Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Chia-Ching Huang

Chia-Hao Hsu

Chia-Chen Chen

Chih-Ming Chen

Shang-Chieh Chien

Shinn-Sheng Yu

Chia-Jen Chen

Pei-Cheng Hsu

Tsung-Yu Chen

Ting-Hao Hsu

Ching-Fang Yu

Jui-Ching Wu

Tzu-Hsiang Chen

Kipling Yeh

The present disclosure provides an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography system. The EUV lithography system includes a collector having a coating surface designed to collect and reflect EUV radiation; a gas supply module; and a gas pipeline integrated with the collector and connected to the gas supply module. The gas pipeline includes inward and outward entrances into the collector. The inward and outward entrances are configured and operable to form a gas curtain on the coating surface of the collector.

Collector in an extreme ultraviolet lithography system with optimal air curtain protection

A system and method of compensating for local focus errors in a semiconductor process. The method includes providing a reticle and applying, at a first portion of the reticle, a step height based on an estimated local focus error for a first portion of a wafer corresponding to the first portion of the reticle. A multilayer coating is formed over the reticle and an absorber layer is formed over the multilayer coating. A photoresist is formed over the absorber layer. The photoresist is patterned, an etch is performed of the absorber layer and residual photoresist is removed.

Systems and methods of local focus error compensation for semiconductor processes

The present disclosure relates to a deformable reticle chuck. In some embodiments, an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) deformable reticle chuck has a substrate of insulating material with a plurality of protrusions extending outward from a first side of the substrate. A resistive material is arranged along a second side of the substrate below the plurality of protrusions. The resistive material is configured to expand in response to an applied current or voltage to adjust a shape of a reticle.

Method of overlay in extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography

A reticle for use in an extreme ultraviolet (euv) lithography tool includes a trench formed in the opaque border formed around the image field of the reticle. The trench is coated with an absorber material. The reticle is used in an euv lithography tool in conjunction with a reticle mask and the positioning of the reticle mask and the presence of the trench combine to prevent any divergent beams of radiation from reaching any undesired areas on the substrate being patterned. In this manner, only the exposure field of the substrate is exposed to the euv radiation. Pattern integrity in neighboring fields is maintained.

System, method and reticle for improved pattern quality in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and method for forming the reticle

Provided is an integrated circuit (IC) fabrication method. The method includes receiving a mask, the mask having a plurality of dies and receiving a wafer, the wafer having a resist layer. The method further includes exposing the resist layer using the mask with a fraction radiation dose thereby forming a first plurality of images; re-positioning the mask relative to the wafer; and exposing the resist layer using the mask with another fraction radiation dose. A second plurality of images is formed, wherein a portion of the second plurality of images is superimposed over another portion of the first plurality of images.

Method for integrated circuit fabrication

Some embodiments of the present disclosure related to a method to form and operate the reflective surface to compensate for aberration effects on pattern uniformity. In some embodiments, the reflective surface comprises a mirror of within reduction optics of an EUV illumination tool. In some embodiments, the reflective surface comprises a reflective reticle. An EUV reflective surface topography comprising a reflective surface is disposed on a surface of a substrate, and is manipulated by mechanical force or thermal deformation. The substrate includes a plurality of cavities, where each cavity is coupled to a deformation element configured to expand a volume of the cavity and consequently deform a portion of the reflective surface above each cavity, for local control of the reflective surface through thermal deformation of a resistive material subject to an electric current, or mechanical deformation due to pressurized gas within the cavity or a piezoelectric effect.

Wavefront adjustment in extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method of overlay control which utilizes a deformable electrostatic chuck. The method comprises exposing a substrate to radiation which is reflected off of a reticle. The reticle is mounted to a deformable electrostatic chuck by a plurality of raised contacts, where each raised contact is configured to independently vary in height from a surface of the deformable electrostatic chuck. After exposure of the substrate to radiation which is reflected off of the reticle, a displacement between a first alignment shape formed on a first layer disposed on a surface of the substrate and a second alignment shape formed by the exposure is measured. The height of one or more of the plurality of raised contact is changed based upon the displacement to alter a surface topology of the reticle, which negates some effects of clamping topology. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

The present disclosure provides an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source module. The EUV radiation source module includes a collector designed to collect and reflect EUV light; a solid cover integrated with the collector and configured to have a supply gap between the collector and the solid cover; and a gas pipeline integrated with the collector. The supply gap provides a path for gas flow to the radiation source at edge of the collector. The gas pipeline includes an inward entrance and an outward entrance.

A chuck includes a number of gas openings positioned to provide a gas flow to a backside of a wafer secured to the chuck. The chuck also includes a number of exhaust openings positioned to exhaust the gas at a distance from a topside edge of the wafer such that adverse thermal effects on the edge are reduced to a predetermined level.

Chuck exhaust openings

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a tool configuration and method for EUV patterning with a deformable reflective surface comprising a mirror or reticle. A radiation source provides EUV radiation which is reflected off the deformable reflective surface to transfer a reticle pattern to a semiconductor workpiece. A metrology tool measures a residual vector formed between a first shape of the semiconductor workpiece and a second shape of the reticle pattern. And, a topology of the deformable reflective surface is changed based upon the residual vector to minimize a total magnitude of the residual vector.

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Su-ao Township, Taiwan

Chia-Ching Huang