CN113467180B - Phase shift mask, mask repairing method and equipment - Google Patents
Phase shift mask, mask repairing method and equipment Download PDFInfo
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- CN113467180B CN113467180B CN202110858794.5A CN202110858794A CN113467180B CN 113467180 B CN113467180 B CN 113467180B CN 202110858794 A CN202110858794 A CN 202110858794A CN 113467180 B CN113467180 B CN 113467180B
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- 230000010363 phase shift Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 240
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 43
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 89
- 230000008439 repair process Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 28
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 12
- 238000004088 simulation Methods 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims description 10
- 238000011156 evaluation Methods 0.000 claims description 9
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 abstract description 24
- 230000001066 destructive effect Effects 0.000 abstract description 5
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 abstract description 5
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 abstract description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 16
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 9
- 238000001459 lithography Methods 0.000 description 9
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 9
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 7
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 5
- 229920002120 photoresistant polymer Polymers 0.000 description 4
- VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N Chromium Chemical compound [Cr] VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000003631 expected effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000003860 storage Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000007769 metal material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000000206 photolithography Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000002360 preparation method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000006467 substitution reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- YXTPWUNVHCYOSP-UHFFFAOYSA-N bis($l^{2}-silanylidene)molybdenum Chemical compound [Si]=[Mo]=[Si] YXTPWUNVHCYOSP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- VNTLIPZTSJSULJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N chromium molybdenum Chemical compound [Cr].[Mo] VNTLIPZTSJSULJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000004590 computer program Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 description 1
- UQSXHKLRYXJYBZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N iron oxide Inorganic materials [Fe]=O UQSXHKLRYXJYBZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000005078 molybdenum compound Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910021344 molybdenum silicide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- NDLPOXTZKUMGOV-UHFFFAOYSA-N oxo(oxoferriooxy)iron hydrate Chemical compound O.O=[Fe]O[Fe]=O NDLPOXTZKUMGOV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000001259 photo etching Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000002834 transmittance Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
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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
- G03F1/00—Originals for photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g., masks, photo-masks, reticles; Mask blanks or pellicles therefor; Containers specially adapted therefor; Preparation thereof
- G03F1/26—Phase shift masks [PSM]; PSM blanks; Preparation thereof
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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
- G03F1/00—Originals for photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g., masks, photo-masks, reticles; Mask blanks or pellicles therefor; Containers specially adapted therefor; Preparation thereof
- G03F1/68—Preparation processes not covered by groups G03F1/20 - G03F1/50
- G03F1/72—Repair or correction of mask defects
Abstract
The application provides a phase shift mask, a mask repairing method and equipment, and relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing. After the target phase shift mask plate with the shading material residues in the corresponding mask pattern area is obtained, the shading material residues in the mask pattern area of the target phase shift mask plate are locally removed, so that the shading material residues are constructed into a target grating structure, at the moment, the surface of the area, close to the target grating structure, of the first phase shift area is exposed relative to the target grating structure part, in the first phase shift area, which is overlapped with the projection position of the shading material residues in the target phase shift mask plate, so that the first phase shift area in the target phase shift mask plate can recover the phase shift effect and the destructive interference function, and the repair operation of the phase shift mask plate with the shading material residues is quickly and effectively realized, and the phase shift mask plate after repair can reach the expected exposure effect.
Description
Technical Field
The application relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a phase shift mask, a mask repairing method and equipment.
Background
With the continuous development of science and technology, in order to meet the different demands of various industries on semiconductor devices, it is necessary to ensure that the semiconductor process has higher lithography resolution, so various lithography resolution enhancement techniques have been developed. The Phase Shift Mask (PSM) technology is a commonly used photolithography resolution enhancement technology, which can ensure that the light intensity of a dark area is weakened due to destructive interference between adjacent patterns on the surface of a silicon wafer by enabling light beams of adjacent light-transmitting areas of Mask patterns on a Mask plate to generate a 180-degree Phase difference, so as to improve the observation contrast and the photolithography resolution.
Currently, conventional phase shift reticles typically require forming a phase shift layer on a transparent substrate, forming a light shielding layer on the phase shift layer, and then forming a final mask pattern by etching the light shielding layer and the phase shift layer using a photoresist. In the preparation process of the phase-shift mask, more shading materials often remain in the mask pattern area of the phase-shift mask due to factors such as process flow difference, so that the exposure pattern formed by the phase-shift mask in actual use cannot achieve the expected effect.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present application is to provide a phase shift mask, a mask repairing method and a device, which can quickly and effectively repair a phase shift mask with a light shielding material residue, so that the repaired phase shift mask can achieve an expected exposure effect.
