Advanced high-voltage e-beam system combined with an enhanced D2DB for on-device overlay measurement

Kang, Seul-Ki; Maruyama, Kotaro; Yamazaki, Yoji; Beggiato, Matteo; Veloso, A.; Lorusso, Gian

doi:10.1117/12.2661180

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…TASMIT developed semiconductor wafer inspection system NGR5500 with high voltage-scanning electron microscope (HV-SEM) [3]. The system can image with highly accelerated electron beam up to 50keV, large FOV up to 50um and has two detectors to simultaneously detect secondary electrons (SE) and backscattered electrons (BSE).…”

Section: Semiconductor Wafer Inspection System Ngr5500mentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of active contour model with 3D-SEM simulation for see-through BSE image of high voltage SEM

Oya,

Okamoto,

Nakazawa

et al. 2024

Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control XXXVIII

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As semiconductor device structures continue to shrink and increase its complexity, the need for precise measurement techniques extends beyond single-layer patterning to encompass overlay and Edge Placement Error (EPE) across multiple layers. Traditionally, overlay and EPE have been managed using dedicated patterns and equipment, respectively. However, as manufacturing processes become more intricate, there arises a necessity to measure these parameters directly on actual device patterns. Addressing this demand, High Voltage-Scanning Electron Microscopy (HV-SEM) emerges as a viable tool for on-device-overlay measurement. Nevertheless, challenges persist in achieving accurate measurements using seethrough Backscattered Electron (BSE) imaging due to low contrast and sharpness resulting from electron diffusion through upper-layer patterns. This impedes precise contour extraction and reduces pattern measurement sensitivity. Moreover, in layouts where pattern contours between layers are closely spaced, precise contour extraction becomes even more challenging. To address these issues, a specialized contour extraction function is essential for achieving precise and stable pattern extraction from BSE images. In this paper, we propose a novel HV-SEM overlay measurement methodology utilizing active contour model with Electron Beam (EB) simulation. Synthetic images, designed to emulate the latest device structures and based on BSE features obtained through EB simulation, were employed for evaluation. The results demonstrate the method's robustness to noise and its ability to accurately extract the contours of partially hidden lowerlayer patterns. The proposed approach will enhance the accuracy of HV-SEM overlay measurements, thereby expanding the utility of HV-SEM see-through BSE imaging in semiconductor manufacturing processes.

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Section: Semiconductor Wafer Inspection System Ngr5500mentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of active contour model with 3D-SEM simulation for see-through BSE image of high voltage SEM

Oya,

Okamoto,

Nakazawa

et al. 2024

Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control XXXVIII

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The wide variety of investigations reported in this work were possible thanks to the dedication of many contributors from different companies. In particular, wish to thank: Some of the material in this paper has been published in the proceedings of SPIE Advanced Lithography [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. .…”

Section: Acknowledgementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Chapter 2 we will discuss the following application use cases, related to the clustering discussed in Fig. Each of these items have been recently reported in detail [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] and are the results of join imec collaborations with various equipment vendors on critical issues in advanced ICM. Each one of these investigations uses advanced settings either in terms of Data Acquisition or Data Processing, or both.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in e-beam metrology and inspection

Lorusso

2024

Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control XXXVIII

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For many years, e-beam SEM metrology has been quite conservative. However, a few years ago, we began to observe a sort of restlessness in the field, a trend that was consistently confirmed year after year since then. Such a change was mainly driven by the daunting specification requirements for the advanced metrology nodes and High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (High NA EUVL), as well as by the device evolution in terms of architecture. We observed a systematic attempt to expand the application space in which the e-beam SEM had operated, tackling issues ranging from metrology of 3D structures to edge placement error, voltage contrast, e-beam inspection, and more.Such an expansion of the application space has forced heavily automated SEM to evolve into something different: a more flexible and powerful e-beam tool focusing not only on CD metrology, but on a range of novel use cases. To implement these new applications, it soon became evident that it was necessary to expand the range and type of tool specifications and features. We observed changes in landing energy, beam current, resolution, as well as algorithms. The detection process changed too, and higher current and better detection efficiency opened the door to a variety of back-scattered electron applications. Artificial intelligence is now critical not only in terms of speed of analysis, but most importantly for the quality of its results. Multibeam tools are fast approaching and have the potential to become a central technology element in the high-NA EUVL environment, where resolution and throughput for inspection must go hand-in-hand. In this paper, we provide an overview of the recent trends in e-beam metrology and inspection. e-beam, CD SEM, e-beam Inspection, Multibeam, e-beam Review Invited Paper

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Advanced high-voltage e-beam system combined with an enhanced D2DB for on-device overlay measurement

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

Utilization of active contour model with 3D-SEM simulation for see-through BSE image of high voltage SEM

Utilization of active contour model with 3D-SEM simulation for see-through BSE image of high voltage SEM

Trends in e-beam metrology and inspection

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