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WO2024160498A1 - Procédé pour effectuer une action de maintenance sur un appareil lithographique - Google Patents

Procédé pour effectuer une action de maintenance sur un appareil lithographique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024160498A1
WO2024160498A1 PCT/EP2024/050485 EP2024050485W WO2024160498A1 WO 2024160498 A1 WO2024160498 A1 WO 2024160498A1 EP 2024050485 W EP2024050485 W EP 2024050485W WO 2024160498 A1 WO2024160498 A1 WO 2024160498A1
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Prior art keywords
machine
component
replacement
performance
correctable
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English (en)
Inventor
Marc Hauptmann
Thomas Voss
Siebe Landheer
Jun-Il Song
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ASML Netherlands BV
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ASML Netherlands BV
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Priority to CN202480009637.9A priority Critical patent/CN120604172A/zh
Publication of WO2024160498A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024160498A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/708—Construction of apparatus, e.g. environment aspects, hygiene aspects or materials
    • G03F7/70975—Assembly, maintenance, transport or storage of apparatus

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to methods and apparatus usable, for example, in the manufacture of devices by lithographic techniques, and to methods of manufacturing devices using lithographic techniques.
  • a lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate.
  • a lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs).
  • a patterning device which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC.
  • This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. including part of a die, one die, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate.
  • a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. These target portions are commonly referred to as “fields”.
  • the substrate is provided with one or more sets of alignment marks.
  • Each mark is a structure whose position can be measured at a later time using a position sensor, typically an optical position sensor.
  • the lithographic apparatus includes one or more alignment sensors by which positions of marks on a substrate can be measured accurately. Different types of marks and different types of alignment sensors are known from different manufacturers and different products of the same manufacturer.
  • metrology sensors are used for measuring exposed structures on a substrate (either in resist and/or after etch).
  • a fast and non-invasive form of specialized inspection tool is a scatterometer in which a beam of radiation is directed onto a target on the surface of the substrate and properties of the scattered or reflected beam are measured.
  • known scatterometers include angle-resolved scatterometers of the type described in US2006033921A1 and US2010201963A1.
  • diffraction based overlay can be measured using such apparatus, as described in published patent application US2006066855A1. Diffraction-based overlay metrology using dark-field imaging of the diffraction orders enables overlay measurements on smaller targets.
  • WO2013178422A1 These targets can be smaller than the illumination spot and may be surrounded by product structures on a wafer. Multiple gratings can be measured in one image, using a composite grating target. The contents of all these applications are also incorporated herein by reference.
  • the invention in a first aspect provides a method of machine maintenance comprising, subsequent to performance of a maintenance action in which an old machine component has been replaced by a replacement machine component, performing the steps of: determining a performance impact metric describing an impact on machine performance caused by the replacement of said old machine component with said replacement machine component; and degrading the replacement component such that at least a non-correctable portion of said performance impact metric is reduced and/or minimized, said non-correctable portion being a portion which cannot be corrected by a correction mechanism of said machine and/or a process performed using said machine.
  • Figure 1 depicts a lithographic apparatus
  • Figure 2 illustrates schematically measurement and exposure processes in the apparatus of Figure 1;
  • Figure 3(a) conceptually illustrates the cancelling effect in overlay of wafer table fingerprints in each layer in the absence of a wafer table swap, and
  • Figure 3(b) conceptually illustrates the performance impact in overlay of such a wafer table swap;
  • Figure 4 is a plot of cumulative lots of wafers produced against time, illustrating the concept of C- time.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart describing a method of reducing the wafers-in-progress (WIP) impact of a maintenance action by degrading a replacement machine component according to an embodiment
  • Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for predicting non-correctable WIP impacts based on inline metrology data usable in the method of Figure 5.
  • FIG. 1 schematically depicts a lithographic apparatus LA.
  • the apparatus includes an illumination system (illuminator) IL configured to condition a radiation beam B (e.g., UV radiation or DUV radiation), a patterning device support or support structure (e.g., a mask table) MT constructed to support a patterning device (e.g., a mask) MA and connected to a first positioner PM configured to accurately position the patterning device in accordance with certain parameters; two substrate tables (e.g., a wafer table) WTa and WTb each constructed to hold a substrate (e.g., a resist coated wafer) W and each connected to a second positioner PW configured to accurately position the substrate in accordance with certain parameters; and a projection system (e.g., a refractive projection lens system) PS configured to project a pattern imparted to the radiation beam B by patterning device MA onto a target portion C (e.g., including one or more dies) of the substrate W.
