Kla Tencor Corporation

Tokyo Electron Limited

Kla Corporation

Kla-tencor Technologies Corporation

Other

Tymphany Corporation

John Josef Hench

Andrei Veldman

Thaddeus Gerard Dziura

Antonio Arion Gellineau

Andrei V Shchegrov

Ioannis Kanellakopoulos

Michael S Bakeman

Sunil C Shah

Alexander Kuznetsov

Thorkell Gudmundsson

Gurcan Aral

Daniel C Wack

Edward R Ratner

Sergey Zalubovsky

Yaolong Tan

Yung-Ho Alex Chuang

Stilian Pandev

Bin-Ming Benjamin Tsai

Noah Bareket

Noam Sapiens

Mark Alan Erickson

Xuefeng Liu

Houssam Chouaib

Gregory Brady

Yin Xu

Liequan Lee

Nikolay Artemiev

Harbinder Singh

Aaron J Rosenberg

Joseph A Di Regolo

Jonathan Iloreta

Amir Gholamhossein Zadeh Aghdam

Abhi Gunde

Kaiwen Xu

Junwei Bao

Abdurrahman Sezginer

Ady Levy

Michail Konstantinos Tsatsanis

Alexander Bykanov

Guorong Vera Zhuang

James W Waite

Wen Jin

Jason Ferns

Boxue Chen

Serguei Komarov

Daniel Joseph Hernandez

Bindi M Nagda

Joseph Comparetto

Rebecca Shen

Yaoming Shi

Naga Venkata Lakshmi Sandeep Inampudi

William Mcgahan

Amir Gholamhossein Zadeh Comordia Univ Aghdam

Cecilia Gabriela Galarza

Methods and systems for performing X-ray model based scatterometry measurements of semiconductor structures with reduced computational effort are described herein. More specifically, measured detector image data is transformed to diffraction order efficiency data. The measured diffraction order efficiency data is compared with a parameter-efficiency library including simulated diffraction order efficiency data and associated sets of specimen parameter values. One or more sets of specimen parameter values are selected as seed values for regression on the measured detector image data based on the fit between the measured and simulated diffraction order efficiency data. The seed values are provided as initial values of one or more parameters of interest for the first iteration of the regression. The seed values enable the image based regression to converge to the global minimum with a dramatically reduced number of iterations. Thus, accurate X-ray scatterometry measurements of complex semiconductor structures are realized with less computational effort.

Forward library based seeding for efficient X-ray scatterometry measurements

Methods and systems for measuring physical properties of a specimen by iterative solution of an optimization function including both current and prior measurement information are described herein. In one aspect, a Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) estimation approach is employed to integrate prior measurement information with current measurement information in the optimization function. In some examples, prior measurement information associated with the measurement of a semiconductor structure is available from a number of exogenous sources. In a further aspect, prior measurement information includes current measurements of a semiconductor structure under measurement as part of a multiple pass measurement. Prior statistics are determined based on an initial set of values of parameters of interest. The prior statistics are included in a subsequent MAP analysis of the same measurement data set employed in a first measurement pass. In another aspect, prior statistics are tracked to determine their impact on current measurements.

Methods and systems for measurement of semiconductor structures with multi-pass statistical optimization

Methods and systems for characterizing dimensions and material properties of semiconductor devices by full beam x-ray scatterometry are described herein. A full beam x-ray scatterometry measurement involves illuminating a sample with an X-ray beam and detecting the intensities of the resulting zero diffraction order and higher diffraction orders simultaneously for one or more angles of incidence relative to the sample. The simultaneous measurement of the direct beam and the scattered orders enables high throughput measurements with improved accuracy. The full beam x-ray scatterometry system includes one or more photon counting detectors with high dynamic range and thick, highly absorptive crystal substrates that absorb the direct beam with minimal parasitic backscattering. In other aspects, model based measurements are performed based on the zero diffraction order beam, and measurement performance of the full beam x-ray scatterometry system is estimated and controlled based on properties of the measured zero order beam.

Full beam metrology for x-ray scatterometry systems

Methods and systems for performing overlay and edge placement errors of device structures based on x-ray diffraction measurement data are presented. Overlay error between different layers of a metrology target is estimated based on the intensity variation within each x-ray diffraction order measured at multiple, different angles of incidence and azimuth angles. The estimation of overlay involves a parameterization of the intensity modulations of common orders such that a low frequency shape modulation is described by a set of basis functions and a high frequency overlay modulation is described by an affine-circular function including a parameter indicative of overlay. In addition to overlay, a shape parameter of the metrology target is estimated based on a fitting analysis of a measurement model to the intensities of the measured diffraction orders. In some examples, the estimation of overlay and the estimation of one or more shape parameter values are performed simultaneously.

