Investigation of proximity effects for a rim phase-shifting mask printed with annular illumination

David M. Newmark; Eric Tomacruz; Sheila Vaidya; Andrew R. Neureuther

doi:10.1117/12.175428

17 May 1994 Investigation of proximity effects for a rim phase-shifting mask printed with annular illumination

David M. Newmark, Eric Tomacruz, Sheila Vaidya, Andrew R. Neureuther

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2197, Optical/Laser Microlithography VII; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.175428
Event: SPIE's 1994 Symposium on Microlithography, 1994, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Resolution enhancement techniques have been explored extensively in the last few years in attempts to reliably extend optical lithography to smaller features. Off-axis illumination has shown remarkable success improving the depth of focus for dense lines and spaces. However, the depth of focus for isolated lines is degraded. This paper shows experimental results of 0.22 micrometers lines at varying pitch printed with a rim phase-shifting mask on a GCA DUV stepper with 0.53 NA and annular illumination of 0.6 - 0.7 (sigma) . Although the results demonstrate a depth of focus of greater than 1.0 micrometers , there are severe proximity effects which cause a 60 nm difference between the dimension of dense versus isolated lines. We hypothesize that this proximity effect is caused by three physical phenomena, the aerial image itself, reflections from the silicon substrate, and acid diffusion in the APEX-E (IBM) resist. Simulation results are presented which show that of the 60 nm linewidth difference, 10 nm is due to the image, 10 nm is caused by substrate reflections, and 40 nm is the result of acid diffusion in the resist.

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David M. Newmark, Eric Tomacruz, Sheila Vaidya, and Andrew R. Neureuther "Investigation of proximity effects for a rim phase-shifting mask printed with annular illumination", Proc. SPIE 2197, Optical/Laser Microlithography VII, (17 May 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.175428

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