Mask process correction for laser writers

Ingo Bork; Kushlendra Mishra; Samarpita Mukherjee; Rachit Sharma; Mary Zuo

doi:10.1117/12.2641990

1 December 2022 Mask process correction for laser writers

Ingo Bork, Kushlendra Mishra, Samarpita Mukherjee, Rachit Sharma, Mary Zuo

Proceedings Volume 12293, Photomask Technology 2022; 122930J (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2641990
Event: SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography, 2022, Monterey, California, United States

Abstract

Photomasks for the semiconductor chip production are typically written with either laser- or e-beam writers. Laser tools have the advantage of fast writing speeds and are overall more cost effective than e-beam writers. On the other hand, ebeam writers achieve significantly better mask accuracy in terms of minimum Critical Dimension (CD) and CD uniformity. Despite the accuracy disadvantage of laser writers, on average, they account for approximately 70% of all masks delivered by the mask industry, during the years between 2018 and 2020. The widespread use of laser writers and their technical limitations make them excellent candidates for Mask Process Corrections (MPC). This work investigates the feasibility of using MPC, developed for e-beam writers, with minor modifications to laser writers. It will be shown that adding an anisotropic component to the models used for e-beam lithography is sufficient for simulating the laser tool signature. With such models, MPC provides an opportunity to expand the application space of laser tools into CD ranges, not possible without MPC and enables tool signature matching between mask writers similar to that used for e-beam writers.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Ingo Bork, Kushlendra Mishra, Samarpita Mukherjee, Rachit Sharma, and Mary Zuo "Mask process correction for laser writers", Proc. SPIE 12293, Photomask Technology 2022, 122930J (1 December 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2641990

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