Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method

• US 8,576,377 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2007
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Hansen, Steven George, Mulder, Heine Melle, Kazinczi, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Toan
• Assistant Examiner(s): RIDDLE, CHRISTINA A
• Application Number:
  US12/000,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20080186468A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,160 Days
• Field of Search: 355/52, 355/53, 355/55, 355 67- 71, 355/77, 250/492.1, 250/492.2, 250/492.22, 250/493.1, 250/548, 430/5, 430/8, 430/22, 430/30, 430/311, 430/312, 430/321
• US Class Current: 355/67
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70091 Illumination settings, i.e. intensity distribution in the pupil plane or angular distribution in the field plane; On-axis or off-axis settings, e.g. annular, dipole or quadrupole settings; Partial coherence control, i.e. sigma or numerical aperture [NA]
• 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: H01L 21/0274 Photolithographic processes

Abstract

A method for configuring an illumination source of a lithographic apparatus is presented. The method includes dividing the illumination source into pixel groups, each pixel group including one or more illumination source points; selecting an illumination shape to expose a pattern, the illumination shape formed with at least one pixel group; iteratively calculating a lithographic metric as a result of a change of state of a pixel group in the illumination source, the change of the state of the pixel group creating a modified illumination shape; and adjusting the illumination shape based on the iterative results of calculations.

Claims

1. A method for configuring an illumination source of a lithographic apparatus, the method comprising:

dividing the illumination source into pixel groups, each pixel group including one or more illumination source points;

selecting an initial illumination shape to expose a pattern, the initial illumination shape formed with at least one pixel group;

iteratively calculating a lithographic metric for a plurality of pixel groups, each iteration in said calculating performed for a change of state of one pixel group of said plurality of pixel groups, the change of the state of the one pixel group creating a modified illumination shape, the iteratively calculating comprising

adding said one pixel group to the initial illumination shape or removing said one pixel group from the initial illumination shape to create the modified illumination shape, the modified illumination shape including a) the at least one pixel group from the initial illumination shape and said one pixel group in the illumination source or b) the at least one pixel group from said initial illumination shape without said one pixel group in the illumination source,

subsequent to said adding or removing, calculating the lithographic metric using the modified illumination shape to determine whether said one pixel group should be added or removed; and

adjusting the illumination shape based on the iterative results of calculations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein states of the plurality of pixel groups are changed with a predetermined order or randomly.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the state of each of the plurality of pixel groups is changed based on a radial or angular position of each pixel group in the illumination source or both the radial and the angular position of each pixel group in the illumination source.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the order is based on an increase or decrease of the radial position of the pixel groups.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the states of the plurality of pixel groups are changed by alternatively changing (a) a state of a pixel group having a radial position greater than that of a predetermined pixel group and (b) a state of a pixel group having a radial position smaller than that of the predetermined pixel group.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pixel groups includes all the pixel groups.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the lithographic metric is a critical dimension uniformity of the pattern, a process window, a dimension of the process window, MEEF, maximum NILS, or maximum NILS in defocus.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a value of a critical dimension uniformity as predicted by the lithographic metric is calibrated to match with a measured critical dimension uniformity.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the lithographic metric is calculated over an assumed budget of errors.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the errors include a patterning device error, a dose error and a focus error.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the illumination source is divided into pixel groups in a pupil plane of an illumination system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the illumination source includes pixel groups having a normalized radial position σ

with respect to a full aperture of the illumination system greater than 1.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the illumination source is divided into pixel groups based on a symmetry of the pattern.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the lithographic metric includes calculating an image of the pattern illuminated by the modified illumination shape.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the lithographic metric is calculated using a photolithographic simulation.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the photolithographic simulation is performed using a calibrated lump parameter model or a full resist process.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating a lithographic metric includes calculating the lithographic metric for a plurality of pitches.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating includes determining whether the change of the state of the pixel group in the illumination source should be retained based on results of the metric.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the calculating includes repeating the changing, the calculating of the lithographic metric and the determining for another pixel group.

20. A method for configuring an illumination source of a lithographic apparatus, the method comprising:

dividing the illumination source into pixel groups, each pixel group including one or more illumination source points;

selecting an initial illumination shape to expose a pattern;

calculating a plurality of responses for a plurality of changes in the illumination source, each of the plurality of changes effected by a change of state of a single pixel group, the calculating comprising

adding said single pixel group to the initial illumination shape or removing said single pixel group from the initial illumination shape to create a modified illumination shape, the modified illumination shape including a) the at least one pixel group from the initial illumination shape and said single pixel group or b) the at least one pixel group from said initial illumination shape without said single pixel group,

subsequent to said changing, calculating a response using the modified illumination shape to determine whether said single pixel group should be added or removed; and

adjusting the illumination shape based on the plurality of responses.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein calculating a plurality of responses includes calculating a lithographic metric.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein calculating the lithographic metric includes calculating an image of the pattern.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the lithographic metric is a critical dimension uniformity of the pattern, a process window, a dimension of the process window, MEEF, maximum NILS, maximum NILS in defocus.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the lithographic metric is calculated over an assumed budget of errors.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the errors include a patterning device error, a dose error and a focus error.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of pixel groups are changed with a predetermined order or randomly.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the change of state of the pixel group is effected based on its influence on heating of a projection lens, the projection lens adapted to project an image of the exposed pattern onto a substrate.

28. A non-transitory computer product having machine executable instructions, the instructions being executable by a machine to perform a method for configuring an illumination source of a lithographic apparatus, the method comprising:

dividing the illumination source into pixel groups, each pixel group including one or more illumination source points;

selecting an initial illumination shape to expose a pattern, the illumination shape formed with at least one pixel group;

iteratively calculating a lithographic metric for a plurality of pixel groups, each iteration in said calculating performed for a change of state of one pixel group of said plurality of pixel groups, the change of the state of the one pixel group creating a modified illumination shape, the iteratively calculating comprising

adding said one pixel group to the initial illumination shape or removing said one pixel group from the initial illumination shape to create the modified illumination shape, the modified illumination shape including a) the at least one pixel group from the initial illumination shape and said one pixel group in the illumination source or b) the at least one pixel group from said initial illumination shape without said one pixel group in the illumination source,

subsequent to said changing, calculating the lithographic metric using the modified illumination shape to determine whether said one pixel group should be added or removed; and

adjusting the illumination shape based on the iterative results of calculations.

29. A lithographic apparatus comprising:

an illumination system configured to condition a beam of radiation;

a substrate table configured to hold a substrate;

a projection system configured to project a beam of radiation patterned by a patterning device onto a surface of the substrate; and

a processor configured to perform a method for configuring an illumination source of a lithographic apparatus, the method comprising

dividing the illumination source into pixel groups, each pixel group including one or more illumination source points;

selecting an initial illumination shape to expose a pattern, the illumination shape formed with at least one pixel group;

iteratively calculating a lithographic metric for a plurality of pixel groups, each iteration in said calculating performed for a change of state of one pixel group of said plurality of pixel groups, the change of the state of the one pixel group creating a modified illumination shape, the iteratively calculating comprising

adding said one pixel group to the initial illumination shape or removing said one pixel group from the initial illumination shape to create the modified illumination shape, the modified illumination shape including a) the at least one pixel group from the initial illumination shape and said one pixel group or b) the at least one pixel group from said initial illumination shape without said one pixel group,

subsequent to said changing, calculating the lithographic metric using the modified illumination shape to determine whether said one pixel group should be added or removed; and

adjusting the illumination shape based on the iterative results of calculations.