Title :
Investigation of an on product high-k/metal metrology methodology using an in-line, high throughput XPS measurement technique
Author :
Dai, Min ; Klare, Mark ; Rangarajan, Srinivasan ; Chudzik, Michael P. ; Shepard, Joseph ; Tai, Leo ; Ronsheim, Paul ; Kwan, Mike ; Larson, Tom
Author_Institution :
IBM, Hopewell Junction, NY, USA
Abstract :
In this paper, we investigated a novel and unique, high throughput, inline XPS technique for thin film (<; 100 A) measurements, such as SiON and HfO2. Inline XPS measurement capability was evaluated using four separate techniques; offline SIMS, offline XPS, inline ellipsometry and inline micro X-ray fluorescence (XRF). A Nitrogen sensitivity test determined that the detection limit was on the order of 5×13 atm/cm2 in a thin SiON layer. The success of decoupling the thickness of the bi-layer HfO2/SiON/Si film was demonstrated. Long term dynamic precision and short term repeatability for high-k film measurements are also discussed for both thickness and composition. These values were determined to be less than 1% of the nominal value (1sigma).
Keywords :
X-ray fluorescence analysis; X-ray photoelectron spectra; ellipsometry; hafnium compounds; high-k dielectric thin films; silicon compounds; thickness measurement; HfO2-SiON-Si; high throughput inline XPS measurement; high-k film measurement; inline ellipsometry; inline micro X-ray fluorescence; long term dynamic precision; metal metrology; nitrogen sensitivity test; offline SIMS; offline XPS; short term repeatability; thickness decoupling; thin film measurement; Films; Hafnium; High K dielectric materials; Nitrogen; Process control; Silicon; Thickness measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC), 2010 IEEE/SEMI
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-6517-0
DOI :
10.1109/ASMC.2010.5551418
