Development of a 3D-AFM for true 3D measurements of nanostructures

Abstract

The development of advanced lithography requires highly accurate 3D metrology methods for small line structures of both wafers and photomasks. Development of a new 3D atomic force microscopy (3D-AFM) with vertical and torsional oscillation modes is introduced in this paper. In its configuration, the AFM probe is oscillated using two piezo actuators driven at vertical and torsional resonance frequencies of the cantilever. In such a way, the AFM tip can probe the surface with a vertical and a lateral oscillation, offering high 3D probing sensitivity. In addition, a so-called vector approach probing (VAP) method has been applied. The sample is measured point-by-point using this method. At each probing point, the tip is approached towards the surface until the desired tip–sample interaction is detected and then immediately withdrawn from the surface. Compared to conventional AFMs, where the tip is kept continuously in interaction with the surface, the tip–sample interaction time using the VAP method is greatly reduced and consequently the tip wear is reduced. Preliminary experimental results show promising performance of the developed system. A measurement of a line structure of 800 nm height employing a super sharp AFM tip could be performed with a repeatability of its 3D profiles of better than 1 nm (p–v). A line structure of a Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt photomask with a nominal width of 300 nm has been measured using a flared tip AFM probe. The repeatability of the middle CD values reaches 0.28 nm (1σ). A long-term stability investigation shows that the 3D-AFM has a high stability of better than 1 nm within 197 measurements taken over 30 h, which also confirms the very low tip wear.