Submicrometer linewidth metrology in the optical microscope

Abstract

The recent impetus of the semiconductor industry toward submicrometer feature sizes on integrated circuits has generated an immediate need for measurement tools and standards suitable for these features. Optical techniques have the advantages of being nondestructive and of having high throughput, but the disadvantage of using wavelengths comparable to feature size which results in complex scattered fields and image structures that are difficult to interpret. Although submicrometer optical linewidth measurement is possible for 0.3 μm feature sizes, current instrumentation and linewidth standards, particularly for wafers, will have to radically improve in accuracy as well as in precision to meet the anticipated needs of the integrated circuit (IC) industry for submicrometer dimensional metrology. This paper discusses the effects of inadequate precision and accuracy on process control in IC fabrication and suggests some ways of circumventing these limitations until better instrumentation and standards become available.