International Business Machines Corporation

Globalfoundries Inc.

Other

Globalfoundries U.S. Inc.

Jed Hickory Rankin

Edward J Nowak

Brent A Anderson

Robert J Gauthier, Jr

William R Tonti

John J Ellis-Monaghan

Wagdi William Abadeer

Kirk David Peterson

Jeffrey P Gambino

Robert Russell Robison

Kiran V Chatty

James William Adkisson

Andres Bryant

Randy William Mann

Jeffrey Scott Brown

Yun Shi

Jerome Brett Lasky

David Michael Fried

Andrew J Watts

Arne Watson Ballantine

Mark David Jaffe

Paul David Agnello

Erin C Jones

Anthony K Stamper

Timothy Harrison Daubenspeck

William Thomas Motsiff

Rama Divakaruni

William A Klaasen

Chung H Lam

Timothy Dooling Sullivan

William F Clark, Jr

James A Culp

Fariborz Assaderaghi

Francis Roger White

John Anthony Bracchitta

Joseph M Lukaitis

Peter Edwin Cottrell

Kangguo Cheng

David V Horak

Robert K Leidy

John Joseph Pekarik

Meikei Ieong

K Paul Muller

Minh H Tong

Allen H Gabor

Rosemary A Previti-Kelly

James Allan Bruce

Jonathan Daniel Chapple-Sokol

Eric Adler

Michael James Lercel

Kurt R Kimmel

Paul William Pastel

Ali Khakifirooz

Effendi Leobandung

Toshiharu Furukawa

Charles W Koburger, Iii

Qizhi Liu

Alain F Loiseau

John Maxwell Cohn

Richard Quimby Williams

Jason D Hibbeler

James Spiros Nakos

William Joseph Murphy

Renata A Camillo-Castillo

Thomas George Ference

Richard A Phelps

Edward W Conrad

Ephrem G Gebreselasie

Shahid Ahmad Butt

Thomas J Dunbar

Daniel Scott Vanslette

Dale Warner Martin

Daniel C Cole

Michael J Hauser

Erik Mattias Dahlstrom

Ramachandra Divakaruni

Dana Lee

Jeffrey Bowman Johnson

John Edward Barth, Jr

Alan Edward Rosenbluth

Wilbur David Pricer

Bomy A Chen

Hyun K Lee

Christopher Stephen Putnam

Christopher P Ausschnitt

Timothy A Brunner

Mark B Ketchen

Guoxiang Ning

Max Gerald Levy

Lei Sun

Paul Willard Ackmann

Rebecca D Mih

Orest Bula

Alok Vaid

Leah M P Pastel

Ezra D B Hall

Emily Gallagher

Max L Lifson

Hung Y Ng

Shawn A Adderly

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus including mask pattern formed on a mask substrate. A plurality of spatial radiation modulators may be vertically displaced from the mask pattern, and distributed across a two-dimensional area. Each of the plurality of spatial radiation modulators may be adjustable between a first transparent state and a second transparent state to control whether radiation transmitted through the mask pattern passes through each of the plurality of spatial radiation modulators.

Apparatus and related method to control radiation transmission through mask pattern

A reticle inspection system and related method are disclosed. The system includes a concave spherical mirror positioned adjacent a side of the reticle that is configured to reflect inspection light transmitted through the reticle back towards and through the reticle. A sensor is configured to create at least one of: a first inspection image representative of a circuit pattern of the reticle based on transmission of the inspection light through the first side of the reticle and a reflection thereof by the concave spherical mirror through the second side of the reticle, and a second inspection image representative of the circuit pattern of the reticle based on the reflection of the inspection light from the first side of the reticle. A controller is configured to identify a defect in the reticle based on at least one of the first inspection image and the second inspection image.

Double pass diluted ultraviolet reticle inspection

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask including an absorber structure is disclosed. The absorber structure may include at least one slanted and/or concave sidewall. The absorber structure may include a sidewall including a step. A method of forming an absorber for an EUV mask is disclosed. The method may include etching an absorber layer using a mask to form an absorber structure having a sidewall wherein an outer edge of the top surface of the sidewall is closer to a central vertical axis of the absorber structure than an outer edge of the bottom surface of the sidewall. The method may include performing additional etching steps to form a step along the sidewall of the absorber structure. The etching may include combinations of anisotropic etching in different directions, and/or isotropic etching. The method may include etching an absorber layer including multiple absorber layers having different material properties on the ML reflector.

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask absorber and method for forming the same

Methods and structures for shielding optical waveguides are provided. A method includes forming a first optical waveguide core and forming a second optical waveguide core adjacent to the first optical waveguide core. The method also includes forming an insulator layer over the first optical waveguide core and the second optical waveguide core. The method further includes forming a shielding structure in the insulator layer between the first optical waveguide core and the second optical waveguide core.

Shielding structures between optical waveguides

Embodiments of a method include: converting at least one image of a printed mask to a plurality of representative contours, each corresponding to mask patterns in the printed mask; determining whether the printed mask includes a printing defect based on whether the plurality of representative contours violates a set of contour tolerances for the printed mask; in response to at least one of plurality of representative contours violating at least one of the set of contour tolerances: identifying a location where a representative contour violates the at least one of the set of contour tolerances, and generating an instruction to adjust a layout for the printed mask, based on the violating of the at least one of the set of contour tolerances; and in response to none of the plurality of representative contours violating the set of contour tolerances, flagging a layout for the printed mask as compliant.

