Lithography model for 3D topographic wafers

• US 9,835,955 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2012
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2011
• 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): Ngo, Brian
• Application Number:
  US13/570,209
• Publication Number:
  US 20130042211A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,945 Days
• Field of Search: 716 51, 716 52, 716 53, 716 54, 716 55
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/705 Modelling or simulating from physical phenomena up to complete wafer processes or whole workflow in wafer productions

Abstract

Described herein is a method for simulating an image formed within a resist layer on a substrate resulting from an incident radiation, wherein the method accounts for scattering of the incident radiation due to features in or underlying the resist layer. Embodiments of the invention include calculating a forward propagating electric field or forward propagating magnetic field resultant from the incident radiation at a depth in the resist layer, calculating a backward propagating electric field or backward propagating magnetic field resultant from the incident radiation at the depth in the resist layer, and calculating a radiation field at the depth in the resist layer from the forward propagating electric field or forward propagating magnetic field and from the backward propagating electric field or backward propagating magnetic field.

Claims

1. A method for characterizing radiation within a resist layer on a substrate, the method comprising:

identifying features in or underlying the resist layer;

identifying one or more scattering functions based on one or more characteristics of the features; and

determining, by a hardware computer, a substrate-specific scattering function from the one or more scattering functions, wherein the substrate-specific scattering function characterizes scattering of incident radiation within the resist layer by the identified features.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining a substrate-specific scattering function is further based on a characteristic of the resist layer.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing a resist image formed within the resist layer by using the substrate-specific scattering function to determine a spatial intensity of distribution of radiation in the resist layer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein computing the resist image formed within the resist layer is further based on a characteristic of the resist layer.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein computing the resist image formed within the resist layer is further based on a characteristic of the incident radiation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the characteristic of the incident radiation comprises one or more selected from:

an electromagnetic field at a surface of the resist layer, an electric field at a surface of the resist layer, and/or a magnetic field at a surface of the resist layer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scattering functions characterize scattering of radiation due to a characteristic of a feature element.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing an electromagnetic field at a surface of the resist layer resulting from the incident radiation based on a characteristic of one or more selected from:

a source of radiation, at least a part of a design layout, and/or projection optics, wherein the surface of the resist layer faces the incident radiation during exposure.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scattering functions are independent from a direction of the incident radiation.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the feature element is a horizontal edge, a vertical edge, an area, a corner, or any combination selected therefrom.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is free of an anti-reflective coating.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scattering functions are compiled into a library.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calculating a forward propagating electric field or forward propagating magnetic field resultant from the incident radiation at a depth in the resist layer;

calculating a backward propagating electric field or backward propagating magnetic field resultant from the incident radiation at the depth in the resist layer; and

calculating a radiation field at the depth in the resist layer from the forward propagating electric field or forward propagating magnetic field and from the backward propagating electric field or backward propagating magnetic field while ignoring an interference between the forward propagating electric field or forward propagating magnetic field and the backward propagating electric field or backward propagating magnetic field.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein calculating a radiation field at the depth in the resist layer comprises calculating the radiation field using transmission cross coefficients (TCCs) to characterize the forward propagating electric field or forward propagating magnetic field and the backward propagating electric field or backward propagating magnetic field.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the TCCs are calculated from a projection optics function, and wherein the TCCs do not represent interference between the forward propagating electric field or forward propagating magnetic field and the backward propagating electric field or backward propagating magnetic field.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a spatial intensity distribution of radiation in the resist layer while including effects of the determined substrate-specific scattering function; and

computing a simulated image in the resist layer based on the determined spatial intensity distribution of radiation.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scattering functions are computed using a rigorous solver.

18. A method for characterizing radiation within a resist layer on a substrate, the method comprising:

determining a scattering function of a feature element of a feature in or underlying the resist layer based on a characteristic of the feature element, wherein the scattering function characterizes scattering of incident radiation within the resist layer by the feature element, and

determining, by a hardware computer, a substrate-specific scattering function, wherein the substrate-specific scattering function characterizes scattering of the incident radiation from a substantial part of a design layout to be formed within the resist layer by the feature elements underlying an image area of the substantial part of the design layout, the determining of the substrate-specific scattering function comprising incorporating the scattering function of the feature element into the substrate-specific scattering function.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions recorded thereon, the instructions when executed by a computer implementing a method comprising:

identifying one or more scattering functions based on one or more characteristics of features in or underlying a resist layer on a substrate; and

determining a substrate-specific scattering function from the one or more scattering functions, wherein the substrate-specific scattering function characterizes scattering of incident radiation within the resist layer by the features.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions recorded thereon, the instructions when executed by a computer implementing a method comprising:

determining a scattering function of a feature element of a feature in or underlying a resist layer on a substrate based on a characteristic of the feature element, wherein the scattering function characterizes scattering of incident radiation within the resist layer by the feature element, and

determining a substrate-specific scattering function, wherein the substrate-specific scattering function characterizes scattering of the incident radiation from a substantial part of a design layout to be formed within the resist layer by feature elements underlying an image area of the substantial part of the design layout, the determining of the substrate-specific scattering function comprising incorporating the scattering function of the feature element into the substrate-specific scattering function.

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a library of scattering functions of feature elements recorded thereon, wherein the feature elements are components of features in or underlying a resist layer on a substrate, and wherein each of the scattering functions in the library respectively characterizes scattering of incident radiation within a resist layer by one of the feature elements.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the library comprises index information.

23. A method for determining an electromagnetic field inside a resist layer disposed on a substrate, wherein the substrate, or the resist layer, or both, have features defined by protrusions and/or recesses, the method comprising:

computing, by a hardware computer, a substrate-specific scattering function based on the features and one or more scattering functions, each of the one or more scattering functions characterizing electromagnetic radiation scattering associated with at least one of the features; and

computing, by the hardware computer, the electromagnetic field inside the resist layer based on the substrate-specific scattering function and an electromagnetic field provided to the resist layer.

24. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions recorded thereon, the instructions, when executed, configured to cause a hardware computer to:

compute a substrate-specific scattering function based on features defined by protrusions and/or recesses of a resist layer disposed on a substrate, of the substrate, or both, and on one or more scattering functions, each of the one or more scattering functions characterizing electromagnetic radiation scattering associated with at least one of the features; and

compute an electromagnetic field inside the resist layer based on the substrate-specific scattering function and an electromagnetic field provided to the resist layer.