  • the illumination system may include various types of optical components, such as refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrostatic or other types of optical components, or any combination thereof, for directing, shaping, or controlling radiation.
  • optical components such as refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrostatic or other types of optical components, or any combination thereof, for directing, shaping, or controlling radiation.
  • the patterning device support MT holds the patterning device in a manner that depends on the orientation of the patterning device, the design of the lithographic apparatus, and other conditions, such as for example whether or not the patterning device is held in a vacuum environment.
  • the patterning device support can use mechanical, vacuum, electrostatic or other clamping techniques to hold the patterning device.
  • the patterning device support MT may be a frame or a table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required. The patterning device support may ensure that the patterning device is at a desired position, for example with respect to the projection system.
  • patterning device used herein should be broadly interpreted as referring to any device that can be used to impart a radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section such as to create a pattern in a target portion of the substrate. It should be noted that the pattern imparted to the radiation beam may not exactly correspond to the desired pattern in the target portion of the substrate, for example if the pattern includes phase-shifting features or so called assist features. Generally, the pattern imparted to the radiation beam will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit.
  • the apparatus is of a transmissive type (e.g., employing a transmissive patterning device).
  • the apparatus may be of a reflective type (e.g., employing a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above, or employing a reflective mask).
  • patterning devices include masks, programmable mirror arrays, and programmable LCD panels. Any use of the terms “reticle” or “mask” herein may be considered synonymous with the more general term “patterning device.”
  • the term “patterning device” can also be interpreted as referring to a device storing in digital form pattern information for use in controlling such a programmable patterning device.
  • projection system used herein should be broadly interpreted as encompassing any type of projection system, including refractive, reflective, catadioptric, magnetic, electromagnetic and electrostatic optical systems, or any combination thereof, as appropriate for the exposure radiation being used, or for other factors such as the use of an immersion liquid or the use of a vacuum. Any use of the term “projection lens” herein may be considered as synonymous with the more general term “projection system”.
  • the lithographic apparatus may also be of a type wherein at least a portion of the substrate may be covered by a liquid having a relatively high refractive index, e.g., water, so as to fill a space between the projection system and the substrate.
  • a liquid having a relatively high refractive index e.g., water
  • An immersion liquid may also be applied to other spaces in the lithographic apparatus, for example, between the mask and the projection system. Immersion techniques are well known in the art for increasing the numerical aperture of projection systems.
  • the illuminator IL receives a radiation beam from a radiation source SO.
  • the source and the lithographic apparatus may be separate entities, for example when the source is an excimer laser. In such cases, the source is not considered to form part of the lithographic apparatus and the radiation beam is passed from the source SO to the illuminator IL with the aid of a beam delivery system BD including, for example, suitable directing mirrors and/or a beam expander. In other cases the source may be an integral part of the lithographic apparatus, for example when the source is a mercury lamp.
  • the source SO and the illuminator IL, together with the beam delivery system BD if required, may be referred to as a radiation system.
  • the illuminator IL may for example include an adjuster AD for adjusting the angular intensity distribution of the radiation beam, an integrator IN and a condenser CO.
  • the illuminator may be used to condition the radiation beam, to have a desired uniformity and intensity distribution in its cross section.
  • the radiation beam B is incident on the patterning device MA, which is held on the patterning device support MT, and is patterned by the patterning device. Having traversed the patterning device (e.g., mask) MA, the radiation beam B passes through the projection system PS, which focuses the beam onto a target portion C of the substrate W.
  • the substrate table WTa or WTb can be moved accurately, e.g., so as to position different target portions C in the path of the radiation beam B.
  • the first positioner PM and another position sensor can be used to accurately position the patterning device (e.g., mask) MA with respect to the path of the radiation beam B, e.g., after mechanical retrieval from a mask library, or during a scan.
  • the lithographic apparatus may comprise an aberration sensor for the verification of an aberration fingerprint of the projection system PS.
  • an aberration fingerprint i.e. aberrations per field point of the projection system PS
  • a wavefront aberration sensor of a known type, for instance such as described in US2002/0001088 may be used.
  • Such a wavefront aberration sensor may be based on the principle of shearing interferometry and comprises a source module and a sensor module.
