Productivity and OPC Reticle Inspectability using Multi-Beam UV Wavelength Inspection

摘要

In order to extend the life of DUV lithography to the 130 nm design rule and below, optical proximity correction (OPC) and phase shift masks (PSM) have become increasingly common. The implementation of low k_1 lithography in IC production requires inspection systems with smaller linewidth capability and higher sensitivity to obtain high yields in advanced reticle production. This paradigm presents greater inspection challenges for current UV tools. When inspections are run on advanced reticles on current tools, the number of false and nuisance defect detections are so high as to make inspecting these reticles unmanageable. The amount of de-sense required to bring false and nuisance detections down also causes real defects to be missed. The TeraStar SLF27 is the next generation reticle inspection tool from KLA-Tencor. The TeraStar addresses these problems with new algorithms that allow inspection of OPC features without desensing the detectors. Complementing this are triple-beam optics and the ability to run pattern and STARlight~(TM) inspections concurrently giving a net gain in the throughput and productivity of the tool. Here we present the first results from the use of the TeraStar in a production environment.