Carbon nanotube AFM probes for microlithography process control

Hao-Chih Liu; David Fong; Gregory A. Dahlen; Marc Osborn; Sean Hand; Jason R. Osborne

doi:10.1117/12.656807

24 March 2006 Carbon nanotube AFM probes for microlithography process control

Hao-Chih Liu, David Fong, Gregory A. Dahlen, Marc Osborn, Sean Hand, Jason R. Osborne

Proceedings Volume 6152, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XX; 61522Y (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.656807
Event: SPIE 31st International Symposium on Advanced Lithography, 2006, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNT) as probes for atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been studied worldwide for more than a decade; however, the industries have not widely accepted CNT probes in their day-to-day operation. In this work, we present a series of studies on the metrology performance of CNT probes in semiconductor industry. A total of 54 CNT probes were studied for tip geometry, and 11 probes were tested on production wafers from a variety of IC manufacturers. Five out of the 11 probes were further evaluated for tip lifetime in semiconductor manufacturing environments. Statistical measurement data and tip shape characterization results provide insights on the applications of CNT probes in microlithography process control. The recent advancements in AFM scan algorithms that enable the control and use of CNT probes were also discussed in this paper. Sidewall measurement data using tilted CNT probes, and the AFM image of a CNT probe showing a comparable resolution to that of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were presented for the first time. The combination of advanced AFM system and CNT probes has proven to perform challenging metrology in 65 nm node and beyond.

Citation Download Citation

Hao-Chih Liu, David Fong, Gregory A. Dahlen, Marc Osborn, Sean Hand, and Jason R. Osborne "Carbon nanotube AFM probes for microlithography process control", Proc. SPIE 6152, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XX, 61522Y (24 March 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.656807

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