  • the source module may comprise a patterned layer of chromium that is placed in the object plane (i.e. where during production the pattern of the patterning means is) of the projection system PS and has additional optics provided above the chromium layer.
  • the combination provides a wavefront of radiation to the entire pupil of the projection system PS.
  • the sensor module may comprise a patterned layer of chromium that is placed in the image plane of the projection system (i.e. where during production the substrate W is) and a camera that is placed some distance behind said layer of chromium.
  • the patterned layer of chromium on the sensor module diffracts radiation into several diffraction orders that interfere with each other giving rise to an interferogram.
  • the interferogram is measured by the camera.
  • the aberrations in the projection lens can be determined by software based upon the measured interferogram.
  • the wavefront aberration sensor may be configured to transfer information with respect to the aberration fingerprint towards the control unit.
  • Patterning device (e.g., mask) MA and substrate W may be aligned using mask alignment marks Ml, M2 and substrate alignment marks Pl, P2.
  • the substrate alignment marks as illustrated occupy dedicated target portions, they may be located in spaces between target portions (these are known as scribe-lane alignment marks).
  • the mask alignment marks may be located between the dies.
  • Small alignment marks may also be included within dies, in amongst the device features, in which case it is desirable that the markers be as small as possible and not require any different imaging or process conditions than adjacent features. The alignment system, which detects the alignment markers is described further below.
  • the depicted apparatus could be used in a variety of modes.
  • the patterning device support (e.g., mask table) MT and the substrate table WT are scanned synchronously while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion C (i.e., a single dynamic exposure).
  • the speed and direction of the substrate table WT relative to the patterning device support (e.g., mask table) MT may be determined by the (de-)magnification and image reversal characteristics of the projection system PS.
  • the maximum size of the exposure field limits the width (in the non-scanning direction) of the target portion in a single dynamic exposure, whereas the length of the scanning motion determines the height (in the scanning direction) of the target portion.
  • Other types of lithographic apparatus and modes of operation are possible, as is well-known in the art. For example, a step mode is known. In so-called “maskless” lithography, a programmable patterning device is held stationary but with a changing pattern, and the substrate table WT is moved or scanned.
  • Lithographic apparatus LA is of a so-called dual stage type which has two substrate tables WTa, WTb and two stations - an exposure station EXP and a measurement station MEA - between which the substrate tables can be exchanged. While one substrate on one substrate table is being exposed at the exposure station, another substrate can be loaded onto the other substrate table at the measurement station and various preparatory steps carried out. This enables a substantial increase in the throughput of the apparatus.
  • the preparatory steps may include mapping the surface height contours of the substrate using a level sensor LS and measuring the position of alignment markers on the substrate using an alignment sensor AS.
  • a second position sensor may be provided to enable the positions of the substrate table to be tracked at both stations, relative to reference frame RF.
  • Other arrangements are known and usable instead of the dual-stage arrangement shown.
  • other lithographic apparatuses are known in which a substrate table and a measurement table are provided. These are docked together when performing preparatory measurements, and then undocked while the substrate table undergoes exposure.
  • Figure 2 illustrates the steps to expose target portions (e.g. dies) on a substrate W in the dual stage apparatus of Figure 1.
  • steps performed at a measurement station MEA On the left hand side within a dotted box are steps performed at a measurement station MEA, while the right hand side shows steps performed at the exposure station EXP.
  • one of the substrate tables WTa, WTb will be at the exposure station, while the other is at the measurement station, as described above.
  • a substrate W has already been loaded into the exposure station.
  • a new substrate W’ is loaded to the apparatus by a mechanism not shown. These two substrates are processed in parallel in order to increase the throughput of the lithographic apparatus.
  • the newly-loaded substrate W’ may be a previously unprocessed substrate, prepared with a new photo resist for first time exposure in the apparatus.
  • the lithography process described will be merely one step in a series of exposure and processing steps, so that substrate W’ has been through this apparatus and/or other lithography apparatuses, several times already, and may have subsequent processes to undergo as well.
  • the task is to ensure that new patterns are applied in exactly the correct position on a substrate that has already been subjected to one or more cycles of patterning and processing. These processing steps progressively introduce distortions in the substrate that must be measured and corrected for, to achieve satisfactory overlay performance.
  • the previous and/or subsequent patterning step may be performed in other lithography apparatuses, as just mentioned, and may even be performed in different types of lithography apparatus.
