Patent Publication Number: US-2006019176-A1

Title: Chromeless phase shift mask and method of fabricating the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a phase shift mask and to a method of fabricating the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a chromeless phase shift mask and to a method of fabricating the same.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Reductions in the design rule of semiconductor devices are accompanied by decreases in the margin of the processes used to fabricate the devices, especially with respect to photolithography. That is, limitations inherent in photolithography make it difficult to form small patterns, i.e., micro patterns, on a wafer. In light of this, using an ArF or F 2  light source instead of a conventional KrF light source has been studied as a way to secure a large margin in a photolithographic process. However, the use of an ArF light source for mass production is problematic. Accordingly, resolution enhancement technology (RET) has also been researched as a way to enhance conventional photolithography processes. RET aims to develop a means by which a micro pattern can be formed using a conventional light source, e.g., a KrF light source.  
      One approach of RET is to use a phase shift mask (PSM), in place of a conventional a binary mask (BM), to increase the resolution of the photolithography process. The BM merely consists of a transparent substrate and an opaque chrome pattern disposed on the substrate. On the other hand, known types of PSMs include a rim-shifting PSM, an attenuated PSM (attPSM), an alternating PSM (ALT-PSM), a half-tone PSM, and a chromeless PSM. A rim-shifting PSM is made by forming a patterned layer of material, for inducing a phase shift, on an opaque chrome pattern disposed on a transparent substrate. An attenuated PSM (attPSM) is made by adding an Mo layer to an existing BM. A half-tone PSM is made by forming a half-tone film on a substrate to induce a phase difference in the light transmitted by the PSM. An alternating PSM (ALT-PSM) is made by forming a layer of material on a transparent quartz substrate, and patterning the material to form phase shifters alternately disposed with exposed areas of the transparent substrate. A chromeless PSM is made by forming recesses, in a transparent quartz substrate, the recesses inducing a phase shift in the light transmitted by the PSM and being alternately disposed with exposed areas of the transparent substrate.  
      Among these PSMs, attPSMs are the most widely used for the mass production of highly integrated semiconductor devices. However, attPSMs use a film having a transmittance of 5-20%, which causes problems whose existence is confirmed by the presence of side lobes in a graph of the intensity of the image transmitted by the mask. An opaque pattern added to the mask can rid the mask of these problems. However, adding such an opaque pattern increases the turn around time (TAT) for the fabrication of the mask and hence, decreases the yield of the fabrication process. In addition, the Mo layer of an attPSM creates a haze. More specifically, a haze abruptly occurs on the front side of an attPSM after a certain number of photolithographic processes are performed using the attPSM, whereupon the yield is reduced to 0%. Accordingly, the attPSM needs to be cleaned periodically to remove the haze from the front surface thereof. Nonetheless, the haze cannot be completely prevented from creating significant problems even if the attPSM is periodically cleaned.  
      Accordingly, the chromeless PSM has gained consideration for use in forming a micro pattern on a wafer. As mentioned above, the phase shifter of a chromeless PSM is formed by etching a mask substrate to a predetermined depth. In other words, the phase shifters of a chromeless PSM are constituted by a pattern of recesses in the mask substrate. However, it is difficult to use a chromeless PSM in fabricating semiconductor devices because of the following fundamental limitations of the chromeless PSM.  
       FIG. 1  is a graph of a characteristic of conventional chromeless PSMs showing design critical dimensions (CD) versus after development inspection CDs (ADI CD). As shown in  FIG. 1 , there is a region A wherein the ADI CD does not increase even as the design CD of the conventional chromeless PSM becomes larger. The region where the ADI CD decreases beyond region A is referred to as the CD dead zone. Thus, as also shown in the graph, a conventional chromeless PSM having a design CD of 70 nm and inducing a phase difference of 180 degrees can produce a pattern having an ADI CD of up to 80 nm. However, a chromeless PSM having a design CD greater than 70 nm is basically useless because it can not produce a pattern having an ADI CD of greater than 80 nm.  