Computationally efficient x-ray based overlay measurement

A chess variant includes (a) one of an 8 by 8 board, a 8 by 10 board, or a 10 by 10 board; (b) a conventional chess piece set; and (c) a novel non-conventional chess piece set, wherein the pieces of the non-conventional chess piece set perform non-standard movements with rules associated therewith to govern how the pieces move and capture upon the board. Additionally, the set of rules governing how the rules of movement for the piece can undergo a change when a non-conventional chess piece reaches the furthest rank, akin to the process of promotion in standard chess.

Chess variant including additional player piece and method of play

A semiconductor metrology tool inspects an area of a semiconductor wafer. The inspected area includes a plurality of instances of a 3D semiconductor structure arranged periodically in at least one dimension. A computer system generates a model of a respective instance of the 3D semiconductor structure based on measurements collected during the inspection. The computer system renders an augmented-reality or virtual-reality (AR/VR) image of the model that shows a 3D shape of the model and provides the AR/VR image to an AR/VR viewing device for display.

Visualization of three-dimensional semiconductor structures

Methods and systems for positioning a specimen and characterizing an x-ray beam incident onto the specimen in a Transmission, Small-Angle X-ray Scatterometry (T-SAXS) metrology system are described herein. A specimen positioning system locates a wafer vertically and actively positions the wafer in six degrees of freedom with respect to the x-ray illumination beam without attenuating the transmitted radiation. In some embodiments, a cylindrically shaped occlusion element is scanned across the illumination beam while the detected intensity of the transmitted flux is measured to precisely locate the beam center. In some other embodiments, a periodic calibration target is employed to precisely locate the beam center. The periodic calibration target includes one or more spatially defined zones having different periodic structures that diffract X-ray illumination light into distinct, measurable diffraction patterns.

Methods and systems for characterization of an x-ray beam with high spatial resolution

Methods and systems for more efficient X-Ray scatterometry measurements of on-device structures are presented herein. X-Ray scatterometry measurements of one or more structures over a measurement area includes a decomposition of the one or more structures into a plurality of sub-structures, a decomposition of the measurement area into a plurality of sub-areas, or both. The decomposed structures, measurement areas, or both, are independently simulated. The scattering contributions of each of the independently simulated decomposed structures are combined to simulate the actual scattering of the measured structures within the measurement area. In a further aspect, measured intensities and modelled intensities including one or more incidental structures are employed to perform measurement of structures of interest. In other further aspects, measurement decomposition is employed to train a measurement model and to optimize a measurement recipe for a particular measurement application.

On-device metrology using target decomposition

A semiconductor metrology tool inspects an area of a semiconductor wafer. The inspected area includes a plurality of instances of a 3D semiconductor structure arranged periodically in at least one dimension. A computer system generates a model of a respective instance of the 3D semiconductor structure based on measurements collected during the inspection. The computer system renders an image of the model that shows a 3D shape of the model and provides the image to a device for display.

Full beam metrology for X-ray scatterometry systems

The embodiments disclosed herein can enable a target on a semiconductor wafer to be reconstructed and/or imaged. A surface of a target on a semiconductor wafer is measured using a wafer metrology tool. A voxel map of the surface is fixed to match geometry measurements and using scattering density of expected materials. Uniform scaling of the scattering density of all fixed surface voxels can occur.

Phase revealing optical and X-ray semiconductor metrology

Computationally efficient X-ray based overlay measurement

Methods and systems for calibrating the location of x-ray beam incidence onto a specimen in an x-ray scatterometry metrology system are described herein. The precise location of incidence of the illumination beam on the surface of the wafer is determined based on occlusion of the illumination beam by two or more occlusion elements. The center of the illumination beam is determined based on measured values of transmitted flux and a model of the interaction of the beam with each occlusion element. The position of the axis of rotation orienting a wafer over a range of angles of incidence is adjusted to align with the surface of wafer and intersect the illumination beam at the measurement location. A precise offset value between the normal angle of incidence of the illumination beam relative to the wafer surface and the zero angle of incidence as measured by the specimen positioning system is determined.

Calibration of a small angle X-ray scatterometry based metrology system

Methods and systems for optimizing measurement system parameter settings of an x-ray based metrology system are presented. X-ray based metrology systems employing an optimized set of measurement system parameters are used to measure structural, material, and process characteristics associated with different semiconductor fabrication processes with greater precision and accuracy. In one aspect, a set of values of one or more machine parameters that specify a measurement scenario is refined based at least in part on a sensitivity of measurement data to a previous set of values of the one or more machine parameters. The refinement of the values of the machine parameters is performed to maximize precision, maximize accuracy, minimize correlation between parameters of interest, or any combination thereof. Refinement of the machine parameter values that specify a measurement scenario can be used to optimize the measurement recipe to reduce measurement time and increase measurement precision and accuracy.

Measurement system optimization for X-ray based metrology

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

John Josef Hench