As new microelectronic designs are being developed, the demands on image overlay and pattern dimension control are compounded by requirements that pattern edge placement errors (EPEs) be at a single-nanometer levels. Scanner performance plays a key role in determining location of the pattern edges at different device layers, not only through overlay but also through imaging performance. The imaging contributes to edge displacement through the variations of the image dimensions and by shifting the images from their target locations. We discuss various aspects of advanced image control relevant to a 10-nm node integrated circuit design. We review a range of issues of pattern edge placement directly linked to pattern imaging. We analyze the impact of different pattern design and scanner-related edge displacement drivers. We present two examples of imaging strategies to pattern logic device metal layer cuts. We analyze EPEs of the cut images resulting from optimized layout design and scanner setup, and we draw conclusions on edge placement control versus imaging performance requirements.
Demand for ever increasing level of microelectronics integration continues unabated, driving the reduction of the integrated circuit critical dimensions, and escalating requirements for image overlay and pattern dimension control. The challenges to meet these demands are compounded by requirement that pattern edge placement errors be at single nanometer levels. Layout design together with the patterning tools performance play key roles in determining location of the pattern edges at different device layers. However, complexities of the layout design often lead to stringent tradeoffs for viable optical proximity correction and imaging strategy solutions. As a result, in addition to scanner overlay performance, pattern imaging plays a key role in the pattern edge placement. The imaging contributes to edge displacement by impacting the image dimensions and by shifting the images relative to their target locations. In this report we discuss various aspects of advanced image control at 10 nm integrated circuit design rules. We analyze the impact of pattern design and scanner performance on pattern edges. We present an example of complex, three step litho-etch patterning involving immersion scanners. We draw conclusion on edge placement control when complex images interact with wafer topography.
Compensation of lens-heating effects during the exposure scan in an optical lithographic system requires knowledge of the heating profile in the pupil of the projection lens. A necessary component in the accurate estimation of this profile is the total integrated distribution of light, relying on the squared modulus of the Fourier transform (FT) of the photomask layout for individual process layers. Requiring a layout representation in pixelated image format, the most common approach is to compute the FT numerically via the fast Fourier transform (FFT). However, the file size for a standard 26- mm×33-mm mask with 5-nm pixels is an overwhelming 137 TB in single precision; the data importing process alone, prior to FFT computation, can render this method highly impractical. A more feasible solution is to handle layout data in a highly compact format with vertex locations of mask features (polygons), which correspond to elements in an integrated circuit, as well as pattern symmetries and repetitions (e.g., GDSII format). Provided the polygons can decompose into shapes for which analytical FT expressions are possible, the analytical approach dramatically reduces computation time and alleviates the burden of importing extensive mask data. Algorithms have been developed for importing and interpreting hierarchical layout data and computing the analytical FT on a graphics processing unit (GPU) for rapid parallel processing, not assuming incoherent imaging. Testing was performed on the active layer of a 392- μm×297-μm virtual chip test structure with 43 substructures distributed over six hierarchical levels. The factor of improvement in the analytical versus numerical approach for importing layout data, performing CPU-GPU memory transfers, and executing the FT on a single NVIDIA Tesla K20X GPU was 1.6×104, 4.9×103, and 3.8×103, respectively. Various ideas for algorithm enhancements will be discussed.
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