Lithography model for three-dimensional patterning device

• US 10,359,704 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2014
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Liu, Peng
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nha T
• Application Number:
  US14/766,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20150378264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,995 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70441 Optical proximity correction [OPC]
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/705 Modelling or simulating from physical phenomena up to complete wafer processes or whole workflow in wafer productions
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7055 Exposure light control in all parts of the microlithographic apparatus, e.g. pulse length control or light interruption

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for simulating a scattered radiation field of a patterning device including one or more features, in a lithographic projection apparatus, the method including: determining a scattering function of the patterning device using one or more scattering functions of feature elements of the one or more features; wherein at least one of the one or more features is a three-dimensional feature, or the one or more scattering functions characterize scattering of incident radiation fields at a plurality of incident angles on the feature elements.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a hardware computer device, a scattering function of a patterning device using one or more scattering functions of feature elements of one or more features of the patterning device, the one or more scattering functions of feature elements including one or more scattering functions that characterize scattering of incident radiation fields at a plurality of incident angles on the feature elements, wherein the scattering function of the patterning device is calculated by summing products or convolutions of the one or more scattering functions of the feature elements, and one or more filter functions that depend on locations of the feature elements on the patterning device;

calculating, by the computer device, a scattered radiation field of the patterning device expected in a lithographic projection apparatus from the scattering function of the patterning device and an incident radiation field having a chief ray angle that is oblique to the patterning device; and

storing in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or providing to a lithographic projection apparatus, data and/or instructions based on the scattered radiation field, where the data and/or instructions, or information derived therefrom, are configured for design, control and/or modification of a physical manufacturing process involving use of the patterning device in a lithographic projection apparatus and/or for design, control and/or modification of a physical object or apparatus to be used in the manufacturing process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the feature elements are selected from:

edges, areas, corners, corners-in-proximity, edges-in-proximity, or any combination selected therefrom.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scattering functions of feature elements include one or more scattering functions that characterize one or more effects selected from:

a shadowing effect, pattern-dependent best focus shift, pattern shift or any combination selected therefrom.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more scattering functions characterize shadowing effect and the shadowing effect is asymmetric.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more scattering functions characterize pattern shift and the pattern shift comprises a global pattern shift and/or pattern-dependent pattern shift.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more scattering functions characterize pattern shift and the pattern shift is caused by an incident radiation field at different locations on the patterning device having different incident angles.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a plane on an optical path of the lithographic projection apparatus as an object plane of projection optics of the lithographic projection apparatus, such that global pattern shift is essentially zero.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more filter functions are functions of slit locations in the lithographic projection apparatus.

9. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions recorded thereon, the instructions when executed by a computer implementing the method of claim 1.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating a radiation field in a resist layer on a substrate being exposed in the lithographic projection apparatus.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the scattered radiation field comprises radiation with a wavelength in the extreme ultraviolet band.

12. A method comprising:

determining, by a hardware computer device, a scattering function of a patterning device using one or more scattering functions of feature elements of one or more features of the patterning device, wherein the one or more scattering functions of feature elements and/or the scattering function of the patterning device characterizes a mask defocus between an object plane of a projection system arranged to receive radiation from the patterning device and a plane located at the top of the one or more features of the patterning device; and

calculating, by the computer device, a scattered radiation field of the patterning device expected in a lithographic projection apparatus, from the scattering function of the patterning device and an incident radiation field; and

storing in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or providing to a lithographic projection apparatus, data and/or instructions based on the scattered radiation field, where the data and/or instructions, or information derived therefrom, are configured for design, control and/or modification of a physical manufacturing process involving use of the patterning device in a lithographic projection apparatus and/or for design, control and/or modification of a physical object or apparatus to be used in the manufacturing process.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the one or more features is a three-dimensional feature.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein one or more scattering functions characterize scattering of incident radiation fields at a plurality of incident angles on the feature elements.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the scattered radiation field comprises radiation with a wavelength in the extreme ultraviolet band.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the scattering function of the patterning device is calculated by summing products or convolutions of the one or more scattering functions of the feature elements, and one or more filter functions that depend on locations of the feature elements on the patterning device.

17. A method comprising:

determining, by a hardware computer device, a scattering function of a patterning device using one or more scattering functions of feature elements of one or more features of the patterning device, wherein the one or more scattering functions characterize secondary scattering among the one or more features, the secondary scattering comprising radiation scattered from one or more features that has been scattered by one or more other features; and

calculating, by the computer device, a scattered radiation field of the patterning device expected in a lithographic projection apparatus from the scattering function of the patterning device and an incident radiation field; and

storing in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or providing to a lithographic projection apparatus, data and/or instructions based on the scattered radiation field, where the data and/or instructions, or information derived therefrom, are configured for design, control and/or modification of a physical manufacturing process involving use of the patterning device in a lithographic projection apparatus and/or for design, control and/or modification of a physical object or apparatus to be used in the manufacturing process.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the one or more features is a three-dimensional feature.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more scattering functions characterize scattering of incident radiation fields at a plurality of incident angles on the feature elements.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more scattering functions of feature elements and/or the scattering function of the patterning device characterizes a mask defocus between an object plane and a plane located at the top of the one or more features of the patterning device.