In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted in the embodiment of the present application is as follows:
in a first aspect, the present application provides a reticle repair method, the method comprising:
obtaining a target phase shift mask, wherein the target phase shift mask comprises a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked manner, wherein the light shielding layer is provided with light shielding material residues in a mask pattern area of the target phase shift mask, and the phase shift layer comprises a first phase shift area overlapped with projection positions of the light shielding material residues;
and locally removing the shading material residues in the mask pattern area of the target phase shift mask plate to construct the shading material residues into a target grating structure, so that the surface of the area, close to the target grating structure, of the first phase shift area is partially exposed relative to the target grating structure.
In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises:
obtaining a phase shift mask plate to be verified, wherein the phase shift mask plate to be verified comprises a shading layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode;
detecting whether a shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked has shading materials remained in a corresponding mask pattern area;
and under the condition that the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be checked is detected to remain with the light shielding material in the corresponding mask pattern area, directly taking the phase shift mask to be checked as the target phase shift mask.
In an alternative embodiment, the step of detecting whether the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be verified has a light shielding material remaining in the region corresponding to the mask pattern includes:
acquiring a real exposure pattern and a simulation exposure pattern of the phase shift mask to be verified;
determining a pattern linewidth difference value between the real exposure pattern and the simulation exposure pattern;
comparing the pattern line width difference value with a preset line width difference threshold value, and judging that a shading material remains in a shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked in a corresponding mask pattern area under the condition that the pattern line width difference value is larger than the preset line width difference threshold value.
In an alternative embodiment, the distance between two adjacent grid bars in the constructed target grating structure is equal to the wavelength of the lithography light source required by using the target phase-shift mask.
In a second aspect, the present application provides a reticle repair apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
the device comprises a mask plate acquisition module, a phase shift module and a phase shift module, wherein the mask plate acquisition module is used for acquiring a target phase shift mask plate, the target phase shift mask plate comprises a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode, the light shielding layer is provided with light shielding material residues in mask pattern areas of the target phase shift mask plate, and the phase shift layer comprises a first phase shift area overlapped with projection positions of the light shielding material residues;
and the residue removing module is used for locally removing the shading material residues in the mask pattern area of the target phase-shifting mask so as to construct the shading material residues into a target grating structure, and the surface of the area, close to the target grating structure, of the first phase-shifting area is exposed relative to the target grating structure.
In an alternative embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a residue detection module and a reticle evaluation module;
the mask plate acquisition module is further used for acquiring a phase shift mask plate to be verified, wherein the phase shift mask plate to be verified comprises a shading layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode;
the residue detection module is used for detecting whether a shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked has shading materials remained in a corresponding mask pattern area;
the mask evaluation module is used for directly taking the phase shift mask to be checked as the target phase shift mask under the condition that the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be checked is detected to remain light shielding materials in the corresponding mask pattern area.
In an alternative embodiment, the residue detection module includes:
the exposure pattern acquisition sub-module is used for acquiring the real exposure pattern and the simulation exposure pattern of the phase shift mask to be verified;
the pattern difference determining submodule is used for determining a pattern line width difference value between the real exposure pattern and the simulation exposure pattern;
and the shading residue judging sub-module is used for comparing the pattern line width difference value with a preset line width difference threshold value and judging that shading materials remain in the shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked in a corresponding mask pattern area under the condition that the pattern line width difference value is larger than the preset line width difference threshold value.
In an alternative embodiment, the distance between two adjacent grid bars in the constructed target grating structure is equal to the wavelength of the lithography light source required by using the target phase-shift mask.
In a third aspect, the present application provides a phase shift mask, where the phase shift mask includes a transparent substrate, and a phase shift layer and a light shielding layer that are stacked on the transparent substrate, where pattern trenches for representing mask patterns are formed on the light shielding layer and the phase shift layer to form a mask pattern region of the phase shift mask;
and the light shielding layer is provided with a target grating structure which is obtained by removing the residues of the light shielding material locally in the mask pattern area, wherein two adjacent grating bars in the target grating structure are mutually spaced so as to partially expose the surface of the phase shifting layer in the area corresponding to the target grating structure in the mask pattern area.
In an alternative embodiment, the distance between two adjacent bars in the target grating structure is equal to the lithographic light source wavelength required for using the phase shift reticle.
