摘要:

X‐ray reflectivity porosimetry is a highly sensitive measurement method that utilizes the capillary condensation of a solvent vapor inside porous low‐k dielectric films on a silicon substrate. As the partial pressure of the solvent environment over the film increases, capillary condensation occurs in progressively larger pores. This results in an appreciable increase in the electron density of the film. By monitoring the changes in the critical angle for total X‐ray reflectance, one can directly calculate the average electron density, and therefore the solvent uptake. By invoking traditional porosimetry absorption/desorption analyses, characteristics such as porosity and the distribution of pore sizes can be extracted. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622531

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

While real‐time and in‐situ process sensors have been effectively applied to fault detection, process control through course correction has been mainly focused on in‐line metrologies to drive run‐to‐run feedback and feedforward control. We have developed in‐situ metrologies based on mass spectrometry, acoustic sensing, and FTIR techniques which enable real‐time thickness metrology and control in CVD processes at a level of about 1&percent; accuracy. These developments open the door to real‐time sensors as the basis for both fault management and course correction, i.e., for real‐time advanced process control. We have also employed in‐situ metrology to develop robust control schemes for CVD precursor delivery from solid sources, and we are exploring a new spatially programmable reactor design paradigm for which real‐time, in‐situ sensing, metrology, and control of across‐wafer uniformity is fundamental. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622532

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

A new method and apparatus are described for on‐line mass spectrometry that enables real‐time, automated, trace contamination and chemical species analyses focused on semiconductor manufacturing application. The scaleable ion source produces not only elemental ions for ppt quantitative analysis, but also enables quantitative and qualitative elemental, species, ligand, and organic molecular analyses. The system uses a unique calibration methodology permitting automated, continuous, unattended operation for up to a week without intervention. A sample handling system has been developed to automate small sample extraction (2 mL) from wet stations and its transport for up to 30 meters to the instrument using laminar flow techniques. Sample preparation includes the incorporation of stable enriched isotope reference solutions with feedback control for automated optimization of sample and reference mixtures. Instrument data is converted into actionable instructions for manual intervention or for integrated metrology and advanced process control (APC) implementation. Identification of species present in process solutions as a function of time provides new information about processes and mechanisms, offering unique characterization and defect prediction. These new capabilities are expected to enable rapid yield learning, contamination and chemical constituent quantification, and significantly improved process control. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622533

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

An initial study of on‐line remote system for monitoring of trace metals using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer equipped with dynamic reaction cell system is described. The three types of cleaning solutions (HF, SC‐1 and SC‐2) used in the traditional RCA clean procedure are analyzed periodically with one set of simple calibration curves to simulate the on‐line monitoring. A remote sampling system for on‐line monitoring with the combination of the ICP‐MS is also demonstrated. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622534

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The semiconductor industry currently faces technical challenges in transistor design as traditional materials used for decades are being driven to their physical limits. High‐k materials (k>7 for Si3N4) are being developed as gate oxides for sub 100 nm MOSFETs to prevent electron tunneling between source and drain. Organometallic precursors under consideration could produce hazardous byproducts. Low‐k materials (k<3.9 for SiO2) are being developed as insulators or barriers in the dielectric stack to reduce RC time delays and cross talk between adjacent conductors. Precursors containing carbon or fluorine may increase the emission of CF4during chamber cleans. Heavily doped polysilicon or metals currently in use as gate electrodes may be replaced with metals or metal oxides having greater corrosion resistance or other advantageous properties. All of these new materials must be characterized from the standoint of process byproduct emissions and abatement performance. Gas‐phase analysis is critical to the safe and timely incorporation of these novel materials. Several new applications of Fourier transform infra‐red spectroscopy (FTIR) are presented, including techniques being applied to address some of the current challenges facing the semiconductor industry. This report describes the characterization of various chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. Applications of gas‐phase analytical methods to process optimization are also described. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622535

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The CD‐SEM, which has been the major tool for critical dimension metrology for the last twenty years, now faces severe challenges to its utility and predominance. The problems that must be solved are outlined, and the possible scenarios for progress are described. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622536

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

We review recent advances in aberration‐corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy that allow sub‐A˚ngstrom beams to be used for imaging and spectroscopy, with enormous improvement in sensitivity for single atom detection and the investigation of interfacial electronic structure. Comparison is made between the electronic and structural width of gate oxides, with interpretation through first‐principles theory. Future developments are discussed. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622537

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

X‐ray analytical methods with high angular resolution are becoming increasingly important for the characterization of materials used in ULSI fabrication. Vendors now market state‐of‐the‐art X‐ray tools for the routine analysis of parameters such as layer thickness, chemical composition, strain relaxation, and interfacial roughness. The recent integration of X‐ray diffraction and reflectivity systems into fab‐compatible process metrology tools suggests that the importance of these techniques will only increase with time. Here we discuss some basic principles of high resolution X‐ray methods (notably double‐ and triple‐axis X‐ray diffractometry and high resolution X‐ray reflectometry) and will describe the capabilities and limitations of these tools for ULSI materials. Reference will be made to “real‐life” problems involving bulk and thin‐film structures (ranging from amorphous dielectrics and polycrystalline metals to highly perfect epitaxial single crystal materials) to show both the utility and the shortcomings of high resolution X‐ray methods. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622538

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

We have developed a thin‐film metrology tool that fulfills the metrology requirements for the production of 65nm node technology and beyond. This tool combines X‐ray Reflectivity (XRR) and X‐ray Fluorescence (XRF) measurements to provide accurate, high throughput, measurements. Improvements in both the XRR and XRF configurations were made to allow high throughput measurements on films as thin as 0.5 nm. The source intensity for the XRR measurements was increased using focusing X‐ray optics. Wafer alignment, which is critical for XRR measurements to be accurate, is done using both X‐rays and lasers to reduce the time required. A monochromatic X‐ray source is used for XRF measurements since peak‐to‐background ratio is extremely important when detecting the XRF signal from ultra‐thin films. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622539

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

To reduce theRCinterconnect delays and cross‐talk noise associated with the sub‐130 nm technology nodes, copper interconnects must be combined with low‐kinterlayer dielectrics (ILDs) having dielectric constantsk⩽ 2. In order to obtain sufficiently low dielectric constants, pores are introduced into ILD materials thereby lowering the average density of the ILD. Information concerning porous, low‐kthin‐films can be obtained non‐destructively using grazing‐incidence X‐ray reflectivity (XRR) methods. Specular XRR provides information on the thickness, roughness and porosity, whilst diffuse (non‐specular) XRR yields valuable information about the average pore‐size, ⟨D⟩, and the pore‐size distribution. In this work, we present XRR data from a spin‐on, porous low‐kdielectric material (MesoELK) deposited on a Si substrate. The XRR data were analyzed by fitting to simulated intensity curves using a genetic algorithm (GA). The diffuse XRR intensity curve was calculated using the distorted‐wave Born approximation (DWBA) and two common models were used to describe the microstructure of porous materials,i.e.the polydispered sphere model and the random two‐phase model. The resulting pore‐size distribution corresponds well with that obtained from complementary methods. The assumptions and limitations of the XRR method for the non‐destructive characterization of porous thin‐films are discussed. © 2003 American Institute of Physics

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.1622540

出版商:AIP    

年代:1903

数据来源: AIP