Dynamic nanometer alignment for nanofabrication and metrology

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-164).Future generations of IC fabrication depend in part on continued improvements in lithography. To meet the lithographic challenges posed by 25- nm lithography, a novel through-the-mask, interferometric imaging alignment method is described that has demonstrated detectivity below 1 nm. Approximately x-ray alignment and exposure system was constructed which incorporates this "Interferometric Broadband Imaging" (IBBI) alignment scheme. 18BI employs complementary grating and checkerboard-type alignment marks on mask and wafer, respectively. Interference fringes are imaged onto a CCD camera when viewing the marks at a Littrow angle of 15 degrees. Alignment is signified by the spatial phase discontinuities between two identical sets of interference fringes that move in opposite directions as the mask is translated relative to the wafer. The robustness of IBBI was verified by demonstrating that the relative spatial phase is not affected when overlayers of resist, polysilicon, or aluminum cover the alignment marks. Further verification of robustness was found when the illuminating and viewing beams traversed long optical paths through air, glass, and helium. It is significant that JBBJ measurements are made external to a helium enclosure through the above optical paths, since this allows continuous observation of alignment during exposure. Feedback stabilization was developed to nullify the effects of thermal drift and mechanical disturbances during exposure. Over several hours the relative position of the mask and wafer was demonstrated to be locked to within [sigma]=1.4 nm.by Euclid E. Moon.S.M

Interferometric-spatial-phase imaging for sub-nanometer three-dimensional positioning

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-206).Current alignment technology is incapable of satisfying the needs of imminent generations of lithography. This dissertation delineates a novel method of alignment and three-dimensional position metrology that is compatible with many forms of proximity lithography. The method is called Interferometric-Spatial-Phase Imaging (ISPI), and is based on encoding three-dimensional position information in the spatial phase and frequency of interference fringes, viewed with specialized oblique-incidence, dark-field optical microscopes. Alignment detectivity is 500 gm. Unlike amplitude-based interferometers, this spatial-phase-encoding interferometer achieves high alignment detectivity without sensitivity to variations in wavelength, gap and other factors, such as resist layers and changes in the index of refraction in the beampath. Several novel gap detection methods are introduced, with gap detectivity 500 jgm.(cont.) Gap is confirmed with exposure of patterns in resist, taking advantage of near-field interference in a novel Chirped Talbot Effect. Alignment and pattern overlay are confirmed in experiments combining x-ray exposures with continuous ISPI position feedback. Dynamic overlay of patterns in resist is demonstrated to be 2.7 nm, with a clear path for further improvement. Gate structures in a double-gate MOSFET are dynamically aligned to 2.5 nm.by Euclid Eberle Moon.Ph.D

Optical nanolithography with λ/15 resolution using bowtie aperture array

We report optical parallel nanolithography using bowtie apertures with the help of the interferometric-spatial-phase-imaging (ISPI) technique. The ISPI system can detect and control the distance between the bowtie aperture, and photoresist with a resolution of sub-nanometer level. It overcomes the difficulties brought by the light divergence of bowtie apertures. Parallel nanolithography with feature size of 22 ± 5 nm is achieved. This technique combines high resolution, parallel throughput, and low cost, which is promising for practical applications.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Grant N66001-08-1-2037)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMMI-1120577

Nanometer-level alignment using interferometric-spatial-phase-imaging (ISPI) during silicon nanowire growth

We describe a method of detecting nanometer-level gap and tip/tilt alignment between a focusing zone plate mask and a silicon substrate using interferometric-spatial-phase-imaging (ISPI). The zone plate mask is used to generate submicrometer focused light spot to induce silicon nanowire growth in a CVD process. ISPI makes use of diffracting fringes from gratings and checkerboards fabricated on the mask to determine the correct gapping distance for the focusing zone plates. The method is capable of detecting alignment inside a gas-flow chamber with variable pressure.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (Grant No. N66001-08-1-2037

High throughput optical lithography by scanning a massive array of bowtie aperture antennas at near-field

Optical lithography, the enabling process for defining features, has been widely used in semiconductor industry and many other nanotechnology applications. Advances of nanotechnology require developments of high-throughput optical lithography capabilities to overcome the optical diffraction limit and meet the ever-decreasing device dimensions. We report our recent experimental advancements to scale up diffraction unlimited optical lithography in a massive scale using the near field nanolithography capabilities of bowtie apertures. A record number of near-field optical elements, an array of 1,024 bowtie antenna apertures, are simultaneously employed to generate a large number of patterns by carefully controlling their working distances over the entire array using an optical gap metrology system. Our experimental results reiterated the ability of using massively-parallel near-field devices to achieve high-throughput optical nanolithography, which can be promising for many important nanotechnology applications such as computation, data storage, communication, and energy.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Grant N66001-08-1-2037)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMMI-1120577)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMMI-1405078