine could not finish the exposure process. A raster-scan beam machine successfully finished the exposure. Finally, a die-to-die inspection was performed but many false defects that do not affect wafer printing were defected. This will be solved by a new type of tool that inspects a mask by evaluating its aerial image.
KEYWORDS: Diffraction gratings, Linear filtering, Near field diffraction, Digital cameras, Charge-coupled devices, Glasses, Zone plates, Cameras, Optical design, Phase shift keying
The grating optical low-pass filter (GOLF) has lots of advantages over traditional birefringent low-pass filter. But, one disadvantage of it is that the shadow image of the grating is visible, especially when the numerical aperture of a camera is large. We found that we can reduce the visibility of a grating image, if we adopted a multi-phase grating instead of a two-phase grating. First, from the simulation of the Fresnel diffraction pattern of a 1D multi- phase grating, we found the optimum width and phase of each grating step that minimizes the modulation of the Fresnel diffraction. And then, we designed a 2D multi-phase GOLF by extrapolating 1D structure. Four types of GOLF, four-phase, seven-phase, eight-phase, and also two-phase GOLF were manufactured with a semiconductor process. Finished GOLF samples were installed to a digital camera to take pictures of a test target and compare them with each other. Experiment results show that as the number of phase step increase, the gratin image becomes more indistinctive.
It is well known that two-phase CGH can only reproduce graphic images with rotational symmetric features. A multi- phase hologram is required to regenerate arbitrary shaped graphic patterns. Also, for the high fidelity reproduction of images, the computer program must be able to handle many pixels with multi phase. We devised a stochastic optimization program that can generate a multi-phase hologram. Since the algorithm and programming technique is so efficient that the program can be used to generate hologram of black and white pictures as well as graphic patterns. We used the CGH program to generate a portrait picture and some graphical patterns with four-phase holograms. The holograms were transferred onto a glass plate with the semiconductor manufacturing techniques
The characteristic of 2D grating optical low-pass filter (GOLF) was compared to that of birefringent low-pass filter (BLF). The modulation transfer function (MTF) of the optical system that consists of lens and GOLF is theoretically derived by taking all orders of diffracted beams into consideration. MTF of a 2 phase chess-board type GOLF and a 3-phase GOLF was compared to that of BLF. The 3 phase GOLF with 9 center beams of equal strength has the best filtering characteristic, and thus removes most moire fringe, but resolution degradation is severe compared to BLF. The two- phase GOLF with phase difference of 180 degrees that is similar to BLF in terms of beam distribution has medium characteristic of 3-phase GOLF and BLF. And, 3 phase GOLF of phase difference of 90 degrees has similar characteristics, too. These three GOLF's are made and experimented by attaching them to a digital camera. The experimental result coincides with the theoretical development.
We studied whether the critical layers of 0.12 micrometer DRAM could be processed with optical lithography techniques assuming ArF excimer laser as a light source. To enhance the aerial image fidelity and process margin, phase shift mask (PSM) patterns as well as binary mask patterns are corrected with in-house developed optical proximity correction (OPC) software. As the result, we found that the aerial image of the critical layers of a DRAM cell with 0.12 micrometer design rule could not be reproduced with binary masks. But, if we use PSM or optical proximity corrected PSM, the fidelity of aerial image, resolution and process margin are so much enhanced that they could be processed with optical lithography.
As the design rule of semiconductor microchips gets smaller, the distortion of a patterned image due to the optical proximity effect (OPE) becomes the limiting factor in the mass production. We developed an optical proximity correction (OPC) program that can be applied to a strong or attenuated phase shift mask as well as to a binary mask. The OPC program named OPERA is based on a stochastic approach as other rule-free OPC programs, but it has tow remarkable points. Firstly, proper cost function and optimization strategy enable us to achieve very closely clustered mask pattern that could be manufactured at a reasonable cost. Secondly, OPERA can carry out the optimization of illumination parameters for any modified illumination methods, such as, annular or quadrupole using the critical dimensions information of mask patterns.
An optical lithography technique for the formation of T-shaped gate metal with narrow (sub 0.25 micrometers ) channel length, was studied. A special photomask known as the dummy diffraction mask was used to form a T-shaped resist profile by single exposure and development process steps. The sub 0.25 micrometers T-shaped gate metal could be easily obtained with i-line stepper (N.A. 0.4) under ordinary lithographic process conditions and the process margins were found to be enough for the application of device fabrication.
In this paper, an alignment method with oblique illumination and oblique detection named ZBAS (Zero Base-line Alignment System) is proposed and its characteristics and applications are analyzed. It detects the position error from alignment mark at the exposure position even though it is a non-TTL method. The alignment mark, a diffraction pattern with a 4 micrometers width (8 micrometers pitch), is illuminated with a He-Ne laser beam at an incident angle of 75 degree(s) and the first order diffracted beam at this is detected as an alignment signal at a diffraction angle of 60 degree(s). The peak value of the alignment signal with appropriate electrical system is about 20 mV and the signal sensitivity to the wafer position is 0.5 mV/0.1 micrometers . The theoretical analysis of ZBAS was carried out with respect to the effects of pattern depth and resist thickness. The result shows the stable detection is realized by a 2- wavelength (670,780 nm) illumination, in which the variation of the calculated signal is 27% in the range of 0.6 approximately equals 1.2 micrometers of pattern depth, 37% in the range of 0.6 approximately equals 1.2 micrometers of resist thickness. In conclusion, the ZBAS was verified as a potential alignment system in excimer laser stepper, which has a smaller base-line error than the conventional non-TTL method.
Some solutions are suggested for problems in the application of the dummy diffraction mask with the L/S phases grating. The degradation of the isolated pattern resolution can be successfully improved by the sub-resolution type design and the orientation dependency is attended by the zone by zone optimization technique with reduced gap size (approximately 200 micrometers ) between the main and dummy layers.
A new mask technique for resolution improvement and depth of focus enhancement is suggested and demonstrated with the simulation and experimental results. The structure of our suggestion has a dummy diffraction layer with simple grating patterns in addition to the main mask for patterning. The lithographic performance of the main mask pattern is largely enhanced and the fabrication of the mask has no critical problems. Through the detailed theoretical expansion of the optics for the new structure, simulation of the aerial image is carried out. And the experiments verify the results of simulation.
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