DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Estimation of Line Cross Sections Using Critical-Dimension Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering

Abstract

Currently, the semiconductor industry is continuously pushing the limits of photolithography, with feature sizes now smaller than 10 nm. To ensure quality, it has become necessary to look beyond the conventional metrological techniques. X-ray scattering has emerged as a possible contender to determine the average shape of a line grating with subnanometer precision. Yet, to fulfill its promise, faster algorithms must also be developed to interpret and extract metrics from reciprocal-space scattering data. In this paper, we present a fast and accurate x-ray technique and analysis algorithm: critical-dimension grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering (CD GISAXS). The CD GISAXS technique is used in grazing-incidence configuration with a continuous azimuthal rotation of the sample, and thus does not require high-energy x-rays to penetrate the wafer and greatly reduces the data-acquisition times, permitting analysis within the framework of the distorted-wave Born approximation.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [2]
  1. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division
OSTI Identifier:
1580408
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1570442; OSTI ID: 1668644
Report Number(s):
BNL-219868-2020-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019; PRAHB2; ark:/13030/qt6ks0c95w; TRN: US2102192
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357; AC02-98CH10886; SC0012704; AC02-76SF00515; AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review Applied
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 12; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats

Freychet, Guillaume, Kumar, Dinesh, Pandolfi, Ron J., Naulleau, Patrick, Cordova, Isvar, Ercius, Peter, Song, Chengyu, Strzalka, Joseph, and Hexemer, Alexander. Estimation of Line Cross Sections Using Critical-Dimension Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.12.044026.
Freychet, Guillaume, Kumar, Dinesh, Pandolfi, Ron J., Naulleau, Patrick, Cordova, Isvar, Ercius, Peter, Song, Chengyu, Strzalka, Joseph, & Hexemer, Alexander. Estimation of Line Cross Sections Using Critical-Dimension Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.12.044026
Freychet, Guillaume, Kumar, Dinesh, Pandolfi, Ron J., Naulleau, Patrick, Cordova, Isvar, Ercius, Peter, Song, Chengyu, Strzalka, Joseph, and Hexemer, Alexander. Fri . "Estimation of Line Cross Sections Using Critical-Dimension Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.12.044026. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1580408.
@article{osti_1580408,
title = {Estimation of Line Cross Sections Using Critical-Dimension Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering},
author = {Freychet, Guillaume and Kumar, Dinesh and Pandolfi, Ron J. and Naulleau, Patrick and Cordova, Isvar and Ercius, Peter and Song, Chengyu and Strzalka, Joseph and Hexemer, Alexander},
abstractNote = {Currently, the semiconductor industry is continuously pushing the limits of photolithography, with feature sizes now smaller than 10 nm. To ensure quality, it has become necessary to look beyond the conventional metrological techniques. X-ray scattering has emerged as a possible contender to determine the average shape of a line grating with subnanometer precision. Yet, to fulfill its promise, faster algorithms must also be developed to interpret and extract metrics from reciprocal-space scattering data. In this paper, we present a fast and accurate x-ray technique and analysis algorithm: critical-dimension grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering (CD GISAXS). The CD GISAXS technique is used in grazing-incidence configuration with a continuous azimuthal rotation of the sample, and thus does not require high-energy x-rays to penetrate the wafer and greatly reduces the data-acquisition times, permitting analysis within the framework of the distorted-wave Born approximation.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevapplied.12.044026},
journal = {Physical Review Applied},
number = 4,
volume = 12,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Oct 11 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Fri Oct 11 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 6 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables:

FIG. 1 FIG. 1: Grazing-incidence small angle X-ray scattering with the beam along x-axis and the sample rotation along z-axis.

