Evaluation of alignment performance of different exposure tools under various CMP conditions

Irit K. Abramovich; Woong-Jae Chung

doi:10.1117/12.535698

24 May 2004 Evaluation of alignment performance of different exposure tools under various CMP conditions

Irit K. Abramovich, Woong-Jae Chung

Proceedings Volume 5375, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XVIII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.535698
Event: Microlithography 2004, 2004, Santa Clara, California, United States

Abstract

The downscaling of IC design rule has increasingly imposed tighter overlay tolerances together with high cost of lithography equipment. Foundries are required to optimize tools utilization in order to be cost effective. To run with the same process flow using different exposure tools, the effect of the different process parameters needs to be characterized. This paper explores the feasibility of using the same W-CMP process for two different alignment systems employing different alignment marks. An evaluation of the alignment performance was done using marks placed in the scribe line of Tower’s products. Exposures were performed using two different DUV scanners at BEOL layers, with process splits performed prior to the W-CMP phase. Robustness of alignment mark is critical, as the scanner’s alignment system requires accurate signal to precisely align a pattern layer to a pervious layer. Data taken by the scanners on various tool/mark/recipe combinations is analyzed to provide indication of the overlay performance robustness to the process parameters. To investigate the effect of different W-CMP processes on alignment marks in back-end processing, an evaluation was performed through which both mark design and process parameters were varied. The robustness of typical long-term process variation at the W-CMP step in a production environment was evaluated.

Citation Download Citation

Irit K. Abramovich and Woong-Jae Chung "Evaluation of alignment performance of different exposure tools under various CMP conditions", Proc. SPIE 5375, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XVIII, (24 May 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.535698

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
8 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Optical alignment

Semiconducting wafers

Chemical mechanical planarization

Overlay metrology

Metals

Scanners

Polishing

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years