Quantitative Characterization and Applications of A 193 nm Scatterfield Microscope

Published

March 25, 2013

Author(s)

Martin Y. Sohn, Bryan M. Barnes, Richard M. Silver

Abstract

With decreasing feature sizes in semiconductor manufacturing, there is an acute demand for measurements of both critical dimensions (CD) and defects on the nanometer scale that must also be non-destructive measurement and provide high throughput1. Scatterfield optical microscopy is one method for meeting this demand as it provides high sensitivity for differentiating nanometer features2. The illumination angle at the sample in angle-resolved scatterfield microscopes is controlled through engineering at the conjugate back focal plane (CBFP), so that the scattered field from the sample yields unique information on the image plane as a function of illumination angle. We have developed a scatterfield microscope that uses a 193 nm ArF excimer laser and a 193 nm catadioptric objective lens, characterized it for semiconductor metrology, and obtained experimental data for defect detection and CD measurements.

Conference Dates

March 25-28, 2013

Conference Location

Gaithersburg, MD

Conference Title

2013 International Conference on Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

193 nm, scatterfield microscopy, optical metrology, characterization, defect, critical dimension

Citation

Sohn, M. , Barnes, B. and Silver, R. (2013), Quantitative Characterization and Applications of A 193 nm Scatterfield Microscope, 2013 International Conference on Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics, Gaithersburg, MD (Accessed October 10, 2025)