  • some layers in the device manufacturing process which are very demanding in parameters such as resolution and overlay may be performed in a more advanced lithography tool than other layers that are less demanding. Therefore some layers may be exposed in an immersion type lithography tool, while others are exposed in a ‘dry’ tool. Some layers may be exposed in a tool working at DUV wavelengths, while others are exposed using EUV wavelength radiation.
  • alignment measurements using the substrate marks Pl etc. and image sensors are used to measure and record alignment of the substrate relative to substrate table WTa/WTb.
  • alignment sensor AS several alignment marks across the substrate W’ will be measured using alignment sensor AS. These measurements are used in one embodiment to establish a “wafer grid”, which maps very accurately the distribution of marks across the substrate, including any distortion relative to a nominal rectangular grid.
  • a map of wafer height (Z) against X-Y position is measured also using the level sensor LS.
  • the height map is used only to achieve accurate focusing of the exposed pattern. It may be used for other purposes in addition.
  • recipe data 206 were received, defining the exposures to be performed, and also properties of the wafer and the patterns previously made and to be made upon it.
  • recipe data are added the measurements of wafer position, wafer grid and height map that were made at 202, 204, so that a complete set of recipe and measurement data 208 can be passed to the exposure station EXP.
  • the measurements of alignment data for example comprise X and Y positions of alignment targets formed in a fixed or nominally fixed relationship to the product patterns that are the product of the lithographic process. These alignment data, taken just before exposure, are used to generate an alignment model with parameters that fit the model to the data.
  • wafers W’ and W are swapped, so that the measured substrate W’ becomes the substrate W entering the exposure station EXP. In the example apparatus of Figure 1, this swapping is performed by exchanging the supports WTa and WTb within the apparatus, so that the substrates W, W’ remain accurately clamped and positioned on those supports, to preserve relative alignment between the substrate tables and substrates themselves.
  • determining the relative position between projection system PS and substrate table WTb (formerly WTa) is all that is necessary to make use of the measurement information 202, 204 for the substrate W (formerly W’) in control of the exposure steps.
  • reticle alignment is performed using the mask alignment marks Ml, M2.
  • scanning motions and radiation pulses are applied at successive target locations across the substrate W, in order to complete the exposure of a number of patterns.
  • a lithographic apparatus or scanner requires regular maintenance actions, for example to replace hardware components which are subject to degradation over time.
  • regular maintenance actions for example to replace hardware components which are subject to degradation over time.
  • the wafer table of a scanner degrades and requires periodic replacement.
  • Such hardware swaps and/or maintenance actions can result in a performance impact.
  • Overlay is an important parameter which describes the proper placement of a layer with respect to a previously exposed (lower) layer.
  • Each wafer table imposes a wafer clamping impact or clamping fingerprint on a substrate clamped thereto, which should be corrected for.
  • the associated wafer clamping impact is affected (typically becoming greater) which will affect the positioning of exposed structures on the substrate.
  • CEs correctable errors
  • NCEs non-correctable errors
  • the wafer clamping impact changes sufficiently slowly such that there is essentially no significant change between exposures of different layers on a single wafer. Because overlay is a relative measure between two layers, NCEs resulting from this impact in each layer largely cancel themselves out.
  • the lines for the first layer LI and second layer L2 represent a high frequency component of wafer grid impact of a degraded wafer table. Although this degradation results in a relatively large magnitude disturbance of the local placement of features in each exposure layer, these disturbances are typically sufficiently similar in each layer and cancel themselves out in overlay (i.e., the positional errors are the same in each layer meaning that misalignment between layers due to this effect is relatively small).
  • FIG. 3(b) conceptually illustrates the situation should there be a wafer table swap between exposure of layer LI and L2.
  • the new table results in an overall smaller wafer grid impact due to wafer table imperfection; however the impact of the old table is present in the layer LI exposure. Therefore, there is no longer a cancelling out of this impact, resulting in a significantly larger NCE overlay penalty. This may cause an APC non-correctable jump due to the difference in these fingerprints, which may be sufficiently large to affect yield (the fact that the errors are non-correctable means that these wafers cannot be recovered via rework).
  • Wafer table maintenance is only one example of a maintenance action (e.g., component replacement) which results in this mismatched fingerprint issue.
  • Other maintenance actions which cause result in mismatched fingerprints before and after the maintenance action include inter alia lens swaps of any of the lenses of the projection optics.
