This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-187660, filed on Sep. 10, 2013; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a light exposure method, a light exposure device and a reflective projection light exposure mask.
In reflective projection light exposure, light is irradiated on the mask surface of a reflective projection light exposure mask, and the reflected light of that light is projected to the object to be exposed to light. The light is incident on the reflective projection light exposure mask with the main light axis inclined with respect to the mask surface. In order to form a fine pattern, it is necessary that the optical system has a high numerical aperture (NA).
When an optical system with a high NA is used, the incident angle of the light with respect to the mask surface is increased. Increasing the incident angle causes a reduction in the transfer performance (pattern image contrast, etc.), due to the effect of a change in reflectance properties according to the incident angle and a shadowing effect due to the thickness of the reflective mask pattern part (absorbent body). In reflective projection light exposure, it is important to improve the transfer performance.
In general, according to one embodiment, a light exposure method includes irradiating light on a reflective projection light exposure mask and irradiating an object to be exposed to light with reflected light by reflecting the light by the reflective projection light exposure mask. The reflective projection light exposure mask includes a substrate and a pattern portion. The substrate has a first surface. The pattern portion has a multilayer reflective film provided on the first surface of the substrate. The pattern portion includes a plurality of protruding patterns and depression patterns. The depression patterns are provided between the plurality of protruding patterns.
Various embodiments will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same reference numeral is applied to the same member, and for members that have been described once, the description is omitted as appropriate.
As illustrated in
The pattern portion 20 is provided on the first surface 10a of the substrate 10. The pattern portion 20 includes a multilayer reflective film 25. The pattern portion 20 includes a plurality of protruding patterns 21, and depression patterns 22 provided between the plurality of protruding patterns 21. The protruding patterns 21 and depression patterns 22 each extend in, for example, the Y direction. In other words, a line and space pattern configuration is configured by the protruding patterns 21 and the depression patterns 22. In this embodiment, a line and space pattern configuration is used as an example, but other pattern configurations (for example, an island configuration) may be used.
In the reflective projection light exposure mask 110, the protruding patterns 21 include a multilayer reflective film 25. The multilayer reflective film 25 is not included in the depression patterns 22. The first surface 10a of the substrate 10 is exposed on the bottom 22b of the depression patterns 22. If an etching stopper film (not shown on the drawings) is provided on the first surface 10a of the substrate 10, the first surface 10a includes an etching stopper film. In other words, the etching stopper film included in the first surface 10a is exposed on the bottom 22b of the depression patterns 22.
The multilayer reflective film 25 is a film that reflects light with a predetermined wavelength. In this embodiment, the multilayer reflective film 25 effectively reflects extreme ultraviolet (EUV). The wavelength of the EUV is, for example, not less than several nanometers (nm) and not more than several tens of nanometers. In this embodiment, EUV of 115 nanometers (nm) is used, for example.
The multilayer reflective film 25 includes, for example, a plurality of first films 25a and a plurality of second films 25b stacked alternately. Molybdenum (Mo) for example is used in the first film 25a. Silicon (Si) for example is used in the second film 25b.
The multilayer reflective film 25 includes, for example, several tens of pairs of the first film 25a and the second film 25b. In this embodiment, about 40 pairs of the first film 25a and the second film 25b are included. The film thickness of the first film 25a and the second film 25b are each, for example, about several nanometers. In this embodiment, the film thickness is not less than about 3 nm and not more than 4 nm. The total thickness of the multilayer reflective film 25 is, for example, 280 nm. Three or more types of films may be stacked alternately in the multilayer reflective film 25.
To manufacture the reflective projection light exposure mask 110, for example, an etching stopper film is formed on the first surface 10a of the substrate 10, and the multilayer reflective film 25 is formed on the etching stopper film. Then, a portion of the multilayer reflective film 25 is etched to the etching stopper film by, for example, reactive ion etching (RIE). In this way, the portion remaining without being etched becomes the protruding patterns 21, and the portion where the multilayer reflective film 25 is removed by etching becomes the depression patterns 22.
In the manufacture of the reflective projection light exposure mask 110, it is not necessary to provide a separate material for the bottom of the depression patterns 22, so the manufacturing process is simplified.
In reflective projection light exposure using the reflective projection light exposure mask 110, the shadowing effect is suppressed, and a high contrast pattern image is formed.
In
A reflective projection light exposure mask 190 as illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In this embodiment, the position of the focal point is the position on the Z direction relative to the first surface 10a of the substrate 10. A positive position of the focal point represents upward from the first surface 10a (the opposite side to the substrate 10), and a negative position of the focal point represents downward from the first surface 10a (the substrate 10 side). Also, the contrast is represented by the following equation (1). In equation (1), Imax is the maximum value of the light intensity, and Imin is the minimum value of the light intensity.
Contrast=(Imax−Imin)/(Imax+Imin) (1)
The line L10 shown in
As shown in
The line L11 shown in
The line L31a shown in
It can be seen that each of the lines L32a, L32b, and L32c shown in
Also, it can be seen that the images when the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 190 are used shift depending on the position of the focal point, as shown by the lines L31a, L31b, and L31c of
The horizontal axis of
As shown in
In this way, by using the reflective projection light exposure mask 110, it is possible to improve the transfer performance in reflective projection light exposure.
Next, a reflective projection light exposure mask according to a second embodiment is explained.
As illustrated in
The pattern portion 30 includes a plurality of protruding patterns 31, and depression patterns 32 provided between the plurality of protruding patterns 31. The protruding patterns 31 and depression patterns 32 each extend in, for example, the Y direction. In other words, a line and space pattern configuration is configured by the protruding patterns 31 and the depression patterns 32. In this embodiment, a line and space pattern configuration is used as an example, but other pattern configurations (for example, an island configuration) may be used.