In this case, the beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application include the following:
after the target phase shift mask plate with the shading material residues in the corresponding mask pattern area is obtained, the shading material residues in the mask pattern area of the target phase shift mask plate are locally removed, so that the shading material residues are constructed into a target grating structure, at the moment, the surface of the area, close to the target grating structure, of the first phase shift area is exposed relative to the target grating structure part, in the first phase shift area, which is overlapped with the projection position of the shading material residues in the target phase shift mask plate, so that the first phase shift area in the target phase shift mask plate can recover the phase shift effect and the destructive interference function, and the repair operation of the phase shift mask plate with the shading material residues is quickly and effectively realized, and the phase shift mask plate after repair can reach the expected exposure effect.
In order to make the above objects, features and advantages of the present application more comprehensible, preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.
Drawings
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it being understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be considered limiting the scope, and that other related drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.
FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a method for repairing a reticle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a target phase shift mask corresponding to step S210 in fig. 1;
fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a mask structure corresponding to step S220 in fig. 2;
FIG. 4 is a second flow chart of a reticle repair method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the sub-steps involved in step S240 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is one of the schematic diagrams of the composition of the reticle repair apparatus according to the embodiments of the present application;
FIG. 7 is a second schematic diagram of a reticle repair apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the composition of the residue detection module of FIG. 7;
fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a phase shift mask according to an embodiment of the present application.
Icon: 100-a target phase shift mask; 110-a transparent substrate; 120-phase shift layer; 130-a light shielding layer; 200-mask pattern areas; 131-shading material residues; 121-a first phase shift region; 132-target grating structure; 10-phase shift mask; 141-pattern grooves; 300-reticle repair apparatus; 310-a reticle acquisition module; 320-a residue removal module; 330-a residue detection module; 340-a reticle evaluation module; 331-an exposure pattern acquisition sub-module; 332-a graphics discrepancy determination sub-module; 333-shading residual evaluation sub-module.
Detailed Description
For the purposes of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clear, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application, which are generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.
Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application, as provided in the accompanying drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of the application, as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments herein without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the present application.
It should be noted that: like reference numerals and letters denote like items in the following figures, and thus once an item is defined in one figure, no further definition or explanation thereof is necessary in the following figures.
In the description of the present application, it should be understood that relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. The specific meaning of the terms in this application will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art in a specific context.
The applicant has found through diligent research that, in order to achieve the expected exposure performance of a phase shift mask plate corresponding to a large amount of light shielding material (e.g., any one of chromium metal, ferric oxide, and chromium molybdenum compound) remaining in a mask pattern region, it is generally required to perform a secondary exposure process on the phase shift mask plate to completely remove the light shielding material remaining in the mask pattern region, that is, to re-spin photoresist, exposing with a laser exposure machine, developing, etching, and photoresist cleaning, so that the entire removal operation of the remaining light shielding material can be completed. Therefore, the exposure performance adjustment operation of the phase-shift mask has the problem that the overall implementation process is long in time, the shipment delay of the phase-shift mask is easy to cause, and the operation resources of various semiconductor preparation machines (such as an exposure machine, a photoresist coater, a developing machine, an etching machine, a cleaning machine and the like) are occupied, so that the cleaning operation of the shading material residues of the corresponding phase-shift mask cannot be completed quickly and effectively.
Under the situation, in order to quickly and effectively repair the phase shift mask plate with the shading material residues, so that the repaired phase shift mask plate can achieve the expected exposure effect, the phase shift mask plate, the mask plate repair method and the mask plate repair equipment realize the functions.
Some embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.
Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a mask repairing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment of the application, the mask repairing method shown in fig. 1 can quickly enable an exposure pattern formed by a corresponding phase-shift mask to reach an expected effect in actual use by repairing the shading material residues located in the mask pattern area on the phase-shift mask. In this process, the method for repairing a reticle shown in fig. 1 may include step S210 and step S220.
Step S210, a target phase shift mask is obtained, wherein the target phase shift mask comprises a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode, the light shielding layer has light shielding material residues in mask pattern areas of the target phase shift mask, and the phase shift layer comprises a first phase shift area overlapped with projection positions of the light shielding material residues.
