scholarly journals Highly spatial-resolved chemical metrology on latent resist images

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten van Es ◽  
Mehmet Tamer ◽  
Robbert Bloem ◽  
Laurent Fillinger ◽  
Elfi van Zeijl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Semiconductor Manufacturing ◽  
Electron Beams ◽  
Experimental Proof ◽  
Crucial Step ◽  
Chemical Metrology ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Chemically Amplified ◽  
Chemically Amplified Resist ◽  
Infra Red

Abstract Patterning photoresist with extreme control over dose and placement is the first crucial step in semiconductor manufacturing. But, how to accurately measure the activation of modern complex resists components at sufficient spatial resolution? No exposed nanometre-scale resist pattern is sufficiently sturdy to unaltered withstand inspection by intense photon or electron beams, not even after processing and development. This paper presents experimental proof that Infra-Red Atomic Force Microscopy (IR-AFM) is sufficiently sensitive and gentle to chemically record the vulnerable-yet-valuable lithographic patterns in a chemically amplified resist after exposure, prior to development. Accordingly, IR-AFM metrology provides the long-sought-for insights in changes in the chemical and spatial distribution per component in a latent resist image, both directly after exposure as well as during processing. With these to-be-gained understandings, a disruptive acceleration of resist design and processing is expected.

Correlation of Roughness, Impurity, Infra-Red Emissivity and Sputter Conditions for Aluminium Films

1994 ◽  
Vol 354 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.H. Wang ◽  
W.C. Shih ◽  
R.E. Somekh ◽  
J.E. Evetts ◽  
D. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Surface Roughness ◽  
Atomic Force Microscopy ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Impurity Level ◽  
General Context ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Preliminary Work ◽  
Infra Red ◽  
Deposition Conditions

AbstractWe report the results of a study of IR emissivity of aluminium films as a function of impurity level, film thickness and sputtering conditions. Preliminary work suggests that for a given level of film impurities and deposition conditions, the JJR emissivity can be minimized with a certain film thickness. The influence of impurity level, film thickness, and sputter pressure on IR emissivity has been correlated with the resistivity and the surface roughness (measured by atomic force microscopy). The results are discussed in the general context of the Drude theory with allowances for the observed roughness.

Sounding out buried nanostructures using subsurface ultrasonic resonance force microscopy

MRS Advances ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 603-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten H. van Es ◽  
Abbas Mohtashami ◽  
Paul L.M.J. van Neer ◽  
Hamed Sadeghian
Keyword(s):  
Semiconductor Manufacturing ◽  
Common Variants ◽  
Excellent Performance ◽  
Nanoscale Structures ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Covering Material ◽  
Ultrasonic Resonance ◽  
Contrast Mechanism ◽  
Fundamental Research

ABSTRACTImaging of nanoscale structures buried in a covering material is an extremely challenging task, but is also considered extremely important in a wide variety of fields. From fundamental research into the way living cells are built up to process control in semiconductor manufacturing would all benefit from the capability to image nanoscale structures through arbitrary covering layers. Combining Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) with ultrasound has been shown a promising technology to enable such imaging in various configurations. Here we report the development of an alternative method of combining AFM with ultrasound which we call SubSurface Ultrasonic Resonance Force Microscopy (SSURFM) and which is based on a combination of the two most common variants described in literature, which each have their specific strong points: Ultrasonic Force Microscopy (UFM) and Contact Resonance AFM (CR-AFM). We show the excellent performance of this combination on a number of samples designed specifically to mimic relevant conditions for the application as a metrology technique in the semiconductor manufacturing process. We also discuss the physics of the image contrast mechanism which is based on sensing local changes in visco-elastic properties of the sample bygenerating large indentations in the surface.

scholarly journals DNA fragmentation by gamma radiation and electron beams using atomic force microscopy

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Nieto González ◽  
João D. T. Arruda-Neto ◽  
Monica A. Cotta ◽  
Helaine Carrer ◽  
Fermin Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscopy ◽  
Gamma Radiation ◽  
Dna Fragmentation ◽  
Electron Beams ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Force

Cryogenic atomic force microscopy

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 54-55
Author(s):  
K. A. Fisher ◽  
M. G. L. Gustafsson ◽  
M. B. Shattuck ◽  
J. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Room Temperature ◽  
Rapid Freezing ◽  
Cryogenic Temperatures ◽  
Soft Or ◽  
Electrically Conductive ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Flexible Molecules ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Chemical Perturbation