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

CD SEM metrology macro CD technology: beyond the average
conference, May 2005

  • Bunday, Benjamin D.; Michelson, Di K.; Allgair, John A.
  • Microlithography 2005, SPIE Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.600133

Reconstructing the three-dimensional latent image of extreme ultraviolet resists with resonant soft x-ray scattering
journal, April 2019

  • Freychet, Guillaume; Cordova, Isvar A.; McAfee, Terry
  • Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 18, Issue 02
  • DOI: 10.1117/1.JMM.18.2.024003

HipGISAXS : a high-performance computing code for simulating grazing-incidence X-ray scattering data
journal, November 2013

  • Chourou, Slim T.; Sarje, Abhinav; Li, Xiaoye S.
  • Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 46, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1107/S0021889813025843

High accuracy CD matching monitor for CD-SEM beyond 20nm process
conference, April 2013

  • Ueda, K.; Mizuno, T.; Setoguchi, K.
  • SPIE Advanced Lithography, SPIE Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.2011389

Fundamental limits of optical critical dimension metrology: a simulation study
conference, March 2007

  • Silver, Richard; Germer, Thomas; Attota, Ravikiran
  • Advanced Lithography, SPIE Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.716604

Gaps analysis for CD metrology beyond the 22nm node
conference, April 2013

  • Bunday, Benjamin; Germer, Thomas A.; Vartanian, Victor
  • SPIE Advanced Lithography, SPIE Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.2012472

X-ray and neutron scattering from rough surfaces
journal, August 1988


IsGISAXS : a program for grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering analysis of supported islands
journal, July 2002


A study of lateral roughness evaluation through critical-dimension small angle x-ray scattering (CD-SAXS)
conference, March 2016

  • Freychet, G.; Cadoux, C.; Blancquaert, Y.
  • SPIE Advanced Lithography, SPIE Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.2235102

In Situ GIWAXS Analysis of Solvent and Additive Effects on PTB7 Thin Film Microstructure Evolution during Spin Coating
journal, October 2017

  • Manley, Eric F.; Strzalka, Joseph; Fauvell, Thomas J.
  • Advanced Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 43
  • DOI: 10.1002/adma.201703933

Grazing incident small angle x-ray scattering: A metrology to probe nanopatterned surfaces
journal, January 2009

  • Hofmann, T.; Dobisz, E.; Ocko, B. M.
  • Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, Vol. 27, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1116/1.3253608

Small angle x-ray scattering for sub-100 nm pattern characterization
journal, November 2003

  • Jones, Ronald L.; Hu, Tengjiao; Lin, Eric K.
  • Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 83, Issue 19
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.1622793

Determining the shape and periodicity of nanostructures using small-angle X-ray scattering
journal, August 2015

  • Sunday, Daniel F.; List, Scott; Chawla, Jasmeet S.
  • Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 48, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1107/S1600576715013369

Advancing x-ray scattering metrology using inverse genetic algorithms
journal, July 2016

  • Hannon, Adam F.; Sunday, Daniel F.; Windover, Donald
  • Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 15, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1117/1.JMM.15.3.034001

Nanometrology on gratings with GISAXS: FEM reconstruction and fourier analysis
conference, April 2014

  • Soltwisch, Victor; Wernecke, Jan; Haase, Anton
  • SPIE Advanced Lithography, SPIE Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.2046212

On the intersection of grating truncation rods with the Ewald sphere studied by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering
journal, November 2007


Three-dimensional x-ray metrology for block copolymer lithography line-space patterns
journal, July 2013

  • Sunday, Daniel F.; Hammond, Matthew R.; Wang, Chengqing
  • Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, Vol. 12, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1117/1.JMM.12.3.031103

Grazing-incidence transmission X-ray scattering: surface scattering in the Born approximation
journal, January 2013

  • Lu, Xinhui; Yager, Kevin G.; Johnston, Danvers
  • Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 46, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1107/S0021889812047887

Probing surface and interface morphology with Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-Ray Scattering
journal, August 2009


Template-polymer commensurability and directed self-assembly block copolymer lithography
journal, February 2015

  • Sunday, Daniel F.; Ashley, Elizabeth; Wan, Lei
  • Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol. 53, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1002/polb.23675

Coplanar and non-coplanar x-ray reflectivity characterization of lateral W/Si multilayer gratings
journal, May 2001


Removal of poly(methyl methacrylate) in diblock copolymers films studied by grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering
journal, February 2016

  • Freychet, Guillaume; Maret, Mireille; Tiron, Raluca
  • Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol. 54, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1002/polb.24017

Characterization of the shape and line-edge roughness of polymer gratings with grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy
journal, April 2016

  • Suh, Hyo Seon; Chen, Xuanxuan; Rincon-Delgadillo, Paulina A.
  • Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 49, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1107/S1600576716004453

Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.