Experimental evaluation of the impact of carbon nanotube EUV pellicles on reticle imaging

Iacopo Mochi; Marina Y. Timmermans; Emily E. Gallagher; Marina Mariano; Ivan Pollentier; Rajeev Rajendran; Patrick Helfenstein; Sara Fernandez; Dimitrios Kazazis; Yasin Ekinci

doi:10.1117/1.JMM.18.1.014002

13 March 2019 Experimental evaluation of the impact of carbon nanotube EUV pellicles on reticle imaging

Iacopo Mochi, Marina Y. Timmermans, Emily E. Gallagher, Marina Mariano, Ivan Pollentier, Rajeev Rajendran, Patrick Helfenstein, Sara Fernandez, Dimitrios Kazazis, Yasin Ekinci

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 18, Issue 1, 014002 (March 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.18.1.014002

Abstract

Background: The purpose of EUV pellicles is to protect the surface of EUV lithography masks from particle contamination. It is important to ensure that the optical characteristics of the pellicle membrane do not critically affect the reticle image quality. Aim: We want to verify the possibility to integrate pellicle inspection and characterization capabilities in reflective-mode EUV mask scanning microscope (RESCAN), our actinic mask inspection platform based on coherent diffraction imaging. Approach: We studied the impact of a few selected EUV pellicle prototypes on the quality and the contrast of the reticle image obtained with RESCAN. Results: We measured the scattering distribution of the pellicles, and we correlated it with the mask image contrast and fidelity. We also detected the presence of a 6.5-μm-diameter fiber on the pellicle surface. Conclusions: We demonstrated that RESCAN is suitable for through-pellicle actinic mask inspection and can be also used to characterize and monitor the pellicle quality.

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Iacopo Mochi, Marina Y. Timmermans, Emily E. Gallagher, Marina Mariano, Ivan Pollentier, Rajeev Rajendran, Patrick Helfenstein, Sara Fernandez, Dimitrios Kazazis, and Yasin Ekinci "Experimental evaluation of the impact of carbon nanotube EUV pellicles on reticle imaging," Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 18(1), 014002 (13 March 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMM.18.1.014002

Received: 5 December 2018; Accepted: 26 February 2019; Published: 13 March 2019

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