Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic Optimization
The non-ideal mask absorber can cause an increase in critical dimension error (CDE) and decrease in process window (PW). However, the random mask absorber errors induced during mask fabricating and measuring are not considered in computational lithography. The problem cannot be neglected as the cont...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-03-01
|
Series: | Applied Sciences |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/7/1275 |
id |
doaj-193beba96056487590b3106fbb343624 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-193beba96056487590b3106fbb3436242020-11-25T02:18:08ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172019-03-0197127510.3390/app9071275app9071275Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic OptimizationNaiyuan Sheng0Enze Li1Yiyu Sun2Tie Li3Yanqiu Li4Pengzhi Wei5Lihui Liu6Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic Imaging Technology and System of Ministry of Education of China, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaKey Laboratory of Photoelectronic Imaging Technology and System of Ministry of Education of China, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaKey Laboratory of Photoelectronic Imaging Technology and System of Ministry of Education of China, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaKey Laboratory of Photoelectronic Imaging Technology and System of Ministry of Education of China, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaKey Laboratory of Photoelectronic Imaging Technology and System of Ministry of Education of China, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaKey Laboratory of Photoelectronic Imaging Technology and System of Ministry of Education of China, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaKey Laboratory of Photoelectronic Imaging Technology and System of Ministry of Education of China, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaThe non-ideal mask absorber can cause an increase in critical dimension error (CDE) and decrease in process window (PW). However, the random mask absorber errors induced during mask fabricating and measuring are not considered in computational lithography. The problem cannot be neglected as the continuous scaling of lithography technology node. In this work, for the first time to our knowledge, a source, numerical aperture (NA), and process parameters co-optimization (SNPCO) method is developed to reduce the CDE induced by absorber errors and improve the PW. First, the source is represented by Zernike polynomials to balance computational burden and flexibility of source. Then a weighted cost function containing CDE and PW that incorporates the influences of absorber errors is created. Finally, a statistical optimization method is used to optimize the lithographic system parameters. Simulations of 1D mask pattern show that for the system with extreme absorber errors, the pattern errors of the proposed method are reduced by 62.1% and 58.9%, and the PWs are increased by 40.3% and 36.4%, respectively. The results illustrate that this method is effective in mitigating the CDE caused absorber errors and improving process robustness.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/7/1275computational lithographymask absorberco-optimizationprocess window (PW) |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Naiyuan Sheng Enze Li Yiyu Sun Tie Li Yanqiu Li Pengzhi Wei Lihui Liu |
spellingShingle |
Naiyuan Sheng Enze Li Yiyu Sun Tie Li Yanqiu Li Pengzhi Wei Lihui Liu Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic Optimization Applied Sciences computational lithography mask absorber co-optimization process window (PW) |
author_facet |
Naiyuan Sheng Enze Li Yiyu Sun Tie Li Yanqiu Li Pengzhi Wei Lihui Liu |
author_sort |
Naiyuan Sheng |
title |
Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic Optimization |
title_short |
Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic Optimization |
title_full |
Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic Optimization |
title_fullStr |
Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic Optimization |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mitigating the Impact of Mask Absorber Error on Lithographic Performance by Lithography System Holistic Optimization |
title_sort |
mitigating the impact of mask absorber error on lithographic performance by lithography system holistic optimization |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Applied Sciences |
issn |
2076-3417 |
publishDate |
2019-03-01 |
description |
The non-ideal mask absorber can cause an increase in critical dimension error (CDE) and decrease in process window (PW). However, the random mask absorber errors induced during mask fabricating and measuring are not considered in computational lithography. The problem cannot be neglected as the continuous scaling of lithography technology node. In this work, for the first time to our knowledge, a source, numerical aperture (NA), and process parameters co-optimization (SNPCO) method is developed to reduce the CDE induced by absorber errors and improve the PW. First, the source is represented by Zernike polynomials to balance computational burden and flexibility of source. Then a weighted cost function containing CDE and PW that incorporates the influences of absorber errors is created. Finally, a statistical optimization method is used to optimize the lithographic system parameters. Simulations of 1D mask pattern show that for the system with extreme absorber errors, the pattern errors of the proposed method are reduced by 62.1% and 58.9%, and the PWs are increased by 40.3% and 36.4%, respectively. The results illustrate that this method is effective in mitigating the CDE caused absorber errors and improving process robustness. |
topic |
computational lithography mask absorber co-optimization process window (PW) |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/7/1275 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT naiyuansheng mitigatingtheimpactofmaskabsorbererroronlithographicperformancebylithographysystemholisticoptimization AT enzeli mitigatingtheimpactofmaskabsorbererroronlithographicperformancebylithographysystemholisticoptimization AT yiyusun mitigatingtheimpactofmaskabsorbererroronlithographicperformancebylithographysystemholisticoptimization AT tieli mitigatingtheimpactofmaskabsorbererroronlithographicperformancebylithographysystemholisticoptimization AT yanqiuli mitigatingtheimpactofmaskabsorbererroronlithographicperformancebylithographysystemholisticoptimization AT pengzhiwei mitigatingtheimpactofmaskabsorbererroronlithographicperformancebylithographysystemholisticoptimization AT lihuiliu mitigatingtheimpactofmaskabsorbererroronlithographicperformancebylithographysystemholisticoptimization |
_version_ |
1724883093452488704 |