Registration measurement capability of VISTEC LMS IPRO4 with focus on small features

The development of the 45-nm node manufacturing process at leading edge mask shops is nearly finished. In order to reach the required registration measurement performance with a precision to tolerance value of P/T=0.25, the measurement error may not exceed 1.2 nm according to ITRS roadmap. This requires the latest generation of registration measurement tools. In addition, the demand for measuring very small features increases - for standard pattern placement measurements, as well as special engineering tasks, e.g., the position measurement of single contact holes. In this work, the error of pattern placement measurement on an LMS IPRO4 is determined using an analysis of variance methodology (ANOVA). In addition we analyze the capability as a function of the critical dimension (CD) of the registration feature. The results are compared to the previous tool generation.

[1]  Brid Connolly,et al.  Wafer based mask characterization for double patterning lithography , 2008, European Mask and Lithography Conference.

[2]  Brid Connolly,et al.  Mask characterization for double patterning lithography , 2007, SPIE Photomask Technology.

[3]  Nigel Smith,et al.  Using in-chip overlay metrology , 2008, SPIE Advanced Lithography.

[4]  Jo Finders,et al.  Double patterning for 32nm and below: an update , 2008, SPIE Advanced Lithography.

[5]  Wolfgang Fricke,et al.  Analysis of the Vistec LMS IPRO3 performance and accuracy enhancement techniques , 2006, SPIE Photomask Technology.