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is capable of imaging electrically conductive and non-conductive surfaces at atomic resolution. When used to image biological samples, however, lateral resolution is often limited to nanometer levels, due primarily to AFM tip/sample interactions. Several approaches to immobilize and stabilize soft or flexible molecules for AFM have been examined, notably, tethering coating, and freezing. Although each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, rapid freezing techniques have the special advantage of avoiding chemical perturbation, and minimizing physical disruption of the sample. Scanning with an AFM at cryogenic temperatures has the potential to image frozen biomolecules at high resolution. We have constructed a force microscope capable of operating immersed in liquid n-pentane and have tested its performance at room temperature with carbon and metal-coated samples, and at 143° K with uncoated ferritin and purple membrane (PM).

AFM study of the dynamics of α-alumina surface faceting during high-temperature processing

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 334-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Bench ◽  
Jason R. Heffelfinger ◽  
C. Barry Carter
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Thin Foil ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Conductive Coatings ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Minimal Sample ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
High Temperature Processing ◽  
Nominal Surface

To gain a better understanding of the surface faceting that occurs in α-alumina during high temperature processing, atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies have been performed to follow the formation and evolution of the facets. AFM was chosen because it allows for analysis of topographical details down to the atomic level with minimal sample preparation. This is in contrast to SEM analysis, which typically requires the application of conductive coatings that can alter the surface between subsequent heat treatments. Similar experiments have been performed in the TEM; however, due to thin foil and hole edge effects the results may not be representative of the behavior of bulk surfaces.The AFM studies were performed on a Digital Instruments Nanoscope III using microfabricated Si3N4 cantilevers. All images were recorded in air with a nominal applied force of 10-15 nN. The alumina samples were prepared from pre-polished single crystals with (0001), , and nominal surface orientations.

Scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy: New tools for biology

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 778-779
Author(s):  
CE Bracker ◽  
P. K. Hansma
Keyword(s):  
Physical Property ◽  
Scanning Probe ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
New Family ◽  
Small Probe ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Transmission Electron

A new family of scanning probe microscopes has emerged that is opening new horizons for investigating the fine structure of matter. The earliest and best known of these instruments is the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). First published in 1982, the STM earned the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for two of its inventors, G. Binnig and H. Rohrer. They shared the prize with E. Ruska for his work that had led to the development of the transmission electron microscope half a century earlier. It seems appropriate that the award embodied this particular blend of the old and the new because it demonstrated to the world a long overdue respect for the enormous contributions electron microscopy has made to the understanding of matter, and at the same time it signalled the dawn of a new age in microscopy. What we are seeing is a revolution in microscopy and a redefinition of the concept of a microscope.Several kinds of scanning probe microscopes now exist, and the number is increasing. What they share in common is a small probe that is scanned over the surface of a specimen and measures a physical property on a very small scale, at or near the surface. Scanning probes can measure temperature, magnetic fields, tunneling currents, voltage, force, and ion currents, among others.

Morphology and development of flow-pattern defect with extended nonagitated Secco etching

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 868-869
Author(s):  
Y. Pan
Keyword(s):  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Silicon Crystal ◽  
Gate Oxide ◽  
Crystal Growth Rate ◽  
Etch Depth ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Etch Pit ◽  
Float Zone ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Multiple Step

The D defect, which causes the degradation of gate oxide integrities (GOI), can be revealed by Secco etching as flow pattern defect (FPD) in both float zone (FZ) and Czochralski (Cz) silicon crystal or as crystal originated particles (COP) by a multiple-step SC-1 cleaning process. By decreasing the crystal growth rate or high temperature annealing, the FPD density can be reduced, while the D defectsize increased. During the etching, the FPD surface density and etch pit size (FPD #1) increased withthe etch depth, while the wedge shaped contours do not change their positions and curvatures (FIG.l).In this paper, with atomic force microscopy (AFM), a simple model for FPD morphology by non-crystallographic preferential etching, such as Secco etching, was established.One sample wafer (FPD #2) was Secco etched with surface removed by 4 μm (FIG.2). The cross section view shows the FPD has a circular saucer pit and the wedge contours are actually the side surfaces of a terrace structure with very small slopes. Note that the scale in z direction is purposely enhanced in the AFM images. The pit dimensions are listed in TABLE 1.

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