Comparative study of process window identification methods for 45 nm device and beyond

Lithography process control becomes increasingly challenging as the design rules shrink. To tackle the issue of identifying the process window for lithography, we systematically compared three different approaches for 45 nm process wafer with two variables: Inspection mode (FEM or PWQ) and Analysis methodology (Manual or Design Based Binning). We found that PWQ + DBB provided the best results.