In this embodiment, the target phase shift mask 100 is used to indicate that the corresponding exposure effect of the light shielding material residue 131 cannot reach the expected phase shift mask. The target phase shift mask 100 may include a light shielding layer 130 and a phase shift layer 120 that are stacked on each other, where the phase shift layer 120 is located on one side of the light shielding layer 130, a trench structure representing an effective range of the mask pattern region 200 may be etched on the light shielding layer 130 correspondingly, and then, for a surface of the phase shift layer 120 exposed under the etched trench structure, a trench representing a corresponding mask pattern is etched correspondingly, so that a corresponding mask pattern region 200 is formed on the target phase shift mask 100, and during the etching process of forming the mask pattern region 200, a residual 131 of light shielding material is often formed on the phase shift layer 120 in the mask pattern region 200 due to the residual material of the light shielding layer 130, and at this time, a region surface of the phase shift layer 120 at the first phase shift region 121 overlapping with a projection position of the residual 131 of light shielding material may not be normally exposed due to the overall coverage of the residual 131 of the light shielding material, so that the phase shift layer 120 in the range of the mask pattern region 200 cannot generate a corresponding phase shift effect and a phase shift interference phenomenon, and the current target phase shift mask 100 cannot reach a desired phase shift exposure effect. In one implementation of this embodiment, the light shielding layer 130 is made of a chromium metal material, the material of the light shielding material residue 131 is also a chromium metal material, and the phase shift layer 120 is made of a molybdenum silicide material.
Optionally, referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the target phase shift mask 100 corresponding to step S210 in fig. 1. In one implementation of this embodiment, the target phase shift mask 100 includes a transparent substrate 110, and a phase shift layer 120 and a light shielding layer 130 stacked on the transparent substrate 110, where a mask pattern region 200 characterizing a mask pattern is formed on the light shielding layer 130 and the phase shift layer 120 by etching, and the light shielding layer 130 is formed with a light shielding material residue 131 affecting an exposure effect in the mask pattern region 200.
Step S220, locally removing the light shielding material residues located in the mask pattern region of the target phase shift mask, so as to construct the light shielding material residues into the target grating structure, and exposing the surface of the region of the first phase shift region, which is close to the target grating structure, with respect to the target grating structure.
In this embodiment, a mask repairing machine may be used to repair the target phase-shifting mask 100 according to the wavelength of the lithography light source when the target phase-shifting mask 100 is in use, so that the light-shielding material residues 131 in the mask pattern region 200 of the target phase-shifting mask 100 are locally removed, so that the light-shielding material residues 131 are processed to form the target grating structure 132, so that the surface of the region of the first phase-shifting region 121, which is close to the target grating structure 132, can be exposed through the gaps between adjacent gratings included in the target grating structure 132, and the phase-shifting layer 120 can recover the phase-shifting effect and the destructive interference function under the action of the wavelength of the lithography light source, and meanwhile, even if the first phase-shifting region 121 under the light-shielding material residues 131 is slightly damaged under the action of the mask repairing machine, the light transmittance of the repaired target phase-shifting mask 100 is not increased, so that the repaired target phase-shifting mask 100 can achieve the expected exposure effect under the action of the wavelength of the lithography light source. The distance between two adjacent grating bars in the target grating structure 132 is equal to the wavelength of the lithography light source required by using the target phase-shift mask 100, so as to ensure that the repaired target phase-shift mask 100 achieves the expected exposure effect under the action of the lithography light source with the corresponding wavelength.
Optionally, referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a mask structure corresponding to step S220 in fig. 2. In one implementation of this embodiment, the mask structure shown in fig. 3 is obtained by repairing the target phase shift mask 100 shown in fig. 2, where a target grating structure 132 obtained by partially removing the light shielding material residue 131 is correspondingly formed in the mask pattern region 200 in the mask structure shown in fig. 3, and two adjacent grating bars in the target grating structure 132 are spaced apart from each other, so as to partially expose a surface of the phase shift layer 120 in a region corresponding to the target grating structure 132 in the mask pattern region 200.
Therefore, the present application can complete the local removal operation of the light shielding material residue 131 by only occupying the operation resources of the mask repairing machine by executing the steps S210 and S220, thereby greatly reducing the repairing workload of the target phase shift mask 100 and improving the repairing efficiency of the phase shift mask while ensuring that the repaired target phase shift mask 100 can achieve the expected exposure effect.
Optionally, referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a second flowchart of a reticle repairing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment of the present application, compared to the reticle repair method shown in fig. 1, the reticle repair method shown in fig. 4 may further include steps S230 to S250 for detecting whether the corresponding phase shift reticle is currently required to be used as the target phase shift reticle 100 for repair operation.
Step S230, a phase shift mask to be verified is obtained, wherein the phase shift mask to be verified comprises a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode.
In this embodiment, the phase shift mask to be verified is used to indicate a phase shift mask to be detected whether repair should be performed, that is, whether the corresponding exposure effect reaches the expected phase shift mask structure. In one implementation manner of this embodiment, the phase shift mask structure processed in the steps S210 and S220 may be used as a phase shift mask to be verified again to execute the steps S230 to S250, so as to confirm whether the repairing effect of the phase shift mask structure reaches the expected value.
Step S240, detecting whether the shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked has shading material remained in the corresponding mask pattern area.
