High-speed atomic force microscopy for patterned defect review

摘要

This paper reports recent progress in using Atomic Force Microscopy as a defect review tool for patterned wafers. The key developments in the AFM technology are substantial scan speed improvements and the ability to reach feature bottom-CDs in a narrow trench. The latter is accomplished by controlling the tip-sample interaction via the short-range interaction force. Narrow trenches with vertical side wall angles comparable to current FinFET dimensions were imaged using the AFM, where imaging speeds for this sample reached about 0.2 frames per second, providing quantified topographic data for key features of the trenches. The sub-10 nm resolution data of high speed AFM demonstrates the technology as a viable solution for defect review.