  • WIP wafer-in-process
  • One strategy to mitigate this WIP impact is to “ramp-down” the exposure of a number of layers in the run-up to such a maintenance action, so as to reduce the number of wafers in progress at the time of the action.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the effect of such a ramp-down.
  • a ramp-down typically comprises the ceasing of exposure of one or more layers in the weeks leading up to the maintenance action, e.g., ceasing exposure of each layer in turn from the bottom layer, at intervals of a few days to a couple or few weeks between the ramping down of each successive layer. It may be that not all layers are ramped down, and optimizing the number of layers which are to be ramped down is an aim of at least some of the methods disclosed herein. This ramping down of layers represents a loss of productivity with respect to continuing wafer production at the rate prior to beginning ramp-down.
  • ramp-down impact there will be an accompanying ramp-up impact (i.e., in comparison to full production rate) when production restarts following the maintenance action. For example, there is a need to restart production for each layer ramped down layer before production of layers higher in the stack can be started.
  • the correction loop or APC loop needs to be restarted as there is no (or insufficient) metrology data for the post-maintenance system. Because of this, many of the first wafers in progress that are exposed post-maintenance action will be exposed out- of-spec and therefore will require reworking (stripped of the poorly exposed resist, re-covered and reexposed).
  • C- time the time impact of these ramp-down and ramp-up periods with respect to no ramp-up or rampdown.
  • C-time is additional to A-time (the nominal downtime for the actual maintenance action) and B- time (a margin applied to the A-time).
  • Figure 4 is a plot of the cumulative number of lots #lots against time showing production rate for a production period (solid line) which includes a ramp-down period, maintenance action and ramp- up period.
  • the A+B time is the period of the actual maintenance action including margin, during which productivity is nil (machine down- time).
  • the dotted line represents a nominal production rate had there been no ramp-down or ramp-up time, and production continued at a constant rate till the maintenance action and again immediately on recommencing production after the action.
  • C-time is the time difference between the two plots after completion of ramp-up and production has reached an approximately steady rate. It may be appreciated that C-time is typically much greater than A+B-time, more so than illustrated in this plot.
  • a proposed strategy for resolving this WIP impact issue is to use a combination of an “early swap” and “WIP-less recovery” so as to reduce ramp-down and therefore C-time (ideally to zero).
  • An early swap strategy comprises monitoring and predicting the buildup of potential WIP impact in order to swap “just-in-time”, e.g., such that the maintenance action is performed at or near the latest time for which the predicted non-correctable portion of the WIP impact is minimal (e.g., that any degradation impact that contributes to WIP impact can be corrected via machine or scanner actuation).
  • WIP-less recovery comprises using adapted scanner calibrations in order to recover back to the fingerprint before the swap instead of resetting the fingerprint to “zero”.
  • This may comprise measuring the “pre-post” fingerprint difference, i.e., the difference in product drift (e.g., difference in parameter of interest or overlay fingerprints) between using the old component and the new component (e.g., immediately before and immediately after the maintenance action).
  • this may comprise measuring a first fingerprint (e.g., immediately or shortly) before the maintenance action and then measuring a second (equivalent) fingerprint (e.g., immediately or shortly) after the maintenance action.
  • Each of these fingerprints may, for example, describe variation or spatial distribution of a parameter of interest such as overlay across the wafer (or a portion thereof).
  • the difference of these fingerprints may be used as a delta in control loops to provide for WIPless recovery after a component replacement. Over time, this delta can be gradually tuned down to zero as the replacement component degrades.
  • the pre-post fingerprint difference comprises no, or at least an acceptably small, non-correctable portion and therefore can be at least substantially minimized via scanner actuation (one or more control loops).
  • a method is proposed in which the replacement component or new component is deliberately degraded as part of the maintenance action, e.g., using an accelerated degradation action.
  • This degradation may be such that at least a non-correctable portion of the pre-post fingerprint difference (WIP impact of the maintenance action) is minimized and/or reduced, e.g., such that the prepost fingerprint difference is substantially fully correctable, e.g., by scanner actuation.
  • the proposed method may comprise performing, subsequent to performance of a maintenance action in which an old machine component has been replaced by a replacement machine component: determining a performance impact metric describing an impact on machine performance caused by the replacement of said old machine component with said replacement machine component; and degrading the replacement component such that at least a non-correctable portion of said performance impact metric is reduced and/or minimized, said non-correctable portion being a portion which cannot be corrected by a correction mechanism of said machine and/or a process performed using said machine.
