Process-specific tuning of lithography simulation tools

Mark E. Mason; Robert A. Soper; R. Mark Terry; Chris A. Mack

doi:10.1117/12.275981

7 July 1997 Process-specific tuning of lithography simulation tools

Mark E. Mason, Robert A. Soper, R. Mark Terry, Chris A. Mack

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3051, Optical Microlithography X; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.275981
Event: Microlithography '97, 1997, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

Clearly, all lithography simulation tools comprise models that depend on certain measures of the lithography process as input. In fact, it can be said that these models are only as good as their input. Therefore, the tuning of these models to fit the particular conditions of a certain process is a subject worthy of investigation. In this work, we extend previous efforts to generate `tuned' parameters for the lithography process models within PROLITH/2 by including the evaluation of resist cross-sections under a variety of conditions in our analysis, and by more closely examining the sources of factory-specific tuning problems. Specifically, we identify and quantify error sources related to film thickness measurements, utilize the so-called `Poor- Man's DRM' technique to tune PROLITH's resist and development parameters, and compare the resulting simulations to both swing curves and resist cross-sections of various sizes on multiple substrates. The merit of this tuning approach is evaluated based on these comparisons. We conclude that optimization of simulator parameters is critical for accurate resist profile prediction and that, once optimized, the model provides quantitatively predictive results over a wide range of experimental conditions.

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Mark E. Mason, Robert A. Soper, R. Mark Terry, and Chris A. Mack "Process-specific tuning of lithography simulation tools", Proc. SPIE 3051, Optical Microlithography X, (7 July 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.275981

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