We present an innovating method to measure the overlay by scatterometry using an optical Fourier transform (OFT) based system. In order to measure the overlay of patterned layers α and β, one line grating is placed in layer α and another in layer β. The two gratings have the same pitch and their lines are parallel. The whole scattering pattern of the double grating structure is then measured at fixed wavelength in a large range of incidence (0 to 80°) and for all the azimuth angles. This measurement is very rapid thanks to the OFT and not sensitive to vibration. The main advantage of OFT compared to standard OCD techniques like normal incidence reflectometry or spectroscopic ellipsometry is that the scattering pattern is more sensitive to overlay at an azimuth depending on the pitch value which is never parallel or perpendicular to the grooves of the gratings. In addition, the optical response is also sensitive to the sign of the overlay in addition to its amplitude. In a second method, we propose to measure the overlay simultaneously along the two directions of the plane using two bi-periodic structures patterned in layer α and β. By using OFT it is possible to deduce directly from the whole diffracted pattern, the overlay signs and amplitudes along both directions of the plane. The paper presents some simulations and some experimental results to illustrate this new method.
We present an innovating instrument based on optical Fourier transform (OFT) capable to measure simultaneously the specular and non specular diffraction pattern of sub-micronic periodic structures. The sample is illuminated at fixed wavelength (green laser) versus a large angular aperture both in incidence (0 to 80°) and azimuth (0 to 180°). In the present paper we focus on the possibility to measure line edge roughness (LER) and line width roughness (LWR) using this new technique. To understand the problem, different gratings with artificial periodic LER and LWR roughness have been fabricated and characterized precisely by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Different light scattering measurements have been performed using the OFT instrument with different illuminations in order to understand precisely the optical behavior of these systems. We show that we can distinguish LER and LWR by measuring simultaneously the diffracted contributions coming from the grating and from the periodic roughness. In phase LER with small LWR does not give first order diffraction contribution for the periodic roughness. In contrast, LER in opposite phase with large LWR gives a strong contribution for the first order of diffraction of the periodic roughness. In any case, the sensitivity to LER and LWR is better than 5nm for 500nm period gratings measured at 532nm. This result can be extended to samples with real LER and LWR. It shows without ambiguity that simultaneous measurement of the specular and diffracted light diffraction patterns is necessary to extract separately the two parameters.
In the present paper, we use a new photo goniometric method capable to measure the entire diffracted pattern of a sub micron grating at fixed wavelength very rapidly. The complete reflectance pattern is obtained versus incidence angle (0-80°) and azimuth angle (0-360°). Regression software based on RCWA simulations has been developed. It is used to adjust automatically the grating profile with an unprecedented rapidity. Regressions have been applied to our polarimetric measurements versus incidence angle θ and versus azimuth angle φ. Results are compared to those provided by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We show that fixed incidence angle specular reflection coefficients versus azimuth angle R(φ) curves are very sensitive to the profiles especially when the CD is reduced mainly because of the occurrence of diffracted orders matching the CD at given azimuths even if the wavelength is much larger than the CD. Mid space illumination measurements in a large angular aperture (0<θ<80° and 0<φ<180°) can be also used to deduce profile information. We show that specular reflection coefficients can be fitted in the entire angular aperture to provide precise structural shapes. Out of specular contribution which is measured simultaneously can also be used in the analysis. We show that it is more sensitive to the grating imperfections than the specular contribution.
We present an innovating method to measure simultaneously the specular and non specular diffraction pattern of sub-micronic periodic structures. The sample is illuminated at fixed wavelength in the visible range (green laser) versus a large angular aperture both in incidence (0 to 80°) and azimuth (0 to 180°). A special optical setup including Fourier optics and a CCD camera allows to measure the entire diffraction pattern. The measurement spot size can be reduced to less than 50μm and its position can be visualized directly with the same optical setup. Polarimetric measurements can be made in less than two seconds. This new system is presented in details and the accuracy of the measurement is tested on homogeneous reference SiO2/Si samples. Then the system is applied to submicron gratings. We show that fixed incidence angle measurements are useful to visualize the specular and non specular order. So, the periodicity of the can be extracted directly. In addition the specular and non specular intensity can be used to extract more accurately the topology of the samples. We show that specular reflection versus azimuth angle can provide similar results than conventional techniques. First experimental results on bi-periodic structures are also shown.
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