Scatterfield microscopy using back focal plane imaging with an engineered illumination field

Heather J. Patrick; Ravikiran Attota; Bryan M. Barnes; Thomas A Germer; Michael T. Stocker; Richard M. Silver; Michael R. Bishop

doi:10.1117/12.656452

24 March 2006 Scatterfield microscopy using back focal plane imaging with an engineered illumination field

Heather J. Patrick, Ravikiran Attota, Bryan M. Barnes, Thomas A Germer, Michael T. Stocker, Richard M. Silver, Michael R. Bishop

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6152, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XX; 61520J (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.656452
Event: SPIE 31st International Symposium on Advanced Lithography, 2006, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

We have implemented back focal plane (conoscopic) imaging in an optical microscope that has also been modified to allow selection of the illumination angles and polarization at the sample, and collected back focal plane images of silicon on silicon grating scatterometry targets with varying line widths. Using a slit illumination mask, the zero-order diffraction versus angle for −60° to +60° incident angles at a given polarization was obtained from a single image. By using reference images taken on a flat silicon background, we correct the raw target images for illumination source inhomogeneities and polarization-dependent transmission of the optics, and convert them to reflectance versus angle data for s- and p-polarizations, similar to that obtained from angle-resolved grating scatterometry. As with conventional scatterometry, the target lines need not be resolved for the reflectance signature to show sensitivity to small changes in the grating parameters. For a series of 300 nm pitch targets with line widths from 150 nm to 157 nm, we demonstrate nanometer-level sensitivity to line width with good repeatability, using 546 nm illumination. Additionally, we demonstrate a technique for separating the zero order from higher order diffraction on targets with multiple diffraction orders, allowing collection of both zero and higher order diffraction versus angle from the back focal plane image. As conventional images can be easily collected on the same microscope, the method provides a powerful tool for combining imaging metrology with scatterometry for optical critical dimension measurements in semiconductors.

Citation Download Citation

Heather J. Patrick, Ravikiran Attota, Bryan M. Barnes, Thomas A Germer, Michael T. Stocker, Richard M. Silver, and Michael R. Bishop "Scatterfield microscopy using back focal plane imaging with an engineered illumination field", Proc. SPIE 6152, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XX, 61520J (24 March 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.656452

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