      For this reason, a photo mask as illustrated in  FIG. 2  is conventionally used to form a pattern having ADI CDs of both 80 nm and 90 nm. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the photomask includes a chromeless PSM section  20  for producing a pattern having an ADI CD of 80 nm, and a BM section  30  for producing a pattern having an ADI CD of 90 nm. The PSM section  20  is made by etching a recess  15  in the mask substrate  10 . The BM section  30  is made by forming a chrome pattern  25  on the mask substrate  10 .  
      However, a BM provides a smaller process margin than a chromeless PSM. Accordingly, the margin of a photolithographic process employing the integrated photo mask illustrated in  FIG. 2  is limited by the BM section  30   
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An object of the present invention is to provides a chromeless phase shift mask (PSM) that does not have a critical dimension (CD) dead zone.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a chromeless phase shift mask (PSM) that can be used in a single exposure process to produce a pattern whose features have different after development inspection CDs (ADI CDs), respectively.  
      Still, another object of the present invention is to provide a chromeless phase shift mask (PSM) that can be used in a single exposure process to produce a pattern whose features have different after development inspection CDs (ADI CDs), including an ADI CD of greater than 80 nm.  
      Likewise, objects of the present invention include providing a method of fabricating a chromeless PSM having the advantages noted above.  
      According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chromeless phase shift mask including a mask substrate and a plurality of phase shifters constituted, respectively, by recesses of different depths in the mask substrate.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of fabricating a chromeless phase shift mask that includes etching a mask substrate to different depths to form a plurality of phase shifters that will produce various phase differences in the exposure light transmitted by the mask during a photolithographic (exposure) process.  
      According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of fabricating a chromeless phase shift mask which includes initial and subsequent etching processes to form phase shifters that will produce different phase differences in the exposure light transmitted by the mask during a photolithographic (exposure) process. In the method, a first resist pattern is formed on the entire surface of a mask substrate. The mask substrate is then initially etched using the first resist pattern as an etch mask to form first recesses in the substrate. Then the first resist pattern is removed. Next, a second resist pattern is formed to expose at least one of the first recesses while, in turn, covering one or more of the first recesses. The mask substrate is then further etched using the second resist pattern as an etch mask to extend the exposed recesses further into the mask substrate. The second resist pattern is then removed. Those recesses which were covered by the second resist pattern constitute the first phase shifters, whereas those recesses that were extended deeper into the substrate constitute the second phase shifters.  
      According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of fabricating a chromeless phase shift mask wherein simulations are used to predetermine the depths to which the mask substrate should be etched. In this method, ADI CDs of features of a pattern which will be produced in a photolithographic process by a chromeless phase shift mask are determined under a simulation wherein the phase shifters of the chromeless phase shift mask have various design CDs. The other parameters of the simulation are established so that the phase shifters will produce a phase difference of 150 degrees. The simulations also correlates the ADI CDs to the design CDs. Next, an optimum design CD is selected using the correlation of the ADI CDs to the design CDs. The optimum design CD is that which is determined to produce an optimal contrast in the image transmitted by the chromeless phase mask during the photolithographic process. Also, the optimal dose of the exposure light is determined. This dose is that which will produce a minimum target ADI CD when a chromeless phase shift mask whose phase shifters have the optimum design CD is used in the photolithographic process.  
      Next, another set of ADI CDs of features of a pattern which will be produced by the photolithographic process when the process uses a chromeless phase shift mask are determined under a simulation wherein the phase shifters of the chromeless phase shift mask each have the optimum design CD and produce several different phase differences in a range 150 to 180 degrees, and the process is carried out using the exposure light at the optimal dose. This simulation also correlates the set of ADI CDs to the phase differences in the range of 150 to 180 degrees. Next, this correlation is used to determine first and second phase differences, in the range of 150 to 180 degrees, which when produced in the exposure light during a photolithographic process will produce a pattern whose features have first and second desired ADI CDs, respectively.  
