BackgroundThe upcoming introduction of high-numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is accompanied by ongoing activities to mitigate the imaging issues combined with the 3D photomask absorber. In addition to suitable exposure and patterning techniques, the absorber material has a large impact on image contrast and the usable depth of focus.AimThe study of solutions to the imaging downsides combined with the EUV reflective mask typically is based on rigorous imaging simulations. We show that aerial image metrology using Aerial Image Measurement System (AIMS)® EUV is a supplementary way to verify the impact of mask 3D effects in lithography.ApproachAn AIMS® EUV study of the impact of mask 3D effects on the through-focus image formation in a three-beam interference regime is presented.ResultsExperiments on a 20-nm vertical equal lines and spaces clip using dedicated monopole illumination demonstrate a prominent, focus-dependent line-shape behavior for each of the pole positions. Applying an analytical model for three-beam-imaging in the presence of defocus and mask 3D effects, we obtain excellent agreement between measurements and theory that allows us to derive the mutual phase shifts of the single interference cross-terms involved.ConclusionsUsing AIMS® EUV, an evaluation of the imaging impact of various absorber materials can be done experimentally without relying on wafer exposures.
KEYWORDS: 3D mask effects, Light sources and illumination, Extreme ultraviolet, Diffraction, 3D image processing, 3D modeling, Phase shifts, Simulations, 3D metrology, Extreme ultraviolet lithography
The upcoming introduction of High-NA EUV lithography in chip manufacturing is accompanied by still ongoing activities to mitigate the imaging issues combined with the 3D photomask absorber. Besides suitable exposure and patterning techniques, the mask absorber material has large impact on image contrast and the usable depth of focus. In recent years, 3D mask effects in EUV lithography have widely been investigated, and alternative absorber stacks which enable improved contrast and focus control have been proposed. The study of solutions to the challenges combined with the EUV reflective mask typically is based on rigorous imaging simulations. However, aerial image metrology can be a supplementary way to verify the impact of mask 3D effects on lithography. For this purpose, the AIMS® EUV actinic mask measurement represents a highly precise way to qualify the High-NA mask printing performance under scanner-equivalent optical column conditions. In this paper, we present an AIMS® EUV study of the impact of mask 3D effects on the through-focus image formation in a three-beam interference regime. Our experiments on a dense vertical 20nm lines and spaces clip using dedicated monopole illumination demonstrate a prominent, focus-dependent line shape deformation for each of the single pole positions. For the center monopole setting, frequency doubling of the aerial image is observed for one particular focus value. To describe the line shapes recorded, we applied an analytical model for three-beam-imaging in the presence of defocus and mask 3D effects. We obtained an excellent agreement between measurements and calculated data that allows us to derive the mutual phase-shifts of the single interference cross-terms involved. We conclude that the aerial image behavior as observed can be traced back to a coupling of the defocus aberration and mask 3D driven effects.
In parallel to the development of EUV lithography equipment and processes towards High-NA there is a still growing interest to study and understand the role of 3D mask absorber driven effects on imaging. Alongside with appropriate exposure and patterning techniques, the choice of a suitable mask absorber material has large impact on the process window optimization. The development of solutions to the challenges combined with the EUV reflective mask typically is based on rigorous imaging simulations, but aerial image metrology can be a supplementary way to verify the role of mask 3D effects on lithography. For that purpose, the ZEISS AIMS EUV actinic mask measurement represents a unique and variously usable way for the qualification of the current as well as the next generation High-NA mask printing performance under scanner-equivalent optical column conditions. In this paper, we show results of AIMS® EUV measurements at Ta-based absorber masks where we identify a significant impact of mask 3D driven phase shifts on the aerial images. For a standard High-NA dipole setting, the intensity profiles of a dense 18 nm vertical lines and spaces structure show an initially unexpected line splitting through focus that can be reproduced by rigorous imaging simulations. In contrast, no splitting is found if the experiment is described within a 2D model. A follow-up experiment on a similar dense vertical 20 nm lines and spaces clip with dedicated monopole illumination demonstrates a prominent asymmetric line splitting for each of the single pole positions, again in accordance with simulation. For a center monopole setting we see a frequency doubling of the aerial image for one particular focus position. To describe the aerial image behavior, we applied an analytical model for three-beam-imaging in the presence of defocus and mask 3D effects. Consequently, the observed through-focus behavior can be explained by various phase shifts to the three-beam imaging cross-terms involved.
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