In the reflective projection light exposure mask 120, the protruding patterns 31 include a protruding multilayer reflective film 251 that is a portion of the multilayer reflective film 25. The depression patterns 32 include a depression multilayer reflective film 252 which is another portion of the multilayer reflective film 25. The thickness t1 of the protruding multilayer reflective film 251 is greater than the thickness t2 of the depression multilayer reflective film 252.
The depression pattern 32 is a portion that is recessed from the top surface of the protruding multilayer reflective film 251 of the protruding pattern 31 in the Z direction by the depth d1 towards the substrate 10. In other words, the difference in the thickness t1 of the protruding multilayer reflective film 251 and the thickness t2 of the depression multilayer reflective film 252 is equal to the depth d1.
The thickness t2 of the depression multilayer reflective film 252 is for example not more than ½ the thickness t1 of the protruding multilayer reflective film 251.
To manufacture the reflective projection light exposure mask 120, the multilayer reflective film 25 is formed on the first surface 10a of the substrate 10. Then, a portion of the multilayer reflective film 25 is etched using, for example, RIE. This etching is carried out to a position part way along the multilayer reflective film 25 in the Z direction. In other words, the etching is carried out to a position between the top surface of the multilayer reflective film 25 and the first surface 10a of the substrate 10. The portion that remains without being etched becomes the protruding pattern 31, and the portion removed by etching down to part way from the top surface of the multilayer reflective film 25 becomes the depression pattern 32.
In the manufacture of the reflective projection light exposure mask 120, it is not necessary to provide a separate material for the bottom of the depression patterns 22, so the manufacturing process is simplified.
In reflective projection light exposure using the reflective projection light exposure mask 120, the shadowing effect is suppressed, and a high contrast pattern image is formed.
The horizontal axis of
NILS=W×(1/Ith)×(dI/dx) (2)
The line L41 in
It can be seen that the NILS of the reflected image due to the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and reflective projection light exposure mask 120 as represented by the lines L41, L42, and L43 is greater than the NILS of the reflected image due to the reflective projection light exposure mask 190 as represented by the line L44.
Also, the NILS in line L42 is greater than the NILS of lines L41 and L43. In other words, by appropriately setting the depth d1 in the depression patterns 32, a large NILS can be obtained.
In this way, by using the reflective projection light exposure mask 120, it is possible to improve the transfer performance in reflective projection light exposure.
Next, a light exposure device according to a third embodiment is explained.
As illustrated in
The light source 510 emits, for example, EUV light C1. The first optical system 520 irradiates the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 with the light C1 emitted from the light source 510. The first optical system 520 is an irradiating optical system. The first optical system 520 includes, for example, a plurality of mirrors M1 through M5. Aberration of the light C1 is corrected by the plurality of mirrors M1 through M5. Also, the light C1 is focused on a predetermined position of the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 by the plurality of mirrors M1 through M5. The positions and angles of the plurality of mirrors M1 through M5 can be adjusted as appropriate.
The second optical system 530 projects light C2 reflected by the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 towards an object to be exposed to light (for example, a wafer W on which a resist is applied). The second optical system 530 is a projection optical system. The second optical system 530 includes, for example, a plurality of mirrors M6 through M11. Aberration of the light C2 is corrected by the plurality of mirrors M6 through M11. Also, the light C2 is focused on a predetermined position on the wafer W by the plurality of mirrors M6 through M11. The positions and angles of the plurality of mirrors M6 through M11 can be adjusted as appropriate.
The wafer W is mounted on a stage 540. The light exposure device 500 projects the light C2 which is light reflected by the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 onto the wafer W via the second optical system 530. When projection onto one region is completed, the stage 540 is moved. Then, the light C2 is projected onto the next region of the wafer W. By repeating this process, the light C2 is projected onto a plurality of regions on the wafer W.
The first optical system 520 sets the position of the focal point of the light C1 between the first surface 10a and the top surfaces of the protruding patterns 21 and 31 of the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120. For example, as shown in
Also, the first optical system 520 may set the position of the focal point of the light C1 on the substrate 10 side of the first surface 10a of the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120. For example, as shown in
By setting the positions of the focal points in this manner, it is possible to increase the contrast of the images of the light C2 due to the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 and exhibit sufficient transfer performance.
Next, a light exposure method according to a fourth embodiment is explained.
As illustrated in
In preparing the substrate and mask (step S101), an object to be exposed to light, for example a wafer W, is prepared. For example, a resist is applied to the surface of the wafer W. The wafer W is mounted on the stage 540 illustrated in
Next, in irradiating with light (step S102), the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 is irradiated with a predetermined light C1. The light C1 is, for example, emitted from the light source 510 illustrated in
In this embodiment, when the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 is irradiated with the light C1, the position of the focal point of the light C1 is set between the first surface 10a and the top surface of the protruding pattern 21 and 31 of the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120. Also, the position of the focal point of the light C1 maybe set on the substrate 10 side of the first surface 10a of the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120.
Next, in projecting the light (step S103), the light C2 which is the light C1 reflected by the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 is projected onto the wafer W which is the object to be exposed to light. The light C2 is projected onto the wafer W via the second optical system 530 illustrated in
According to the light exposure method of this embodiment, it is possible to improve the contrast of the image of the light C2 due to the reflective projection light exposure mask 110 and 120 and exhibit sufficient transfer performance.
As explained above, according to the reflective projection light exposure mask, light exposure method, and light exposure device of this embodiment, it is possible to improve the transfer performance of the pattern image.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013-187660 | Sep 2013 | JP | national |