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International Conference on the Industry 4.0 model for Advanced Manufacturing

AMP 2019: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on the Industry 4.0 Model for Advanced Manufacturing pp 1–11Cite as

Nano - Precision Systems for Overlay in Advanced Lithography Processes

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

Abstract

Improvement in lithographic overlay has been a key enabler of Moore’s law. Overlay control has improved from above 300 nm (3σ) in early lithographic systems, to close to 2 nm (3σ) in state-of-the-art photolithography systems as well as in the emerging area of nanoimprint lithography systems. In this article, we survey the innovations which led to these incredibly precise overlay capabilities in modern patterning systems.

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Change history

  • 22 June 2019

    The original version of this chapter starting on page 1 was revised. The incorrect legends of the figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 have been corrected.

Notes

  1. 1.

    A detailed coverage of overlay theory can be found in Levinson’s monograph on lithography [2].

  2. 2.

    Lithographic overlay is critical in maintaining device yield. See Chapter 6 of Levinson’s monograph [2]. For an exemplar chart of overlay-limited yield, see Fig. 3 in reference [3].

  3. 3.

    This corresponds to an overlay precision of better than 2 nm (3σ) over the area of a 26 mm-by-33 mm lithographic die.

  4. 4.

    Alignment refers to superposition of a few (strategically-placed) marks on the mask and substrate, whereas overlay refers to superposition of the entire patterned area on the substrate and the mask. Good alignment does not necessarily ensure good overlay, however good overlay necessarily implies good alignment.

  5. 5.

    Of course, each transition presented its own specific challenges, and auxiliary systems had to be added to supplement the basic 6-axis framework. In immersion lithography for instance, overlay error due to evaporative cooling of the immersion fluid was a significant challenge. Advanced design of the immersion nozzle [17], and active thermal control of the substrate [18], were used to improve overlay in immersion systems.

  6. 6.

    For instance, litho-based double-patterning at 38 nm half-pitch and beyond, required overlay accuracy of ~7% of the half-pitch.

  7. 7.

    Some of these issues have eventually been addressed in the development of the EUV lithography system which operates in vacuum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASCENT Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78758, USA

    P. Ajay & S. V. Sreenivasan

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  1. P. Ajay
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  2. S. V. Sreenivasan
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Correspondence to S. V. Sreenivasan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Computer Science and Control, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Laszlo Monostori

  2. University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Vidosav D. Majstorovic

  3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    S. Jack Hu

  4. Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Dragan Djurdjanovic

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Ajay, P., Sreenivasan, S.V. (2019). Nano - Precision Systems for Overlay in Advanced Lithography Processes. In: Monostori, L., Majstorovic, V.D., Hu, S.J., Djurdjanovic, D. (eds) Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on the Industry 4.0 Model for Advanced Manufacturing. AMP 2019. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18180-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18180-2_1

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