Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9476698
Timestamp: 2018-03-22 00:54:56
Document Index: 290600960

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 02', 'Application No. 02', 'Application No. 02', 'Application No. 02', 'Application No. 02', 'Application No. 02', 'art 1', 'Application No. 07', 'Application No. 2002', 'Application No. 2002']

US9476698B2 - Periodic patterns and technique to control misalignment between two layers - Google Patents
US9476698B2
US9476698B2 US14961629 US201514961629A US9476698B2 US 9476698 B2 US9476698 B2 US 9476698B2 US 14961629 US14961629 US 14961629 US 201514961629 A US201514961629 A US 201514961629A US 9476698 B2 US9476698 B2 US 9476698B2
US14961629
US20160084639A1 (en )
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/789,796, filed Jul. 1, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/035,766, filed Sep. 24, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,103,662, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/628,092, filed Nov. 30, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,570,515, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/428,401, filed Apr. 22, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,525,994; which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/495,001, filed Jul. 27, 2006, now abandoned; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/355,613, filed Feb. 15, 2006, now abandoned; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/062,255, filed Feb. 18, 2005, now abandoned; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/682,544, filed Oct. 8, 2003, now abandoned; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/833,084, filed Apr. 10, 2001, now abandoned; which applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIGS. 2b and 2c are top views of target 11. In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2a , the first periodic structure 13 has a first selected width CD1, and the second periodic structure 15 has a second selected width CD2. The second selected width CD2 is less than the first selected width CD1. The pitch, also called the period or the unit cell, of a periodic structure is the distance after which the pattern is repeated. The distance between the left edge of the first periodic structure 13 and the left edge of the second periodic structure 15 is d1, and the distance between the right edge of the first periodic structure 13 and the right edge of the second periodic structure 15 is d2. In a preferred embodiment, when layers 31, 33 are properly aligned relative to each other, the second periodic structure 15 is centered over the first periodic structure 13. In other words, when the second periodic structure 15 is perfectly centered over the first periodic structure 13, the misregistration is zero, and d1=d2. In this embodiment, the misregistration is indicated by d2−d1. To obtain misregistration in both the X and Y directions of the XY coordinate system, another target 12 comprising two periodic structures 14, 16 similar to target 11 is placed substantially perpendicular to target 11, as shown in FIG. 2 c.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b , the first periodic structure 13 has two interlaced grating lines 51, 53. The first interlaced grating lines 51 have a line-width L1, and the second interlaced grating lines 53 have a line-width L2. The second periodic structure 15, as shown in FIG. 5b , has a line-width L3 and is centered between the first interlaced grating lines 51 and the second interlaced grating lines 53. The distance between the right edge of the first interlaced grating 51 and the adjacent left edge of the second interlaced grating 53 is represented by b, and the distance between the right edge of the second periodic structure 15 and the adjacent left edge of the second interlaced grating 53 is represented by c. The misregistration between the first layer 31 and the second layer 33 is equal to the misregistration ∈ between the first periodic structure 13 and the second periodic structure 15. The misregistration ∈ is:
Where c=0, the resulting periodic structure has the most asymmetric unit cell composed of a line with width of L2+L3 and a line with width L1. Where c=b−L3, the resulting periodic structure has the most symmetric unit cell composed of a line with width L1+L3 and a line with width L2. For example, if the two layers are made of the same material and L1=L3=L2/2, then the lines are identical where c=0, while one line is twice as wide as the other line where c=b-L3.
where R+1 is the intensity of the positive first-order diffracted radiation and R1 is the intensity of the negative first-order diffracted radiation. The different curves in FIG. 13 correspond to the different incident polarization angles (0°, 50°, 60°, 74°, 80°, and 90°) of the incident linearly polarized light relative to the plane of incidence. The polarization angle α is defined as:
1. A method for processing and measuring a device, said device having a first periodic structure, said method comprising:
measuring the first periodic structure by illuminating the first periodic structure with incident radiation and by detecting diffracted radiation from the illuminated portions of the first periodic structure;
after the first periodic structure has been measured, forming a second periodic structure in a region of the device, where the first and second periodic structures are present in said region and said second periodic structure includes a first and a second portion, wherein the first portion is in the region where the first periodic structure is present and the second portion is in a second region where the first periodic structure is not present;
measuring a relative position between the first and second periodic structures by illuminating the first and second periodic structures with incident radiation and by detecting diffracted radiation from the illuminated portions of the first and second periodic structures in said region; and
measuring the second periodic structure by measuring said second portion of said second periodic structure in the second region.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second periodic structure is formed so that the first and second periodic structures overlie one another in the region.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein a critical dimension of the first periodic structure is measured.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein a width of the first periodic structure is measured.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising measuring the second periodic structure.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said second periodic structure includes a first and a second portion, wherein the first portion is in the region where the first periodic structure is present and the second portion is in a second region where the first periodic structure is not present, and the second periodic structure is measured by measuring said second portion of said second periodic structure in the second region.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the second periodic structure is measured by illuminating the second periodic structure with incident radiation and by detecting diffracted radiation from the illuminated portions of the second periodic structure.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the relative position between the first and second periodic structures determines a misalignment between a first and a second layer that were formed respectively together with the first and second periodic structures.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein a first portion of said second periodic structure is in a first region where the first periodic structure is present, and the measuring of the relative position between the first and second periodic structures is made by illuminating the first and second periodic structures in the first region with incident radiation and by detecting diffracted radiation from the first and second periodic structures in said first region.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein a second portion of said second periodic structure different from the first portion is in a second region where the first periodic structure is not present.
11. A method for measuring a relative position between a first and a second layer of a device, a first periodic structure having been formed with the first layer of the device and a second periodic structure having been formed with the second layer of the device, said second periodic structure overlying or interlaced with said first periodic structure, said method comprising:
measuring a width of at least one of the first and second periodic structures in a first region where the at least one periodic structure is present and the other periodic structure is not present, said measuring including detecting a diffraction of electromagnetic radiation from the periodic structure that is measured, wherein measurement of at least one of the first and second periodic structures is performed without measuring the other one of the first and second periodic structures; and
measuring a relative position between the first and second layers in a second region different from the first region, where the first and second periodic structures are present in said second region, wherein said measuring of the relative position includes determining a misalignment between the first and second periodic structures.
12. The method of claim 11, said measuring of the width including detecting the zeroth or the first order diffraction from the first and second periodic structures.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein said determining determines the misalignment between the first and second periodic structures from a diffraction from the first and second periodic structures.
US14961629 2001-04-10 2015-12-07 Periodic patterns and technique to control misalignment between two layers Active US9476698B2 (en)
US15332155 Continuation US9835447B2 (en) 2001-04-10 2016-10-24 Periodic patterns and technique to control misalignment between two layers
US20160084639A1 true US20160084639A1 (en) 2016-03-24
US9476698B2 true US9476698B2 (en) 2016-10-25
JPH09232221A (en) 1996-02-28 1997-09-05 Nec Corp Semiconductor device and its manufacture
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