Scatterometry and AFM measurement combination for Area Selective Deposition process characterization

摘要

With the Area Selective Deposition (ASD) technique, the material is deposited on desired areas of the sample surface. Thecontrol of such process implies accurate characterization of the deposited material on both growth and non-growth surfaces.This requires, first a good measurement capability to quantify the geometry of the deposited layer, and second, a properassessment of the process selectivity. In this work, we show how to combine two complementary measurement techniquesto overcome their individual inherent limitations for ASD applications. Scatterometry, the first measurement technique,has been applied to the characterization of the deposited layer geometry properties because of its high sensitivity todimensional features and material. To complement the ASD performance characterization with the local information,Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been used to access the topography details of the analyzed surfaces. We haveanalyzed the AFM images with the power spectral density (PSD) approach to identify undesired material deposition in thenon-growth area and thus to characterize process selectivity through the comparison to a reference sample. Experimentalvalidation of the scatterometry and AFM techniques for ASD applications has been done on wafers having variousselectivity levels. The scatterometry metrology measured accurately the thickness of the deposited layer on both growthand non-growth areas when the deposited layer became uniform. The lateral overgrowth was quantified as well with thesame technique and showed some changes from process condition to another. In addition, the PSD analysis applied to theAFM images was able to probe minutely the nanoparticles nucleation on the non-growth area and as result has revealedthe selectivity transition regimes. Later, we have built a hybrid model by the combination of the 2 metrologies results andvalidated its predictions on test wafers.