Photomask metrology using a 193 nm scatterfield microscope

Published

September 30, 2009

Author(s)

Richard Quintanilha, Bryan M. Barnes, Martin Y. Sohn, Lowell P. Howard, Richard M. Silver, James E. Potzick, Michael T. Stocker

Abstract

The current photomask linewidth Standard Reference Material (SRM) supplied by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), SRM 2059, is the fifth generation of such standards for mask metrology. The calibration of this mask has been usually done using an in house NIST ultra-violet transmission microscope and an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Recently, a new optical reflection scatterfield microscope have been developed at NIST for wafer inspection, Critical Dimension (CD) and overlay metrology purposes. Scatterfield microscopy relies on illumination engineering at a sufficiently large Conjugate Back Focal Plane (CBFP) of the microscope. Our new scatterfield reflection microscope uses 193 nm excimer laser light as well as sophisticated configurations to allow measurement of both the image plane and the Fourier plane using full-field and angle-resolved illumination. By reducing the wavelength compared to many current metrology tools that work in the visible light and near ultra-violet range, we have made substantial improvements in image resolution and commensurate gains in sensitivity to geometrical parameters. We present a preliminary study on the use of this new microscope to calibrate and measure features of this SRM photomask. The 193 nm scatterfield microscope is used in full-field mode with a NA range from 0.12 to 0.74 using our scatterfield imaging method. Experimental results obtained on isolated lines for different polarization states of the illumination are presented and discussed. Pitch measurements are compared to the measurements done on our NIST UV transmission microscope.

Citation

SPIE proceedings series

Volume

7488

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Photomask metrology , isolated line metrology , 193 nm wavelength , scatterfield metrology

Citation

Quintanilha, R. , Barnes, B. , Sohn, M. , Howard, L. , Silver, R. , Potzick, J. and Stocker, M. (2009), Photomask metrology using a 193 nm scatterfield microscope, SPIE proceedings series, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=903929 (Accessed December 6, 2024)