      Then, an actual mask substrate is etched to form first recesses each having a width equal to the optimal design CD and a depth that will produce the first phase difference. Finally, the mask substrate is further etched to extend (at least) one of the first recesses further into the mask to a depth that will produce the second phase difference. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof made with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a graph of design critical dimensions (CD) versus after development inspection CDs (ADI CD) characteristic of chromeless phase shift masks (PSM);  
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view of a conventional photo mask for use in forming a pattern having both an 80 nm ADI CD and a 90 nm ADI CD;  
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view of a chromeless PSM according to the present invention;  
       FIGS. 4 through 11  are sectional views of a mask substrate illustrating stages in a method of fabricating the chromeless PSM shown in  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 12  is a flowchart of a method of fabricating a chromeless PSM according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 13  is graph of the result of simulations used to predetermine ADI CDs as the result of photolithography processes using chromeless PSMs fabricated according to the present invention, wherein the phase shifters of the PSMs were provided with a range of design CDs and produced phase differences between 150 and 180 degrees;  
       FIG. 14  is a graph of the results of a simulation of a photolithography process using a chromeless PSM designed according to the present invention to produce a phase difference of 165 degrees, and illustrates a margin of the process; and  
       FIG. 15  is a graph of the results of a simulation of a photolithography process using a chromeless PSM designed according to the present invention to produce a phase difference of 180 degrees, and illustrates a margin of the process. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, before the description proceeds, it should be noted that a chromeless phase shift mask (PSM) according to the present invention can be used to fabricate various micro electronic devices. For example, the chromeless PSM may be used to fabricate highly integrated semiconductor memory devices such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices, static random access memory (SRAM) devices, and flash memory devices; processors such as central processing units (CPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), and combinations of CPUs and DSPs; application specific integrated circuits (ASICs); micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) devices; optoelectronic devices; and display devices. Also, like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the drawings.  
      Referring first to  FIG. 3 , the chromeless PSM includes a mask substrate  110  and a plurality of phase shifters  130  and  140  formed by etching the mask substrate  110 . The mask substrate  110  is transparent to light emitted by a light source of a photolithographic exposure device (for example, an i-line laser, a KrF excimer laser, or an ArF excimer laser). The material of the mask substrate  110  may be glass, fused silica, or quartz. The plurality of phase shifters  130  and  140  have the same width “w” but have different depths d 1  and d 2 . Preferably, the phase shifter  140  having the greatest depth produces a phase difference of less than 180 degrees.  
      Generally, when the mask substrate  110  has a refractive index n i  and the exposure light has a wavelength λ, the relationship between the phase difference ΔΦ produced by the recess type of phase shifter and the depth “t” of the recess is defined by Equation (1). 
 
ΔΦ=2π( n   i −1) t/λ   (1) 
 
      For example, in a case in which the material of the mask substrate  110  is fused silica, a phase difference of 180 degrees is produced when the depth (t) of the recess is 2470 Å and a KrF excimer laser having a wavelength (λ) of 248 nm is used. Similarly, a phase difference of 180 degrees is produced when the depth (t) of the recess is 1850 Å and an ArF excimer laser having a wavelength (λ) of 193 nm is used. Also, when the material of the mask substrate  110  is quartz, the phase difference increases by about 1 degree for every increase of 13.4 Å in the depth of the recess. As shown in Equation (1), for a given wavelength λ, the phase difference ΔΦ increases as the depth “t” increases. Accordingly, as the depth “t” increases, the intensity of the transmitted light decreases.  
      Therefore, the phase shifter  140  having the greater depth d 2  produces a greater. phase difference than the other phase shifters  130 . Accordingly, although the phase shifters  130  and  140  have the same width “w”, the pattern produced by the mask will comprise features having different ADI CDs due to the different phase differences produced by the phase shifters&#39;  130  and  140  having different etch depths d 1  and d 2 , respectively. The phase shifter  140  having the greater etch depth d 2  produces a feature of the pattern having a greater ADI CD than those features produced by the other phase shifters  130 .  
