National Synchrotron Light Source Symposia

High resolution X-ray methods are becoming increasingly important for the analysis and characterization of materials and structures used in the fabrication of modern
silicon-based microelectronic devices. Wafer diameters have increased to 300mm and the cost of a new fabrication facility has passed $3B, but just about everything else is
getting smaller: minimum device dimensions are shrinking from 90nm to 65nm and below, while lithographic illumination systems are moving from 193nm towards 13.4nm extreme ultraviolet. These developments have resulted in a situation where the needs of silicon semiconductor fabrication are increasingly well-aligned with the capabilities of thin film X-ray analyses.

This talk will describe the capabilities and limitations of high resolution X-ray methods (specifically, high-resolution diffractometry and reflectometry) in the
contemporary 300mm silicon semiconductor manufacturing environment. Some specific examples to be covered are (a)strain and thickness measurements of thin strained silicon, SiGe and SiC, and Si-on-insulator materials; (b)structure of ultra-thin HfO2-based high-k dielectric layers; (c)analysis of the properties of complex Cu/Ta
metallizations; and (d)the characteristics of Mo/Si multilayer masks for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reflective lithography. Since these analyses must be performed in an
environment where high throughput and rapid data collection are critical, the influence of noise on the reliability of data fitting must be taken into account. The advantages found in combining high resolution X-ray methods with other analytical techniques will be discussed. The point will be made that high resolution X-ray analytical techniques are now absolutely critical to a wide range of Si-based microelectronics fabrication processes. The ongoing integration of high resolution X-ray diffraction and reflection systems into fab-compatible process metrology tools suggests that the importance of X-ray techniques....