Calibration Of Optical Systems For Linewidth Measurements On Wafers

Abstract

In contrast to earlier work with nearly opaque photomasks, optical linewidth measurements on wafers encompass materials with a much wider variation in optical parameters and material profiles. Accurate optical edge detection requires corrections for both the relative reflectance and phase at the line edge because of the partial coherence present in optical microscopes. However, measurement systems which cannot provide the appropriate corrections and cannot detect edge location accurately can be calibrated. Since the correction curve is material dependent, calibrated standards are theoretically required for each step in the wafer fabrication process where linewidths are measured. In the proposed approach for thin layers (less than 200 nm), a small number of etched silicon-dioxide-on-silicon wafers can be used for calibration of a large class of wafer materials. Examples of wafer calibration data for filar, image-splitting, and image-scanning systems are given. The prob-lems associated with accurate linewidth measurement and calibration for thick layers are also discussed.