Comparison of Electrical CD Measurements and Cross-Section Lattice-Plane Counts of Sub-Micrometer Features Replicated in (100) Silicon-on-Insulator Material

Published

June 1, 2000

Author(s)

Michael W. Cresswell, John E. Bonevich, T J. Headley, Richard A. Allen, Lucille A. Giannuzzi, Sarah C. Everist, Rathindra Ghoshtagore, Patrick J. Shea

Abstract

Test structures of the type known as cross-bridge resistors have been patterned in (100) epitaxial silicon material that was seeded on Bonded and Etched-Back silicon-on-Insulator (BESOI) substrates. The electrical CDs (Critical Dimensions) of a limited selection of their reference segments have been measured electrically, by SEM (Scanning-Electron Microscopy) cross-section imaging, and by lattice-plane counting. The lattice-plane counting is achieved by High-Resolution Transmission-Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). The reference-segment features were aligned with <110> directions in the BESOI surface material and were defined by a silicon micro-machining process which resulted in their having atomically-planar and smooth (111) sidewalls inclined at 45.7370 to the substrate surface. This (100) implementation may complement the attributes of the previously-reported vertical-sidewall one for selected reference-material applications. The comparison of the offsets between the HRTEM and ECD linewidth measurements that are made on the same BESOI features is being investigated to determine the feasibility of a CD traceability path at acceptable cost. Other novel aspects of the (100) SOI implementation that are reported here are the ECD test-structure architecture and the making of HRTEM lattice-plane counts from both feature cross-sectional, as well as top-down, imaging of the reference features. This paper describes the design details, the fabrication, and the electrical testing, of the cross-bridge resistor test structure. The long-term goal is to develop a technique for determination of the absolute dimensions of the symmetrical trapezoidal cross-sections of the bridges' reference segments as a prelude to making them available for dimensional reference applications.

Volume

3998

Conference Location

Gaithersburg, MD, USA

Conference Title

SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

calibration, CD-SEM measurements, cross-bridge resistor, electrical CD, HRTEM, silicon-on-insulator, standards, traceability

Citation

Cresswell, M. , Bonevich, J. , Headley, T. , Allen, R. , Giannuzzi, L. , Everist, S. , Ghoshtagore, R. and Shea, P. (2000), Comparison of Electrical CD Measurements and Cross-Section Lattice-Plane Counts of Sub-Micrometer Features Replicated in (100) Silicon-on-Insulator Material, SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, Gaithersburg, MD, USA (Accessed December 12, 2024)