Directed self-assembly (DSA) lithography poses challenges in line edge roughness (LER)/line width roughness metrology due to its self-organized and pitch-based nature. To cope with these challenges, a characterization approach with metrics and/or updates of the older ones is required. To this end, we focus on two specific challenges of DSA line patterns: (a) the large correlations between the left and right edges of a line (line wiggling) and (b) the cross-line correlations, i.e., the resemblance of wiggling fluctuations of nearby lines. The first is quantified by the line center roughness whose low-frequency part is related to the local placement errors of device structures. For the second, we introduce the c-factor correlation function, which quantifies the strength of the correlations between lines versus their horizontal distance in pitches. The proposed characterization approach is first illustrated and explained in synthesized scanning electron microscope images with full control of their dimensional and roughness parameters; it is then applied to the analysis of line/space patterns obtained with the Liu–Nealey flow (post-Polymethyl methacrylate removal and pattern transfer), revealing the effects of pattern transfer on roughness and uniformity. Finally, we calculate the c-factor function of various next-generation lithography techniques and show their distinct footprint on the extent of cross-line correlations.

We present an overview of our research on the relation between line edge roughness (LER) and optical critical dimension metrology (OCD). Referring to a known fact that LER does have an impact on OCD, we discuss a novel approach that allows for its better understanding. Namely, we show that, in the presence of LER, one can observe a characteristic scatterometry-measured CD offset, which we call effective–CD. The fact that the effective–CD is characteristic renders it to be a good means of accessing the information about LER present on the CD. To assure the completeness of this overview, we begin by reviewing some previously published results, which have drawn our attention and first led us to observing the characteristic influence of LER on a CD measurement. Next, we extend our model-based simulations to confirm the presence of the effective–CD for complex-roughness models, and finally, we demonstrate an experimental verification of our effective–CD hypothesis. We are convinced that our approach will help to better understand the impact of LER on a CD measurement and will be considered a useful contribution to the development of measurement methods for challenging scenarios, in which realistic CD is affected by the presence of LER.

Since 2004, standards for calibration of critical dimension atomic force microscope (CD-AFM) tip width have been available both commercially and through the National Metrology Institutes, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the United States. There have been interlaboratory and intermethod comparisons performed on such samples, but less attention has been paid to the long-term stability of standards and monitoring for damage, wear, or contamination. Using three different CD-AFM instruments, we have tested the consistency and long-term stability of two independent reference calibrations for CD-AFM tip width. Both of these tip width calibrations were based on independently implemented transmission electron microscope reference measurements. There were circumstances in which damage occurred or samples needed to be cleaned. Nevertheless, our results show agreement within the uncertainties and stability over a period exceeding 10 years.

Voltage contrast (VC) images obtained using an energy filter (EF) were used to measure the bottom surface of high-aspect-ratio structures. The VC images obtained using the conventional EF were sensitive to variations in wafer potential. Since CD-SEM metrology requires precise EF voltage control when using VC images, we developed an EF voltage correction method to be used at each measurement point. Consequently, bottom-edge measurement, independent of the wafer potential fluctuations, was achieved using the newly developed EF. Our developed technique is effective for CD-SEM metrology using VC images.

There are presently two major forms of atomic force microscopy (AFM) which are used for critical dimension (CD) metrology in semiconductor and nano-manufacturing metrology. One type, commonly referred to as CD-AFM, uses flared tips and two-dimensional surface sensing to enable scanning of features with near-vertical sidewalls. A major source of uncertainty in this type of CD-AFM metrology is the calibration uncertainty of the tip width (TW). Standards for traceable TW calibration have thus been developed both by national metrology institutes and by commercial suppliers. This paper describes work on a potential alternative approach using a self-consistency calibration of three CD-AFM tips. Due to the requirement for tip-on-tip imaging and challenges associated with this, the application of such methods in AFM metrology has been relatively limited. Initial results that are in agreement with the prior National Institute of Standards and Technology width calibration were obtained, and comparable levels of uncertainty should be achievable. Although the self-consistent approach is unlikely to supplant transmission electron microscope cross sections and the use of well-characterized standards, it may have value as a supporting method or for validation of a prior result, and it may ultimately be as useful for evaluation of tip shape parameters—such as vertical edge height—as for TW calibration.

This study investigates the manufacturing process of thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) and analyzes its thermal and physical mechanisms. Moreover, experimental observations and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are both used to investigate the formation and deposition rate of a film for precisely controlling the thickness and structure of the deposited material. First, the design of the TALD system model is analyzed, and then CFD is used to simulate the optimal parameters, such as gas flow and the thermal, pressure, and concentration fields, in the manufacturing process to assist the fabrication of oxide–semiconductors and devices based on them, and to improve their characteristics. In addition, the experiment applies ALD to grow films on Ge and GaAs substrates with three-dimensional (3-D) transistors having high electric performance. The electrical analysis of dielectric properties, leakage current density, and trapped charges for the transistors is conducted by high- and low-frequency measurement instruments to determine the optimal conditions for 3-D device fabrication. It is anticipated that the competitive strength of such devices in the semiconductor industry will be enhanced by the reduction of cost and improvement of device performance through these optimizations.

