Photomask Japan最新文献

{"title":"In-line airborne particle sensing supports faster response to contamination excursions","authors":"V. Vijay","doi":"10.1117/12.2613075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2613075","url":null,"abstract":"Fine particles (less than 5 micrometers in diameter) do not affect most industrial processes, but they can have a disastrous impact on semiconductor manufacturing. From the earliest days, manufacturing facilities have deployed air filtering and recirculation to remove particles from the cleanroom, but particles may still be generated inside process tools, where they can cause defects and yield loss. Quickly identifying when and where airborne particles originate can be challenging, but it is critical to success. Conventional methods for monitoring and diagnosing contamination problems take considerable time to return results, and, because of their intermittent nature, they may not see contamination episodes until the damage is detected by downstream inspections. In-line particle sensing (IPS) provides continuous, real-time monitoring, shortening response times and potentially limiting damage to work-in-progress.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122207378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"NIL integration using computational lithography for semiconductor device manufacturing","authors":"Tsuyoshi Arai, S. Aihara, Yuichiro Oguchi, J. Seki, Y. Matsuoka","doi":"10.1117/12.2600797","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2600797","url":null,"abstract":"Imprint lithography is an effective and well-known technique for replication of nano-scale features. Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) manufacturing equipment utilizes a patterning technology that involves the field-by-field deposition and exposure of a low viscosity resist deposited by jetting technology onto the substrate. The patterned mask is lowered into the fluid which then quickly flows into the relief patterns in the mask by capillary action. Following this filling step, the resist is crosslinked under UV radiation, and then the mask is removed, leaving a patterned resist on the substrate. The technology faithfully reproduces patterns with a higher resolution and greater uniformity compared to those produced by photolithography equipment. Additionally, as this technology does not require an array of wide-diameter lenses and the expensive light sources necessary for advanced photolithography equipment, NIL equipment achieves a simpler, more compact design, allowing for multiple units to be clustered together for increased productivity. Previous studies have demonstrated NIL resolution better than 10nm, making the technology suitable for the printing of several generations of critical memory levels with a single mask. In addition, resist is applied only where necessary, thereby eliminating material waste. Computational technologies are still in the course of development for NIL. Only a few simulators are applicable to the nanoimprint process, and these simulators are desired by device manufacturers as part of their daily toolbox. The most challenging issue in NIL process simulation is the scale difference of each component of the system. The template pattern depth and the residual resist film thickness are generally of the order of a few tens of nanometers, while the process needs to work over the entire shot size, which is typically of the order of 10 mm square. This amounts to a scale difference of the order of 106. Therefore, in order to calculate the nanoimprint process with conventional fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulators, an enormous number of meshes is required, which results in computation times that are unacceptable. In this paper, we introduce a new process simulator which directly inputs the process parameters, simulates the whole imprinting process, and evaluates the quality of the resulting resist film. To overcome the scale differences, our simulator utilizes analytically integrated expressions which reduce the dimensions of the calculation region. In addition, the simulator can independently consider the positions of the droplets and calculate the droplet coalescence, thereby predicting the distribution of the non-fill areas which originate from the trapped gas between the droplets. The simulator has been applied to the actual NIL system and some examples of its applications are presented in this work.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"63 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114896885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-brightness LDP source for EUVL mask inspection","authors":"K. Aoki, Yoshihiko Sato, Y. Teramoto, T. Shirai, S. Morimoto, H. Watanabe","doi":"10.1117/12.2601995","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2601995","url":null,"abstract":"The Laser-assisted discharge-produced (LDP) plasma EUV source was developed as a light source for actinic mask inspection and beamline application. Since the focused laser irradiation is used to ignite the discharge, the LDP plasma has a unique feature of high brightness and high power. It can be operated at the frequency of up to 10 kHz generating <200 W/mm2/sr in-band EUV brightness at plasma. The source reliability is also proven in the field as a source for actinic mask inspection. In the paper, the key performances of the LDP source will be discussed.