International Business Machines Corporation

Qiang Wu

Bomy A Chen

Scott Josef Bukofsky

Andrew Lu

Karen Lynne Holloway

Sara Jennifer Eames

A method for detecting phase and amplitude error of an alternating phase shifting mask is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, the method includes passing a collimated light beam through a pair of adjacent, phase shifted openings in the phase shifting mask. Then, the beam intensities of diffracted light passed through the pair of adjacent openings are recorded as a function of angular position. From the recorded beam intensities, an angle &#x3b1; is determined at which a first diffraction order and a second diffraction order occurs, wherein &#x3b1; represents a deviation from a pair of symmetrically distributed diffraction orders. In addition, a minimum intensity and a maximum intensity are also determined from the recorded beam intensities, wherein the phase error is calculated from the determined value of &#x3b1;, and the amplitude error is calculated from the minimum intensity and said maximum intensity.

Method and system for phase/amplitude error detection of alternating phase shifting masks in photolithography

A system and method for aligning a wafer in an exposure apparatus includes a holder adapted to hold a wafer (the wafer includes alignment marks), a coarse alignment system, and a fine alignment system having a higher precision than the coarse alignment system. The fine alignment system includes multiple optical detectors. Each of the optical detectors is positioned to detect a corresponding alignment mark on the wafer. An alignment processor is connected to and controls the optical detectors and the holder. The optical detectors are controlled by the alignment processor to simultaneously detect the alignment marks in parallel operations. Further, the alignment processor simultaneously processes signals from the optical detectors in parallel operations.

Wafer alignment system using parallel imaging detection

An e-beam system generates a set of massively parallel beams of order of magnitude 1,000 by employing a flash eprom to store calibration data and to receive on/off signals directed through the address system of the memory array, the individual electron sources being mounted above the memory array in a geometric array that tracks the structure of the memory array.

Electron beam array write head system and method

An alignment mark structure for use upon a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, the alignment mark structure includes a plurality of segments arranged in an alignment pattern, with each of the plurality of segments being formed from a base pattern created on the substrate. The base pattern includes a plurality of sizes, wherein each of the plurality of sizes of the base pattern is repeated throughout an entire length of each of the plurality of segments.

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Poughkeepsie, NY, United States of America

Qiang Wu