  • Such a correction mechanism may relate to an actuation of said machine, a software or model of said machine (there may be a limitation in correctability in the machine e.g. due to “undermodelling” of data for various reasons or certain balancing of trade-offs that might not be optimized for the problem at hand) and/or a control loop of the machine.
  • APC non-correctable errors these are not necessarily only limited by scanner actuation, but also by the correction (software) interface and the sampling and modelling of the scanner data. It may be appreciated therefore that APC NCE and Scanner NCE are not necessarily the same.
  • the machine may be a lithography apparatus or scanner and said machine performance may relate to imaging performance of the lithography apparatus when imaging a pattern on a substrate, e.g., in terms of a parameter of interest indicative of machine/imaging performance such as overlay.
  • the performance impact metric may describe imaging performance for the parameter of interest when a first action (e.g., imaging of a first layer) is performed on the substrate using the old machine component and a second action (e.g., imaging of a second layer) is performed on the (same) substrate using the replacement machine component.
  • the method may comprise determining a non-correctable performance impact metric comprising a non-correctable portion of said performance impact metric and degrading the replacement component to reduce and/or minimize this non-correctable performance impact metric.
  • the method may comprise degrading the replacement component to reduce and/or minimize the (full) performance impact metric, i.e., including a correctable portion of the performance impact metric.
  • the non-correctable performance impact metric may comprise a difference of a first non-correctable spatial distribution or first non-correctable fingerprint (e.g., non-correctable portion of the first fingerprint) imposed by the old component and a second non-correctable spatial distribution or second non-correctable fingerprint (e.g., non-correctable portion of the second fingerprint) imposed by the replacement component.
  • the degrading step may act to change this second non-correctable fingerprint such that it is more closely matched to the first non-correctable fingerprint.
  • the performance impact metric may be determined from first metrology data relating to the machine/scanner comprising the old component (e.g., shortly or immediately) prior to the maintenance action and second metrology data relating to the machine/scanner comprising the replacement component (e.g., shortly or immediately) after the maintenance action.
  • the first metrology data and second metrology data may comprise overlay data (e.g., overlay fingerprint data).
  • the first metrology data and second metrology data may comprise inline metrology data; such inline metrology data may comprise for example, inter alia: wafer table qualification data, levelling data, lens aberration drift data.
  • WIP impact fingerprint pre-post fingerprint difference
  • the second metrology data does not need to be actually measured, instead (or in addition) it may be predicted based on the first metrology data and a modelling step (suitable model which can predict the second (post) metrology data from the first (pre) metrology data).
  • the degrading step may be performed in situ, i.e., on the machine (e.g., scanner) comprising the replacement component and with the replacement component installed.
  • the degrading step may be performed iteratively, with the (e.g., non-correctable) performance impact metric determined for each iteration.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart describing a method according to an embodiment.
  • an (e.g., inline) measurement is performed before and after a maintenance action (component replacement).
  • the measurement may be performed before the maintenance action, and the post-maintenance data predicted from this measured data.
  • resultant first fingerprint LI and second fingerprint L2, and therefore a pre-post fingerprint difference are determined.
  • This step may comprise initially determining the non-correctable portion of these fingerprints and the non-correctable pre -post fingerprint difference or WIP impact (although the method may use the full fingerprint).
  • WIP impact although the method may use the full fingerprint.
  • These steps may additionally (optionally) take into account any drift control mechanisms being used, which may reduce the WIP impact.
  • a component degradation step may be performed to (quickly) degrade the replacement component.
  • This component degradation step may be performed with the replacement component in situ, i.e., installed on the scanner.
  • the specifics of such a component degradation step will depend on the component being replaced.
  • the component degradation may comprise a version of “flatness reconditioning”, e.g., to wear or flatten the burls of the table in a fashion similar to that of the old table.
  • a burn-in procedure may be used for a replacement lens element.
  • This may comprise a series of dummy exposures at high dose, e.g., with a selection of illumination settings and field sizes representative of those which may be used in wafer production on the scanner and which are known to impact the performance parameter in question.
  • specific reticles with a preprogrammed attenuation pattern could be used to prevent the introduction of “parasitic” fading.