System and method for analyzing printed masks for lithography based on representative contours

The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to mask structures and methods of manufacture. The method includes determining a plane through a frontside surface and a backside surface of a mask, each plane representing a flatness of the frontside surface and the backside surface, respectively; subtracting, using at least one computing device, a difference between the plane of the frontside surface and the plane of the backside surface to find a thickness variation; generating, using the at least one computing device, a fitting to fit the thickness variation; and subtracting, using the at least one computing device, the fitting from the thickness variation to generate a residual structure for collecting a residual flatness measurement.

Method for calculating non-correctable EUV blank flatness for blank dispositioning

Extreme ultraviolet mirrors and masks used in lithography and methods for manufacturing an extreme ultraviolet mirror or mask. Initial data is obtained that includes materials and optical properties for a first intermixed layer, a second intermixed layer, a first pure layer, and a second pure layer in each of a plurality of periods of a multi-layer stack for an optical element. For multiple thicknesses for the first pure layer and multiple thicknesses for the second pure layer, a reflectivity of the multi-layer stack is determined based on the initial data, a thickness received for the first intermixed layer, and a thickness received for the second intermixed layer. One of the thicknesses for the first pure layer and one of the thicknesses for the second pure layer are selected that maximize the reflectivity of the multi-layer stack.

Extreme ultraviolet mirrors and masks with improved reflectivity

A method includes forming a hardmask over one or more gate structures. The method further includes forming a photoresist over the hardmask. The method further includes forming an opening in the photoresist over at least one of the gate structures. The method further includes stripping the hardmask that is exposed in the opening and which is over the at least one of the gate structures. The method further includes removing the photoresist. The method further includes providing a halo implant on a side of the least one of the at least one of the gate structures.

Semiconductor devices with asymmetric halo implantation and method of manufacture

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to modified surfaces of extreme ultraviolet lithography photomasks and methods of manufacture. The structure includes a reflective surface having a patterned design, and a black border region at edges of the patterned design. The black border region includes a modified surface morphology to direct light away from reaching a subsequent mirror.

Extreme ultraviolet lithography photomasks

A method and system for: forming a first rectangular shape with photomask writing equipment, using a first sub-threshold dosage on a photoresist layer of a photomask substrate; forming an overlapping second rectangular shape with the photomask writing equipment using a second sub-threshold dosage on the photoresist layer, the second rectangular shape being rotated relative to the first rectangular shape to form one of: a hexagonal overlap area and an octagonal overlap area, that exposes the photoresist layer to at least a threshold dosage; and forming a photomask, based on developing the exposed photoresist layer, to provide optical transmission corresponding to the one of: the hexagonal overlap area of at least the threshold dosage and the octagonal overlap area of at least the threshold dosage, for use by a photolithography system to write any of a contact, a via, or a curvilinear shape on an integrated circuit substrate.

Dual exposure patterning of a photomask to print a contact, a via or curvilinear shape on an integrated circuit

Disclosed are a repairable photomask structure and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography methods. The structure includes a multilayer stack, a protective layer above the stack and a light absorber layer above the protective layer. The stack includes alternating layers of high and low atomic number materials and a selected one of the high atomic number material layers is different from the others such that it functions as an etch stop layer. This configuration allows the photomask structure to be repaired if/when defects are detected near exposed surfaces of the multilayer stack following light absorber layer patterning. For example, when a defect is detected near an exposed surface of the stack in a specific opening in the light absorber layer, the opening can be selectively extended down to the etch stop layer or all the openings can be extended down to the etch stop layer in order to remove that defect.

Photomask structure with an etch stop layer that enables repairs of detected defects therein and extreme ultraviolet(EUV) photolithograpy methods using the photomask structure

Various particular embodiments include an optical structure, including: a photonic microring including an integral signal detector for detecting a level of an optical signal in the photonic microring; and a controller, coupled to the signal detector, for selectively adjusting a resonant frequency of the photonic microring based on the detected level of the optical signal in the photonic microring.

Waveguide switch with tuned photonic microring

An apparatus and method for leak detection of coolant gas from a chuck. The apparatus includes a chuck having a top surface and configured to clamp a substrate to the top surface, the chuck having one or more recessed regions in the top surface, the recessed regions configured to allow a cooling gas to contact a backside of the substrate; a cooling gas inlet and a cooling gas outlet connected to the one or more recessed regions; a first measurement device connected to the cooling gas inlet and configured to measure a first amount of cooling gas entering the cooling gas inlet and a second measurement device connected to the cooling gas outlet and configured to measure a second amount of cooling gas exiting from the cooling gas outlet; and a controller configured to determine a difference between the first amount of cooling gas and the second amount of cooling gas.

Method and apparatus for detecting foreign material on a chuck

A structure includes at least one shallow trench isolation structure formed in a substrate to isolate adjacent different type devices. The structure further includes a barrier trench structure formed in the substrate to isolate diffusions of adjacent same type devices. The structure further includes a material spanning the barrier trench structure to connect the diffusions of the adjacent same type device, on a same level as the adjacent same type devices.

Barrier trench structure and methods of manufacture

Growing community of inventors

Richmond, VT, United States of America

Jed Hickory Rankin