Thickness optimization for lithography process on silicon substrate

With the development of the lithography, the demand for critical dimension (CD) and CD uniformity (CDU) has reached a new level, which is harder and harder to achieve. There exists reflection at the interface between photo-resist and substrate during lithography exposure. This reflection has negative impact on CD and CDU control. It is possible to optimize the litho stack and film stack thickness on different lithography conditions. With the optimized stack, the total reflectivity for all incident angles at the interface can be controlled less than 0.5%, ideally 0.1%, which enhances process window (PW) most of the time. The theoretical results are verified by the experiment results from foundry, which helps the foundry achieve the mass production finally.