      Accordingly, a chromeless PSM according to the present invention can produce a pattern whose features have, respectively, a first ADI CD of 80 nm or less, and a second ADI CD greater than 80 nm. Such a result can be achieved using a conventional light source by appropriately designing the mask in terms of the widths of the phase shifters  130  and  140 , the distance (i.e., pitch) between the phase shifters  130  and  140 , and the depths d 1  and d 2  of the phase shifters  130  and  140 . On the other hand, a conventional chromeless PSM cannot be used to produce a pattern having an ADI CD of greater than 80 nm (i.e., an ADI CD within a CD dead zone) for the reasons described earlier in connection with  FIG. 1 .  
       FIGS. 4 through 11  illustrate a method of fabricating a chromeless PSM according to the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 4 , a chrome layer  115  is formed on the mask substrate  110 . The chrome layer  115  may be formed by sputtering. A resist is spread on the chrome layer  115  and then patterned, thereby forming a first resist pattern  120 . The chrome layer  115  enhances the adherence of the first resist pattern  120  to the mask substrate  110  and functions as an etch mask together with the first resist pattern  120  when the mask substrate  110  is etched.  
      More specifically, an e-beam is scanned the surface of the resist to expose a select portion of the resist. At this time, the chrome layer  115  also functions as a charge preventing layer to prevent charges from the e-beam from accumulating on the substrate. As an alternative to the chrome layer  115 , the mask substrate  110  may be surface-treated with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) to enhance the adherence of the first resist pattern  120  to the mask substrate  110 . In this case, a laser exposure system may be used to expose the resist.  
      Next, a development system sprays the exposed resist with developer, and the developer is spread across the resist using a spin-coating or is allowed to puddle. As a result, a portion of the resist is removed, e.g., the exposed portion. Note, though, that the physical characteristics of the chemical bond of the resist are changed when a laser beam or an e-beam is scanned across the surface of the resist. In this respect, the chrome layer  115  or the HMDS treatment prevents the first resist pattern  120  from peeling from the mask substrate  110  during the developing process. Finally, in the case of the e-beam process, the resist pattern  120  is fired (hard baked) and remnants of the resist are removed using plasma (de-scumming).  
      Referring to  FIG. 5 , the chrome layer  115  is etched using the first resist pattern  120  as an etch mask, thereby forming a chrome layer pattern  115   a . In this case, wet etching may be used.  
      Next, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the mask substrate  110  is etched using the first resist pattern  120  as an etch mask, thereby forming a plurality of phase shifters  130  having a first depth d 1 . The plurality of the phase shifters  130  have the same width “W”. In the case in which the chrome layer  115  is formed on the mask substrate  110 , the chrome layer pattern  115   a  also serves as an etch mask.  
      Preferably, the mask substrate  110  is wet and dry etched to form the phase shifters  130  so that the size (i.e., the width and depth) of the phase shifters  130  can be precisely controlled. Specifically, a duty ratio of precisely 1:1 can be attained using a combination of wet and dry etching processes. Alternatively, the phase shifters  130  may be formed by dry reactive ion etching using CF 4 +O 2  gas.  
      The mask substrate  110  may be etched in a plurality of stages to form the phase shifters  130 . In this case, the amount of etching that occurs during each stage may be calculated and used in conducting the subsequent stage to ensure precision in attaining the final depth of the phase shifters  130 . That is, phase shifters  130  that will produce the desired phase difference can be formed in this way.  
      Next, the first resist pattern  120  is removed from the mask substrate  110  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Subsequently, the structure is cleaned.  
      Next, referring to  FIG. 8 , a second resist pattern  135  is formed to expose at least one of the phase shifters  130 . At this time, the entire surface of the mask substrate  110  may be treated with HMDS to enhance the adherence of the second resist pattern  135  to the mask substrate  110 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 9 , the mask substrate  110  is etched at each phase shifter  130  exposed by the second resist pattern  135 , thereby forming a phase shifter  140  having the second depth d 2 . The etching may be controlled so that the phase shifter  140  produces a phase difference of less than 180 degrees. In this process, the mask substrate  110  can not be etched too deeply or else it becomes difficult to maintain control over the etching process and thereby obtain an accurate etch depth. That is, if the phase shifter  140  is designed to be too deep, there is a good chance that the etching process will be inaccurate, and that the resulting phase shifter  140  will produce a phase difference different from the desired phase difference.  
