Baseline overlay control with residual noise reduction

• US 10,642,161 B1
• Filed: 10/10/2018
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Corliss, Daniel A., Halle, Scott D., Johnson, Richard C., Robinson, Christopher F., Zheng, Chumeng
• Primary Examiner(s): Persaud, Deoram
• Application Number:
  US16/156,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20200117100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70358 Scanning exposure, i.e. relative movement of patterned beam and workpiece during imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70475 Stitching, i.e. connecting image fields to produce a device field, the field occupied by a device such as a memory chip, processor chip, CCD, flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70525 Controlling normal operating mode, e.g. matching different apparatus, remote control or prediction of failure
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70633 Overlay, i.e. relative alignment between patterns printed by separate exposures in different layers, or in the same layer in multiple exposures or stitching

Abstract

Systems, methods and computer program products generally include a vector by vector subtraction method per wafer. A first layer is exposed to form a pattern image on a wafer and the overlay data of alignment registration marks at multiple locations relative to alignment registration marks of a baseline reference are measured. The first layer is then reworked and exposed to form the same pattern image and the overlay data of alignment registration marks at multiple locations relative to alignment registration marks of a first layer are measured. The overlay data of the reworked first layer is subtracted from the overlay data of the first layer to provide an overlay difference at each of the multiple locations. The overlay difference is converted to a pre-correction factor of a magnitude opposite that of the overlay difference and is applied to exposure of a second layer provided on the first layer.

Claims

1. A method of using a control module to control a scanning/stepping function of a lithographic apparatus, the method comprising:

exposing a first layer on a wafer and measuring first overlay vectors of alignment registration marks at multiple locations relative to alignment registration marks of a baseline reference wafer;

reworking and exposing the first layer a second time and measuring second overlay vectors relative to the alignment registration marks of the baseline reference wafer;

subtracting the second overlay vectors from the first overlay vectors to obtain overlay vector differences at each of the multiple locations within the first layer;

applying a first pre-correction factor based on the overlay vector differences to the scanning/stepping function, wherein the pre-correction factor has a magnitude of an opposite sign to the overlay vector difference at each of the multiple locations; and

exposing the second layer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein exposing the first layer comprises a photoresist layer thereon and exposing the first layer comprises applying an activating radiation beam to form a pattern in the photoresist layer, wherein the pattern includes one or more alignment registration marks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein exposing the first layer a second time comprises reworking the first layer by removing the first layer and reapplying the first layer onto the wafer.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising adding the first pre-correction factor to a wafer stage correction factor applied to each of the exposures, wherein the wafer correction factor comprises grid, intra-field liner, and higher order corrections.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second overlay vectors are measured within multiple dies located across the wafer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the baseline reference comprises a primary layer underlying the first layer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the baseline reference comprises a golden wafer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein subsequent to exposing the second layer third overlay vectors of alignment registration marks are measured at multiple locations in the second layer relative to the alignment registration marks of the first layer.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising exposing the second layer a second time and measuring a fourth overlay vector relative to the alignment registration marks in the first layer;

subtracting the fourth overlay vectors from the third overlay vectors to obtain overlay vector differences at each of the multiple locations within the second layer;

applying a second pre-correction factor based on the overlay vector difference to the scanner stepper function, wherein the second pre-correction factor has a magnitude of an opposite sign to the overlay vector differences at each of the multiple locations; and

exposing a third layer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein exposing the second layer a second time comprises reworking the second layer by removing the second layer and reapplying the second layer onto the wafer.

11. A non-transitory computer program stored on a machine-readable medium, and including instructions for exercising control over a lithographic apparatus so as to perform a method, comprising:

projecting a first patterned radiation beam as a pattern image onto a first layer on a substrate along a scan path, the scan path being defined by a trajectory in a scanning direction of an exposure field;

measuring first overlay vectors of alignment registration marks at multiple locations relative to alignment registration marks of a baseline reference wafer;

reworking the first layer by removing the first layer and redepositing the first layer onto the substrate;

projecting the first patterned radiation beam as the pattern image onto the reworked first layer along the scan path;

measuring second overlay vectors at multiple locations relative to the alignment registration marks of the baseline reference wafer;

subtracting the second overlay vectors from the first overlay vectors to obtain overlay vector differences at each of the multiple locations within the first layer;

calculating a first pre-correction factor based on the overlay vector difference, wherein the first pre-correction factor has a magnitude of an opposite sign to the overlay vector differences at each of the multiple locations; and

projecting a second patterned radiation beam as a pattern image onto a second layer on a substrate along the scan path, wherein the first pre-correction factor is applied to the patterned radiation beam to provide a vector by vector correction at each of the multiple locations.

12. The non-transitory computer program of claim 11, wherein the first layer comprises a photoresist layer, and wherein the pattern image includes one or more alignment registration marks.

13. The non-transitory computer program of claim 11 further comprising adding the first pre-correction factor to a wafer stage correction factor applied to the second patterned radiation beam, wherein the wafer correction factor comprises grid, intra-field liner, and higher order corrections.

14. The non-transitory computer program of claim 11, wherein the baseline reference comprises a primary layer underlying the first layer.

15. The non-transitory computer program of claim 11, wherein the baseline reference comprises a golden wafer.

16. The non-transitory computer program of claim 11 further comprising reworking the second layer;

projecting the second patterned radiation beam as the pattern image onto the reworked second layer and measuring third overlay vectors of alignment registration marks relative to the alignment registration marks in the first layer.

17. A system for enhanced overlay control by residual noise reduction, the system comprising:

an overlay metrology tool in communication with a scanner stability module to control a scanning/stepping function of a lithographic apparatus, wherein the overlay metrology tool is configured to calculate a positional offset of an alignment registration mark in a first layer, wherein the positional offset comprises an overlay vector difference calculated by subtracting first overlay vectors of alignment registration marks measured at multiple locations in the first layer relative to alignment registration marks of a baseline reference wafer from second overlay vectors measured at the multiple locations in a reworked first layer relative to the alignment registration marks in the baseline reference, wherein the positional offset provides a vector by vector correction at each of the multiple locations.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the positional offset further includes a wafer stage correction factor.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the lithographic apparatus comprises an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) scanner.