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"176 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122754841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigation of EUV pellicle mechanical stress within EUV pod","authors":"Ching-Te Kuo, Kuo-Tsang Hung, Claire Lee, Chia-Ho Chuang, Bill Chiu","doi":"10.1117/12.2598101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2598101","url":null,"abstract":"Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicle has been widely used to control the defectivity of EUV mask out of airborne debris. The EUV mask equipped with pellicle is typically stored within a EUV inner pod (EIP) until use. However, such pellicle is easily deformed due to its structural weakness, the risk of thermal stress and so on, thereby altering its transmission as well as impacting the yield of EUV fabrication. Since the activity of EUV pellicle alone is comprehensively studied, the exploration of pellicle mechanical stress within EIP is relatively less addressed. Here, we present an emerging approach via a chromatic confocal sensor to investigate the above issue. The chromatic sensor was utilized to detect the surface of pellicle based on the reflected light wavelength with a 22 nm axial resolution. A conductance tester was utilized to simulate the pump and vent characteristics, according to ASML and core EUV scanners. During the pump/vent cycle (from atmospheric pressure to 5 Pa and vice versa), the EUV pellicle was deflected from -400 μm to 200 μm. We further analyzed the stress of deformed pellicle by both numerical simulation and theoretical calculation. Interestingly, the graphene-mediated pellicle revealed a more stiffer activity than other material-based pellicles (such as poly-silicon, SiC and Si3N4) under a range of pressure difference (0 to 10 Pa). Taken together, the proposed approach has been successfully demonstrated to enable real-time examination of EUV pellicle activity within EIP, which should be capable for worldwide EUV mask cores.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122734164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Actinic patterned mask inspection for EUV lithography","authors":"Hiroki Miyai, Tsunehito Kohyama, Toshiyuki Todoroki","doi":"10.1117/12.2601872","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2601872","url":null,"abstract":"EUV lithography enters the high-volume manufacturing stage, and the semiconductor industry considers a lithography-wavelength- matched actinic patterned mask inspection (APMI) tool to be a crucial infrastructure for EUV mask qualification. ACTISTM, the world’s first high-sensitivity actinic patterned mask inspection system, was released in 2019. ACTIS detects lithographic impact defects that cannot be seen with the existing DUV inspection tools. The actual results of production mask inspection show that only an actinic EUV inspection system can visualize small surface topography and phase changes that propagate through multilayer stacks. In this paper, we present the progress of ACTIS inspection technology, defect sensitivity, die-to-database inspection and through pellicle inspection. For technology nodes beyond N3, a high-NA EUV anamorphic lithography system will be used. The mask structure in the high-NA era will be different from the current configuration. For inspection tool design, it is necessary to adopt a different magnification of mask-to-wafer projection in the vertical and horizontal directions. ACTIS has the extendibility to a high-NA system since its projection NA area has room for extension in one direction. The high-NA EUV inspection tool will be discussed in this paper as well.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129458457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"eBeam initiative surveys report upbeat photomask market outlook","authors":"A. Fujimura, Jan Willis","doi":"10.1117/12.2601110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2601110","url":null,"abstract":"The eBeam Initiative has conducted an annual survey of industry luminaries for the past nine years to gather predictions of industry trends. The Luminaries survey was completed in July 2020. At the same time, the eBeam Initiative completed its sixth annual Mask Makers survey with anonymous feedback from 10 captive and merchant photomask manufacturers. Taken together, the surveys in 2020 reflected that the semiconductor mask-making industry is going through transitions on multiple fronts at the same time yet are upbeat about the photomask market outlook.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134331674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Self-aligned double patterning process for sub-15nm nanoimprint template fabrication","authors":"Yoshinori Kagawa, M. Suenaga, H. Sasaki, Koji Murano, S. Magoshi, Ryu Komatsu, K. Takai, M. Kondo, H. Sakurai, S. Kanamitsu","doi":"10.1117/12.2603907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2603907","url":null,"abstract":"Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a promising technology on next generation lithography for the fabrication of semiconductor devices. NIL is a one-to-one lithographic technology with a contact transfer methodology using templates. Therefore, critical dimension (CD) error and defect performance of templates has direct impact on wafer performance. The previous paper reported that the self-aligned double patterning (SADP) process on master template had better performance on resolution and defect performance [2]. In proceeding with development of SADP template process technology, we found that CD errors occurred in the area