      In any case, the mask substrate  110  is preferably dry and wet etched to form the phase shifter  140 . Alternatively, dry reactive ion etching using CF 4 +O 2  gas may be used to form the phase shifter  140 . Also, the etching process is preferably performed in a plurality of stages, wherein the amount of etching at each stage is calculated and used to conduct a subsequent stage such that excellent uniformity is achieved. Finally, the second resist pattern  135  and the chrome layer pattern  115   a  are removed, as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . Then, the mask is cleaned.  
      In addition, the mask substrate  110  may be further etched one or more times at one or some of the phase shifters  130  and  140  to change the depth d 1  and/or d 2  without changing the width W. In other words, a resist pattern exposing one or more of the phase shifters  130  and  140  can be again formed on the mask substrate  110 , and the mask substrate  110  can be etched at each phase shifter exposed through the resist pattern. As a result, two or more phase shifters having depths greater than the depth of the other phase shifters can be formed. Therefore, a chromeless PSM according to the present invention can be used to form a pattern whose features have more than two ADI CDs.  
       FIG. 12  is a flowchart of a method of fabricating a chromeless PSM according to the present invention. In the method, the calculation, selection, and detection steps may be performed using a SOLID-C simulation program, i.e., software that is widely used per se in the field.  
      Referring to  FIG. 12 , in operation S 1 , ADI CDs of features of a pattern produced by a chromeless phase shift mask are calculated, under conditions wherein a design CD of the phase shifters of the mask is varied and other parameters are fixed so that the phase shifters will produce a phase difference of 150 degrees. The ADI CDs are correlated with the associated design CDs.  
      Next, in operation S 2 , the design CD yielding an optimum contrast is selected. To this end, a contrast curve in which the design CDs are plotted is produced. The design CD by which an optimum focus can be obtained is selected from the contrast curve as the optimum design CD. For example, in a simulation in which the exposure system had a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.75 and an aperture diameter of σ, and a region from 0.35σ to 0.65σ was used as a light transmitting region, the optimum design CD selected was about 70 nm.  
      Subsequently, in operation S 3 , the dose yielding a minimum target ADI CD at the optimum design CD is selected.  
      In operation S 4 , ADI CDs of features produced using the selected dose for a chromeless phase shift mask whose phase shifters have the optimum design CD, but are designed to produce a phase difference of 180 degrees instead of 150 degrees, are calculated. For example, simulations were carried out in which the phase difference was increased from 150 degrees in increments of 5 degrees. The results of these simulations were used to generate the graph of  FIG. 13 , i.e., the correlation between the design CDs and the ADI CDs.  
      That is,  FIG. 13  is graph of the result of simulations of photolithography processes using chromeless PSMs fabricated according to the present invention, wherein the phase shifters of the PSMs were provided with a range of design CDs and produced phase differences between 150 and 180 degrees. The design CDs were plotted versus the ADI CDs of the features of the pattern that would be obtained. Referring to  FIG. 13 , as the phase difference increases, the design CD-ADI CD curve shifts upward. When the phase shifter has the optimum CD of 70 nm and produces a phase difference of 150 degrees, the ADI CD is less than 70 nm, but when the phase shifter has the optimum CD of 70 nm and produces a phase difference of 180 degrees, the ADI CD is about 90 nm. Thus, the results of the simulation confirm that the present invention can be used to produce a pattern having an ADI CD within what was considered to be a CD dead zone of a conventional chromeless PSM.  
