Characterization of mask CD mean-to-target for hotspot patterns by using SEM image contours

Kan Zhou; Xin Guo; Yinsheng Yu; Hongwen Zhao; Wenzhan Zhou; Yu Zhang; Ao Chen; Wenming Wu; Qijian Wan; Huaiyang Dou; Chunshan Du; Liguo Zhang; Germain Fenger

doi:10.1117/12.2601674

12 October 2021 Characterization of mask CD mean-to-target for hotspot patterns by using SEM image contours

Kan Zhou, Xin Guo, Yinsheng Yu, Hongwen Zhao, Wenzhan Zhou, Yu Zhang, Ao Chen, Wenming Wu, Qijian Wan, Huaiyang Dou, Chunshan Du, Liguo Zhang, Germain Fenger

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11855, Photomask Technology 2021; 118550E (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2601674
Event: SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography, 2021, Online Only

Abstract

The mask CD mean-to-target (MTT) has been widely adopted as one of the key metrics for the mask quality control. As more aggressive optical proximity correction (OPC) is applied to push the resolution limit, traditional CDSEM measurement-based metrology is not sufficient to characterize mask CD MTT, especially for complicated 2D patterns. In this paper, we present the method of using SEM image contours for the characterization of mask CD MTT. The full flow includes contour extraction from mask SEM images, contour-to-contour alignment, contour averaging and edge placement error (EPE) measurement of mask image contour against the target. The OPC Verify engine is employed to give fast EPE check at closely packed sampling sites along the target. We apply this method to evaluate mask CD MTT for the hotspot patterns from two masks. The generated mask CD MTT distribution histograms and color maps demonstrate a good correlation with the wafer defect counts.

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Citation Download Citation

Kan Zhou, Xin Guo, Yinsheng Yu, Hongwen Zhao, Wenzhan Zhou, Yu Zhang, Ao Chen, Wenming Wu, Qijian Wan, Huaiyang Dou, Chunshan Du, Liguo Zhang, and Germain Fenger "Characterization of mask CD mean-to-target for hotspot patterns by using SEM image contours", Proc. SPIE 11855, Photomask Technology 2021, 118550E (12 October 2021); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2601674

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