Advanced metrology for the 14 nm node double patterning lithography

Abstract

In microelectronics the two crucial parameters for the lithography step are the critical dimension, which is the width of the smallest printable pattern, and the misalignment error of the reticle, called overlay. For the 14 nm node, the limit of scanner resolution can be overcome by the double patterning technique, which requires a maximum overlay error between the two reticles of 3 nm ^[1]. The current approach in the measurements of critical dimension and overlay is to treat them separately, but it has become much more complex in the double patterning context, since they are no longer independent. In this paper, a strategy of a common measurement is developed. The aim of the strategy is to measure simultaneously overlay and critical dimension in the metal level double patterning grating before the second etch process. The scatterometry technique is well known for critical dimension measurement. This study demonstrates that the overlay between the two gratings can also be deduced. Thanks to this original scatterometry-based method, it becomes possible to provide information on the lithography step quality before the second etch process; therefore the lithography can be reworked if it is necessary.