This paper presents the design and fabrication of a silicon island supported resonating beam-based micropressure sensor with piezoelectric excitation and detection. The sensor consists of a silicon frame with silicon islands supporting a silicon nitride (SIN) resonating beam placed diagonally on the island in a square diaphragm made of silicon. Aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films deposited at the extreme ends of the SIN beam is used for resonant actuation and sensing. Customized process steps are followed with seven masks to fabricate the sensor, which is first of its kind in the fabrication of microresonant pressure sensors with AlN as piezoelectric material for sensing and actuating the resonating beam. Basic mechanical and electrical characterization is carried out on the unit devices individually to identify the resonance characteristics of the sensor. The results obtained from numerical simulations and experimentation are in close agreement and in the same dimensional range. Closed loop electronics are also designed and tested to vibrate the resonating beam of the unit device at its resonant frequency under no pressure load conditions, which is found to be close to the measured resonance frequency from the mechanical characterization.

The application of a film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) as a gas sensor is presented here. Zinc Oxide is used as a piezoelectric (PZE) material for the resonator and a Bragg reflector is made of Molybdenum and Silicon dioxide in proposed Solidly Mounted FBAR. The structure offers a high quality factor of 1209 at the resonance and shows a coupling coefficient of 7.51% for the 0.7-μm-thick PZE layer. To make it capable of working as a gas sensor, an additional sensitive layer for adsorption is used. A 0.51-μm-thin film of polymer-sensitive layer (polyisobutylene, PIB) is used on the top electrode. The adsorption of CH2Cl2 (dichloromethane, DCM) prompts the change in density of the PIB layer, which causes the change in resonance frequency of the FBAR. The simulation results have shown the sensitivity of 450  Hz/ppm for gas sensing for the above-mentioned structure. The sensitivity of the sensor depends on the characteristic frequencies of the device, which are further the function of the thickness of the resonating structure. No involvement of a harsh etching process in fabrication, in addition to immense sensitivity and quality factor, makes this sensor relevant for DCM sensing.

When using a femtosecond laser to machine a single-crystal silicon wafer, it is accompanied with a diffraction spot of plasma. The existing literature reports that the brightness of the image of plasma can be used as an indicator to online measure the depth of the machined groove on a micrometer scale. Because the plasma spot is influenced by eruption and partial occlusion of ablated material, this method, which simply relies on the spot image brightness as a feedback parameter, is not reliable or accurate. The pixel area, perimeter, and brightness characteristics of the plasma spot image need to be comprehensively analyzed to provide a reliable and accurate feedback to establish close-loop micromachining technology. Therefore, we first analyze the chirped amplification principle of generating a femtosecond laser and the application of the diffraction spot of plasma during the micromachining processing using the femtosecond laser. Second, we experiment using femtosecond laser ablation with a piece of 10×10  mm and thickness of 650±10  μm single-crystal silicon wafer to obtain the corresponding relational data among parameters of laser processing power, processing speed, and laser spot image of plasma. Third, aiming at the characteristic of dim target of the laser spot image, the two-dimensional Otsu (maximum class square error method) is used to segment the laser spot image to improve the segmentation accuracy of the laser spot image. Finally, we analyze the relationship among area, perimeter of the laser spot image, and laser energy; the relationship among area, perimeter of the laser spot image, and the machined depth of groove; the relationship between brightness of the laser spot image and laser output power; and the relationship between brightness of laser spot image and machining speed.

Microshutter array (MSA) subsystems were developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as multiobject selectors for the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The subsystem will enable NIRSpec to simultaneously obtain spectra from >100 targets, which, in turn, increases instrument efficiency 100-fold. This system represents one of the three major innovations on the JWST that is scheduled to be launched in 2018 as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Featuring torsion hinges, light shields, magnetic actuation, and electrostatic latching and addressing, microshutters are designed for the selective transmission of light with high efficiency and contrast. Complete MSA assemblies consisting of 365×171 microshutters were successfully fabricated and tested, and passed a series of critical reviews for programmable 2-D addressing, life tests, and optical contrast tests. At the final stage of the JWST MSA fabrication, we began to develop the next generation microshutter arrays (NGMSA) for future telescopes. These telescopes will require a much larger field of view than JWSTs. We discussed strategies for fabrication of a proof-of-concept NGMSA that will be modular in design and electrostatically actuated. The details of NGMSA development will be discussed in a follow-up paper.

The ability of the photoelastic effect in optical waveguides fabricated by Ti diffusion in a diaphragm of LiNbO3 for using as a pressure sensor has been investigated. We have studied the polarization rotation and phase difference between TE and TM polarizations for the light transmitted from the waveguide that are induced by the external pressure. We have also studied the effect of position of the waveguides in the diaphragm on the pressure sensor’s sensitivity. The polishing technique has been used to reduce the thickness of the diaphragm to 0.2 mm in order to increase the sensor’s sensitivity to about Pπ=170  kPa, which is equivalent to the pressure required for inducing phase difference of π rad between the TE and TM polarizations.

We present an optical-based, rapid method for the in situ porosity measurement of membranes through the electrospinning process. The method was developed by combining an optical method with in situ monitoring of the porosity of the electrospun membranes based on the measured reflected power density. The results showed that the area of bright and dark ratio is consistently proportional to the porosity of the electrospun membranes, which can potentially be used for actual characterization of the membranes. In addition, the effect of different incident angles of a laser beam was performed and compared. The porosity ratio of the electrospun membranes can be empirically evaluated as the determination coefficient R2=0.9945 to 0.9876 can be obtained. The proposed method is successfully demonstrated and validated by the SEM images of the binary method. The potential applications include the in situ monitoring of the electrospinning process for the bioassembly and biomimicking of a human tissue with a great accuracy.