  • step 540 may proceed directly to step 540 where a WIPless recovery procedure is performed as has already been described, e.g., with the control loops not completely reset, but instead using the new pre-post fingerprint difference between first fingerprint LI and new second fingerprint L2’ (e.g., the non-correctable portions thereof), where the new second fingerprint L2’ is the fingerprint of the now degraded replacement component as degraded in step 520.
  • step 540 may calibrate the final pre-post fingerprint difference back to the pre-replacement pre-post fingerprint difference.
  • the method may repeat steps 500 to 520 iteratively, based on a determination at step 530 as to whether the (non-correctable) pre-post fingerprint difference is sufficiently minimized. As such, these steps can be performed in an iterative fashion, so as to converge towards the desired end result.
  • An advantage of this approach is that a generic component can be degraded within the scanner. This is in contrast to known methods where a replacement part may be pre-fabricated to more closely resemble a worn component it is to replace. This can have significant advantages. For example, the accelerated degradation will be closer to the actual degradation mechanism of the old component and might be more suitable for approximating the degradation fingerprint and/or emulating the real degradation pattern, since ex-situ manufacturing often has quite significant limitations / tolerances.
  • the proposed approach is more flexible, and can accommodate delayed (or brought forward) maintenance actions due to the use of a generic component as a starting point.
  • Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for predicting non-correctable WIP impacts based on inline metrology data 600 or scanner metrology/monitoring data such as e.g. wafer table qualification data, levelling data, lens aberration drift data, etc.. Such a method may be used, for example, in step 510 of the method of Figure 5.
  • This inline metrology data 600 can be translated 610 into an overlay (or other parameter of interest) impact using suitable models such as physical conversion models.
  • An example of a physical conversion model is a ‘Z2XY’ model which determines distortion induced overlay from leveling data and aberration sensitivities (which can be calculated using lithographical simulations).
  • the non-correctable error portion of the WIP impact or overlay impact is calculated 620 using an actuation model for the scanner.
  • This step may comprise combining this non-correctable impact into a breakdown of the node overlay performance in order to predict the total overlay impact under realistic process control performance assumptions.
  • Node overlay performance can be assessed using regular production data for multiple lots collected across different layers before and after the maintenance action. This data can be used to assess the on-product variability and its improvement due to the maintenance action (e.g., new scanner hardware). Since regular production data is used, it does not contain any WIP impact. The data can then be combined with the expected WIP impact determined based on scanner data, e.g. Z2XY data.
  • levelling data may be converted into predicted overlay data and therefore WIP impact via gradient based calculations (Z2XY).
  • the correctable error portion of the WIP impact can also be determined by performing steps 600 and 610, followed by a variation of step 620 where the correctable error portion of the overlay impact is calculated (rather than the non-correctable portion). Additionally, future trends may be predicted by extrapolating the WIP impact into the future.
  • imprint lithography a topography in a patterning device defines the pattern created on a substrate.
  • the topography of the patterning device may be pressed into a layer of resist supplied to the substrate whereupon the resist is cured by applying electromagnetic radiation, heat, pressure or a combination thereof.
  • the patterning device is moved out of the resist leaving a pattern in it after the resist is cured.
  • UV radiation e.g., having a wavelength of or about 365, 355, 248, 193, 157 or 126 nm
  • EUV radiation e.g., having a wavelength in the range of 1-100 nm
  • particle beams such as ion beams or electron beams.
  • lens may refer to any one or combination of various types of optical components, including refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic and electrostatic optical components. Reflective components are likely to be used in an apparatus operating in the UV and/or EUV ranges.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé de maintenance de machine réalisé suite à une action de maintenance dans laquelle un vieux composant de machine a été remplacé par un composant de machine de remplacement. Le procédé consiste à déterminer une métrique d'impact sur les performances décrivant un impact sur les performances de la machine provoqué par le remplacement dudit vieux composant de machine par ledit composant de machine de remplacement ; et à dégrader le composant de remplacement de telle sorte qu'au moins une partie non corrigible de ladite métrique d'impact sur les performances est réduite et/ou minimisée, ladite partie non corrigible étant une partie qui ne peut pas être corrigée par un mécanisme de correction de ladite machine et/ou un par processus effectué à l'aide de ladite machine.
PCT/EP2024/050485 2023-01-30 2024-01-10 Procédé pour effectuer une action de maintenance sur un appareil lithographique Ceased WO2024160498A1 (fr)

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