Comparison of electrical CD measurements and cross-section lattice-plane counts of sub-micrometer features replicated in Silicon-on-Insulator materials

Conference · Tue Feb 29 04:00:00 EST 2000

OSTI ID:752160

CRESSWELL, MICHAEL W ^[1]; BONEVICH, JOHN E; HEADLEY, THOMAS J; ALLEN, RICHARD A; GIANNUZZI, LUCILLE A; EVERIST, SARAH C; SHEA, PATRICK J

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1. Sandia National Laboratories

Electrical test structures of the type known as cross-bridge resistors have been patterned in (100) epitaxial silicon material that was grown on Bonded and Etched-Back Silicon-on-Insulator (BESOI) substrates. The CDs (Critical Dimensions) of a selection of their reference segments have been measured electrically, by SEM (Scanning-Electron Microscopy) cross-section imaging, and by lattice-plane counting. The lattice-plane counting is performed on phase-contrast images made by High-Resolution Transmission-Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). The reference-segment features were aligned with <110> directions in the BESOI surface material. They were defined by a silicon micromachining process which results in their sidewalls being atomically-planar and smooth and inclined at 54.737{degree} to the surface (100) plane of the substrate. This (100) implementation may usefully complement the attributes of the previously-reported vertical-sidewall one for selected reference-material applications. The SEM, HRTEM, and electrical CD (ECD) linewidth measurements that are made on BESOI features of various drawn dimensions on the same substrate is being investigated to determine the feasibility of a CD traceability path that combines the low cost, robustness, and repeatability of the ECD technique and the absolute measurement of the HRTEM lattice-plane counting technique. Other novel aspects of the (100) SOI implementation that are reported here are the ECD test-structure architecture and the making of HRTEM lattice-plane counts from both cross-sectional, as well as top-down, imaging of the reference features. This paper describes the design details and the fabrication of the cross-bridge resistor test structure. The long-term goal is to develop a technique for the determination of the absolute dimensions of the trapezoidal cross-sections of the cross-bridge resistors reference segments, as a prelude to making them available for dimensional reference applications.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (US); Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 752160
• Report Number(s): SAND2000-0508C
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
CALIBRATION
CD-SEM MEASUREMENTS
CROSS-BRIDGE RESISTOR
ELECTRICAL CD
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
FOCUSED ION BEAM
HRTEM
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
LINEWIDTH
MACHINING
MASKING
MINIATURIZATION
SEMICONDUCTOR RESISTORS
SILICON
SILICON MICRO-MACHINING
SILICON NITRIDES
SILICON-ON-INSULATOR
STANDARDS
TEST FACILITIES
TRACEABILITY