Study of Defect Printability Analysis on Alternating Phase Shifting Masks

摘要

In this paper, we demonstrate new simulation capabilities for defect dispositioning of alternating aperture phase shift masks (AAPSM). A defect mask for use in a 248 nm exposure tool was fabricated with programmed phase defects. Inspection images of the defects were taken on Lasertec's MD3000 and KLA-Tencor's SLF27 inspection systems. The simulation tool takes defect images as input and simulates photolithography performance via aerial image modeling. We present preliminary modeling results that show good agreement between simulated CDs and the CDs from Aerial Image Measurement System (AIMS~(TM)) measurements. This work shows the potential for extending Virtual Stepper~(~R) System to AAPSMs on a variety of inspection platforms.