Scatterometry is a contender for various measurement applications where structure widths and heights can be significantly smaller than 70 nm within one or two ITRS generations. For example, feedforward process control in the post-lithography transistor gate formation is being actively pursued by a number of RIE tool manufacturers. Several commercial forms of scatterometry are available or under development which promise to provide satisfactory performance, in this regime. Scatterometry, as commercially practiced today, involves analyzing the zeroth order reflected light from a grating of lines. Normal incidence spectroscopic reflectometry, 2-theta fixed-wavelength ellipsometry, and spectroscopic ellipsometry are among the optical techniques, while library based spectra matching and realtime regression are among the analysis techniques. All these commercial forms will find accurate and precise measurement a challenge when the material constituting the critical structure. approaches a very small volume. Equally challenging is executing an evaluation methodology that first determines the true. properties (critical dimensions and materials) of semiconductor wafer artifacts and then compares measurement performance of several scatterometers. How well do scatterometers track process-induced changes in bottom CD and sidewall profile? This paper introduces a general 3D metrology assessment methodology and reports upon work involving sub-70 nm structures and several scatterometers. The-methodology combines results from multiple metrologies (CD-SEM, CD-AFM, TEM, and XSEM) to form a Reference Measurement System (RMS). The methodology determines how well the scatterometry measurement tracks critical structure changes even in the presence of other noncritical changes that take place at the same time; these are key components of accuracy. Because the assessment rewards scatterometers that measure with good precision (reproducibility) and good accuracy, the most precise scatterometer is not necessarily the best.