with a pattern density change. CD control over any pattern density is one of the critical issues. In this report, we have investigated the impact of the proximity effect correction (PEC) and fogging effect correction (FEC) parameters for electron beam writing on gap space and core space. It was found that the optimal PEC parameter for resist CD is not the best for the core space and the gap space. The resist CD is uniform, but there is a difference in resist shape on the local pattern density variation. It was also found that the core space had dependency on global pattern density even if the optimal FEC parameter for resist CD was applied. FEC can correct resist CD, but it cannot adjust resist shape. By using the optimal PEC and FEC parameters for SADP process, the gap space range of 0.6 nm and the core space range of 0.5 nm were successfully obtained.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"11908 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130598185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Model based mask process correction for EUV Mask","authors":"M. Ramadan, Brian Dillon, Michael Green, C. Progler, Y. Ham, Ahmad Syukri","doi":"10.1117/12.2601855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2601855","url":null,"abstract":"Mask process correction (MPC) played a key part improving yield in 14 nm technology node and below using deep ultraviolet lithography (DUVL). Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is entering an industry production phase for 7 nm logic and is under development for next node logic and memory applications. A key benefit of EUVL for logic interconnect lithography comes from the ability to pattern layers at aggressive pitch using a single exposure. Mask critical dimension targeting was found to be a critical factor for yielding wafer process, MPC will be necessary to correct for mask process errors. This paper will focus on building MPC models for EUV mask processes exposed on a variable shape beam lithography tool.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123500693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel method to find the best process point in e-beam mask making","authors":"U. Hofmann, H. Sailer, S. Martens, N. Unal","doi":"10.1117/12.2604372","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2604372","url":null,"abstract":"To this day there is no established practical method available to identify the “optimal” base dose in e-Beam lithography for mask making. Methods range from choosing the “zero-bias” exposure dose that yields CDmeasured = CDtarget to real isofocal calibrations that require to print the structures at different blurs/focus settings. While the latter yields an optimal base dose, it requires a significant experimental procedure, whereas the former uses a pretty simple experiment but will likely yield a non-optimal base dose due to process effects (e.g., lateral resist development). Here we present a novel method to find the optimum base dose for e-Beam mask exposures that requires only a simple experiment. Surprisingly, the exposure doses required to print features with different densities at the same CD does depend on the process point, adding an error term to the proximity effect correction in case the correction is not aligned to this. This is due to the fact that for a given stack and acceleration voltage, a PEC method will deliver one fixed dose range, whereas the experimentally required dose range depends on the process point chosen. This observation can be used to calibrate the base dose such that it matches the dose range obtained from PEC. Moreover, it can be used to add a new criterion to proximity effect correction – the iso-focal condition - to not only correct for line width (also called critical dimension, CD) linearity and density dependent effect, but to also add immunity to process variations such as focus and blur variations.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121794164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Photomask challenges for data-centric computing in the 2020s","authors":"K. Schuegraf","doi":"10.1117/12.2607440","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2607440","url":null,"abstract":"The world is rapidly shifting towards data-centric computing model with significant growth in compute, storage and networking. Moore’s law scaling to reduce power, improve performance and reduce area and cost per transistor to support data centric growth places significant challenges for photomask process, control, and metrology. DUV lithography continues to be workhorse technology and continues to drive innovation. Multiple solutions are being developed to solve DUV mask challenges associated with a big die requirement. While DUV production is being projected to be strong for next few years, EUV is picking up pace and being deployed in high volume manufacturing. EUV is an opportunity-rich environment for improvements and innovations that will continue to advance the journey. EUV HiNA is a major step in the lithography paradigm where 0.55 NA EUV optics will enable a shift to sub-10nm resolution. The HiNA mask ecosystem will adapt by growing the newly created low NA EUV supply chain into new directions. The photomask environment will continue to bring creativity, drive innovations and gain commercial rewards.","PeriodicalId":138407,"journal":{"name":"Photomask Japan","volume":"154 5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131385863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}