Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy offers inline solutions for chemical bonding, epi thickness, and trench depth measurements. Through optical modeling of the transmission or reflectance spectra, information about the electronic structure and chemical composition may be obtained, which can be used for process control and monitoring. In this article, we demonstrate the measurement capabilities of FTIR for the hydrogen bonding in cell silicon nitride and amorphous carbon hard masks (ACHM), which are used for 3D NAND fabrication. For cell silicon nitride, deconvolution of the spectra allows differentiation between individual peaks corresponding to Si-N, Si-H, N-H, Si-O, and Si-OH bonds. This differentiation identifies wafers with varying hydrogen content and distinct processes. Similarly, for ACHM, peak areas related to sp2 C-H bonds and aromatic C=C bending reveals the hydrogen skew conditions in three wafers. Notably, a linear relationship between high broadband absorption and low C-H bonds (and aromatic C=C) peak area is observed. The measurements exhibit good repeatability across ultrathin silicon nitride and thick ACHM samples. We believe the technique can be valuable for compositional process control, considering the significance of hydrogen content in cell nitride performance and endurance, as well as the influence of hydrogen content and carbon sp2/sp3 ratio on selective etch ratios in dry etch processes involving ACHM and mechanical properties of the films.
The W-Recess step for 3D NAND replacement gate process currently has no in-line process control solution. W replacement renders the structure opaque in the ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared (UV/VIS/NIR) region beyond just a few tier layers in the most advanced 3D NAND devices. Additionally, increased word line (WL) slit pitch scaling further reduces the already minimal optical signal from the top of the structure. Through finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and optical critical dimension (OCD) simulations, we show that a specially designed, design rule-compliant (that is, possessing a slit pitch matching the device) ellipsometry target permits mid-IR light to completely penetrate through oxide metal (OM) pairs, enabling measurement of the W-Recess Z-profile. Furthermore, recent experimental data measured on the designed target in >200 pair 3D NAND node prove that mid-IR light has sensitivity to the slit bottom. An OCD model was developed and showed good design of experiment (DOE) discrimination capability and reference correlation.
The adoption of tier stacking (dual deck) leads to increasingly high aspect ratios and poses challenges in controlling overlay, tilt, and misalignment in the manufacturing processes for next generation 3D NAND devices. In this work we address metrology challenges such as tilt and overlay separation, measurement robustness influenced by process variation, and nonlinearity of spectral response to asymmetries. We show that Mueller measurement can separate overlay and tilt signals through distinct spectral response analyzed by a machine learning method with reference data. To reduce asymmetry measurement errors caused by process variation such as critical dimension (CD) and thickness changes, we propose and demonstrate improvement of tilt measurements on blind test wafers by feeding forward CD measurement results to the analysis of tilt signal. We also investigate nonlinear regression and show its capability to extend overlay measurement limit from linear response range, ±0.25pitch, to ±0.43pitch. In addition, for small structural asymmetries introduced by channel hole tilt, test RMSE is reduced by 20–40% from nonlinear regression alone or combined with CD feed-forward. We demonstrate that spectroscopic Mueller matrix measurements, paired with advanced machine learning analysis, provide nondestructive and accurate measurement of tilt, overlay, and misalignment for 3D NAND devices with high throughput and fast recipe creation.
A unique challenge has emerged in the Channel Hole process module of advanced 3D NAND manufacturing: control of the lateral silicon nitride recess post Channel Hole etch. A novel mid-infrared critical dimension (IRCD) metrology has been developed on a platform suitable for fab production. Compared traditional optical critical dimension (OCD) technology based on ultraviolet, visible, and near-IR light, the IRCD system exploits unique optical properties of common semiconductor fab materials in the mid-IR to enable accurate measurements of high-aspect-ratio (HAR) etches with high Z dimensional fidelity. Utilizing the mid-IR wavelength range, a robust and unique measurement methodology is demonstrated to measure the lateral silicon nitride recess that occurs post channel hole etch due to etch bias between silicon dioxide and silicon nitride. IRCD metrology is proven to have higher unique sensitivity for lateral silicon nitride recess than other inline non-destructive metrology techniques.
A novel mid-infrared critical dimension (IRCD) metrology has been developed on a platform suitable for fab production. Compared to traditional optical critical dimension (OCD) technology based on ultraviolet, visible, and near-IR light, the IRCD system exploits unique optical properties of common semiconductor fab materials in the mid-infrared to enable accurate measurements of high-aspect-ratio etched features. In this paper, we will show two examples of critical dry etch steps in 3D NAND channel formation module of an advanced node that require nondestructive process control: (1) channel hole active area etch and (2) amorphous carbon hardmask etch. In the first example, we take advantage of the absorption bands of silicon dioxide and silicon nitride to get accurate CD measurements at different depths, resulting in high-fidelity z-profile metrology of the channel – key to guiding process development and accelerated learning for 3D NAND device manufacturing. In the second example, the most common amorphous carbon hardmask materials for advanced 3D NAND nodes are opaque in the traditional OCD wavelength range; however, in the mid-infrared, there is light penetration and hence spectral sensitivity to dimensional parameters including sub-surface features. We show successful detection of intentional process skews and as well accurate bottom CD measurements of the hardmask.
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