FUNDAMENTAL VERIFICATION FOR 2-DIMENSIONAL SUPER-RESOLUTION OPTICAL INSPECTION FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEFECTS BY USING STANDING WAVE ILLUMINATION SHIFT

Ryota Kudo, Shin Usuki, Satoru Takahashi, Kiyoshi Takamasu
Abstract:
Semiconductor design rules and process windows continue to shrink, and developing new processes to accommodate parameters such as less-than-50nm design rules and a 300mm wafer becomes increasingly challenging. Next-generation defect inspection is urgently demanded. Optics and electron beams have been the main technologies for detection of the critical defects, but both have their disadvantages. Optical inspection is generally not sensitive enough for defects at 100nm geometries and below, while SEM inspection has low throughput because it takes a long time to scan 300 mm. In order to find a solution to these problems, we propose a novel optical inspection method for critical defects on semiconductor wafers. Until now, 1-dimensional resolution beyond the Rayleigh limit has been theoretically studied and experimentally bought to realization by a method called super resolution. To apply the proposed method to a sample with 2-dimensional structure, we have altered the proposed method making a standing wave shift in 2 directions, and carrying out super-resolution in each shifting direction. We carried out a fundamental verification of this method by computer simulation and experiment. As a result, we discovered the possibility of resolving a 2-dimensional structure which can't be resolved by the normal imaging system.
Keywords:
standing wave illumination, image reconstruction, super-resolution
Download:
IMEKO-WC-2009-TC2-354.pdf
DOI:
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Event details
Event name:
XIX IMEKO World Congress
Title:

Fundamental and Applied Metrology

Place:
Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Time:
06 September 2009 - 11 September 2009