The invention relates to the general field of photolithography with particular reference to phase difference between alternating elements on a reticle.
As the critical dimensions of the elements that make up integrated circuits approach, and grow smaller than, the wavelength of the radiation used to form photolithographic images, various strategies have been developed to deal with the problem of how to continue resolving these elements from one another in the final images. One of the most successful approaches to the problem has been phase shifting masks.
The basic notion behind such masks is to eliminate or reduce the diffraction fringes that are generated immediately alongside any opaque edge. Since these fringes arise from Huygen's wavelets being alternately in and out of phase, they can be changed, and thus reduced, if the phase of the light in the immediate vicinity of an edge is changed. Thus, in the alternating phase shift mask (APSM), the phase of light that passes just outside the edge of an element that is to be imaged is shifted by 180 degrees and the diffraction fringe that would normally be there is eliminated.
In
It should be noted that the way
The prior art procedure for designing masks for a densely packed set of elements is illustrated in
While these prior art algorithms work well enough for the simple examples used to illustrate them, several problems arise when they are applied to the more complex distributions of elements that are to be found in real circuit layouts. For example, in
In order to reduce the number of required phase assignments, the prior art has also been using an alternative algorithm which is illustrated in
The present invention describes an array, and method for its formation, that requires both fewer phase assignment decisions to be made and is free from possible phase conflicts.
A routine search of the prior art was performed with the following references of interest being found:
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,904 B1, Cobb shows a process to correct edge placement distortion while Lin describes a double alternating PSM in U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,064. Travis et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,158 B1, show a mask process including assist features. U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,856 B1 (Lin) also reveals a PSM with assist features.
It has been an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide an alternate phase shift mask suitable for projecting images of holes.
Another object of at least one embodiment of the present invention has been has been to provide a method for producing said mask.
Still another object of at least one embodiment of the present invention has been that said method and the resulting masks be useful for isolated holes, densely packed holes, and arbitrary mixes of isolated and densely packed holes.
A further object of at least one embodiment of the present invention has been that said masks, produced according to the teachings of the present invention, provide an increased depth of focus and a reduced sensitivity to phase errors relative to masks for the same hole patterns produced according to the teachings of the prior art.
These objects have been achieved by adding dummy elements at the ends of all rows and columns of the array that is to be imaged, while initially leaving all corners open. Phases are then assigned in checker board fashion to all elements following which additional dummy elements are then placed in the open corners and assigned the same phase as their immediate neighbors.
a and 8b compare depth of focus results for PSMs prepared according to the prior art and to the present invention, respectively.
We refer now to
Assignment of phase can be achieved in one of two ways, both of which involve adjusting the optical thickness of one set of elements relative to the others. Our preferred way has been to decrease the thickness of the relevant elements, through dry etching and wet etching, while monitoring the phase of light transmitted through them. It is, however, also possible to adjust phase by increasing the optical thickness of the relevant elements. Since a higher refractive index material than that constituting the reticle can be used, there is less effect on the planarity of the reticle surface. Also, the deposition of additional material allows for the introduction grey scale elements, should these be desired.
Finally, dummy elements (such as 59) are placed in each of the open corners and their phases assigned. In another important departure from the prior art, these phases are assigned to be the same as that of their two closest neighbors. The result is array 58 which is to be contrasted with array 15 of
The same method is similarly applicable to arrays of more than one element, as exemplified in
We may effectively compare the method of the present invention with the prior art by following the steps needed to form a PSM from complex array 31 last seen in
Finally, proceeding along arrow 55 in
To transfer an image of an array such as 31 to photoresist, two exposures are normally used. In the first exposure, a reticle bearing the array pattern (58, 68, or 74 in
It is also possible in certain cases to manage with only a single exposure. This is because, for arrays formed in this way, the DOF (depth of focus) for the original elements within the PSM array turns out to be significantly greater than that of the peripheral elements that were added to form the PSM as long as the added dummy elements are somewhat smaller in size than the originals (typically between about 50 and 95% shorter on each side). So, for a relatively thick layer of photoresist, the thinner image of the peripheral elements that is formed inside the resist layer will not survive the development process.
Through both simulation and experiment, we have determined that full resolution of contact or via holes having a critical dimension of about 0.1 microns can be obtained. in photoresist images that were obtained when using radiation having a wavelength of 0.193 microns.
As already noted, the depth of focus for the original elements in the pattern can be greater than that of the dummy elements. This is illustrated in
An additional advantage of the present invention is that it leads to less sensitivity to phase errors (departures from the zero or 180 degree phase difference that was intended for a given element). Data to illustrate this is shown in
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
6057064 | Lin | May 2000 | A |
6249904 | Cobb | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6303252 | Lin | Oct 2001 | B1 |
6312856 | Lin | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6396158 | Travis et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
6534221 | Lee et al. | Mar 2003 | B2 |
6635388 | Friedrich et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
6811935 | Pierrat | Nov 2004 | B2 |
20030198872 | Yamazoe et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20050053846 A1 | Mar 2005 | US |