      Next, in operation S 5 , a first phase difference that will produce a pattern having a desired first ADI CD and a second phase difference that will produce a pattern having a second desired ADI CD, greater than the first ADI CD, are discerned for phase shifters having the optimum design CD. For example, these phase differences are taken from the curves in  FIG. 13  intersected by the points where the vertical line representing the value of the optimum design CD crosses the horizontal lines representing the values of the desired ADI CDs. Thus, if the first and second desired ADI CDs are 80 nm and 90 nm, respectively, the first and second phase differences are discerned as 165 degrees and 180 degrees, respectively.  
      Meanwhile, simulations were carried out to check whether the process margins were comparable for a process carried out using a PSM having the phase shifters designed to produce a phase difference of 165 degrees and a PSM having the phase shifters designed to produce a phase difference of 180 degrees.  FIG. 14  is a graph illustrating the former process margin (for the phase difference of 165 degrees), and  FIG. 15  is a graph illustrating the latter process margin (for the phase difference of 180 degrees).  
      Referring to  FIG. 14 , an exposure latitude (EL) of about 10.57% was secured over a depth of focus (DOF) of about 0.250 μm for the process employing the PSM that produced a phase difference of 165 degrees. Referring to  FIG. 15 , an EL of about 11.32% was secured over a DOF of about 0.250 μm for the process employing the PSM that produced a phase difference of 180 degrees. The graphs of  FIGS. 14 and 15  show that almost no difference exists in the process margins as long as an appropriate dose is used. Accordingly, the graphs show that the chromeless PSM according to the present invention can be put into practice effectively, i.e., can be used in a single exposure process to form a pattern whose features have different ADI CDs.  
      Next, in operation S 6 , a plurality of phase shifters that have the optimum design CD as a width and which produce the first phase difference are formed by etching the mask substrate. In operation S 7 , the mask substrate is further etched at one or more of the phase shifters to fabricate a second phase shifter(s) that will produce the second phase difference. Operations S 6  and S 7  may be performed according to the method described with reference to  FIGS. 4 through 11 .  
      More specifically, the steps described with reference to  FIGS. 4 through 7  are performed to form the phase shifters  130 . Here, the width “W” of the phase shifters  130  is set to the optimum design CD, for example, 70 nm, and the depth d 1  of the phase shifters  130  is set to a value of, for example, 165 degrees, such that the phase shifters  130  will produce the first phase difference. Next, the steps described with reference to  FIGS. 8 through 11  are performed, i.e., the mask substrate is further etched at the location of a phase shifter  130  to thereby form the phase shifter  140  having the depth d 2 . The depth d 2  is such that the phase shifter will produce the second phase difference of, for example, 180 degrees. When a chromeless PSM fabricated using the above-described method is used to produce a pattern, the pattern will comprise features having ADI CDs of 80 nm and 90 nm, respectively. Accordingly, the present invention can produce a pattern having an ADI CD of greater than 80 nm, i.e. one that is within the CD dead zone of a conventional chromeless PSM.  
      As described above, according to the present invention, the phase shifters of the chromeless PSM have different depths designed to control the phase differences and thereby avoid the creation of a CD dead zone as a characteristic of the mask. In other words, the mask may have phase shifters whose design CD is greater than 80 nm, i.e., a value within the CD dead zone of a conventional chromeless PSM. This is made possible by using an exposure dose that secures a process margin comparable to that which is secured when the mask only produces a phase difference of 180 degrees. Accordingly, a pattern having various ADI CDs can be produced using only a single chromeless PSM according to the present invention.  
      Also, in a method of fabricating a chromeless PSM according to the present invention, the mask substrate is etched to form the phase shifters that will produce a first phase difference, and then the mask is additionally etched at only some (one or more) of those recesses. Such method is relatively simple.  
      Still further, the basic steps of forming a resist pattern exposing only one or some of the existing recesses and of further etching the substrate at the exposed recess or recesses may be repeated to form several phase shifters having different depths. Accordingly, the present invention can fabricate a chromeless PSM capable of producing a pattern whose features have more than two different ADI CDs.  
      Finally, although the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.