In this embodiment, it may be determined whether the light shielding layer 130 of the phase shift mask to be verified has a light shielding material that affects the exposure effect remained in the corresponding mask pattern region 200 by detecting whether the exposure effect of the corresponding phase shift mask to be verified reaches the expected effect.
Further, referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the sub-steps included in step S240 in fig. 4. The step S240 may include sub-steps S241 to S243 to determine whether the light shielding layer 130 of the phase shift mask to be verified has a light shielding material remained in the corresponding mask pattern region 200 to affect the exposure effect.
And S241, acquiring a real exposure pattern and a simulation exposure pattern of the phase shift mask to be verified.
Substep S242, a pattern linewidth difference value between the actual exposure pattern and the simulated exposure pattern is determined.
And S243, comparing the pattern line width difference value with a preset line width difference threshold value, and judging that the shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked has shading materials remained in the corresponding mask pattern area under the condition that the pattern line width difference value is larger than the preset line width difference threshold value.
Thus, the present application can determine whether the light shielding layer 130 of the phase shift mask to be verified has light shielding material affecting the exposure effect remained in the corresponding mask pattern region 200 by performing the above-described sub-steps S241 to S243.
Step S250, directly taking the phase shift mask to be verified as a target phase shift mask under the condition that the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be verified is detected to remain light shielding materials in the corresponding mask pattern area.
In this embodiment, if a certain phase shift mask to be verified is determined that there is a light shielding material remained in the corresponding mask pattern region 200 that affects the exposure effect, it is indicated that the phase shift mask to be verified needs to be repaired, and the phase shift mask to be verified is used as the target phase shift mask 100 to execute the steps S210 and S220, so as to ensure that the phase shift mask to be verified can be repaired quickly and successfully.
Therefore, the present application may determine whether the corresponding phase shift mask to be verified currently needs to be used as the target phase shift mask 100 for repairing operation by executing the steps S230 to S250.
In this application, to ensure that the above-described reticle repair method can be effectively implemented, the present application achieves the aforementioned functions by providing a reticle repair apparatus. The specific composition of the reticle repair apparatus provided herein is described in detail below.
Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a composition of a reticle repair apparatus 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment of the present application, the reticle repair apparatus 300 may include a reticle capture module 310 and a residue removal module 320.
The reticle obtaining module 310 is configured to obtain a target phase shift reticle, where the target phase shift reticle includes a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer that are stacked, the light shielding layer has a light shielding material residue in a mask pattern area of the target phase shift reticle, and the phase shift layer includes a first phase shift area overlapping a projection position of the light shielding material residue.
A residue removing module 320, configured to locally remove a light shielding material residue in a mask pattern region of the target phase shift mask, so as to construct the light shielding material residue into a target grating structure, and expose a surface of a region of the first phase shift region, which is close to the target grating structure, with respect to the target grating structure. The distance between two adjacent grid bars in the constructed target grating structure is equal to the wavelength of a photoetching light source required by using the target phase-shift mask.
Optionally, referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a second schematic diagram of a composition of a reticle repair apparatus 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment of the present application, the reticle repair device 300 may further include a residue detection module 330 and a reticle evaluation module 340.
The reticle obtaining module 310 is further configured to obtain a phase shift reticle to be verified, where the phase shift reticle to be verified includes a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer that are stacked.
The residue detection module 330 is configured to detect whether a light shielding material remains in a region corresponding to a mask pattern in the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be verified.
The mask evaluation module 340 is configured to directly take the phase shift mask to be verified as the target phase shift mask when it is detected that the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be verified remains with the light shielding material in the corresponding mask pattern region.
Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a composition of the residue detection module 330 in fig. 7. In the embodiment of the present application, the residue detection module 330 may include an exposure pattern acquisition sub-module 331, a pattern difference determination sub-module 332, and a shading residue evaluation sub-module 333.
The exposure pattern acquisition sub-module 331 is configured to acquire a real exposure pattern and a simulated exposure pattern of the phase shift mask to be verified.
A pattern difference determining sub-module 332, configured to determine a pattern line width difference value between the real exposure pattern and the simulation exposure pattern.
And the shading residue judging sub-module 333 is configured to compare the pattern line width difference value with a preset line width difference threshold, and judge that a shading material remains in the shading layer of the phase shift mask to be verified in the corresponding mask pattern region when the pattern line width difference value is greater than the preset line width difference threshold.
It should be noted that, the basic principle and the technical effects of the reticle repairing apparatus 300 provided in the embodiment of the present application are the same as those of the reticle repairing method described above, and for brevity, reference may be made to the description of the reticle repairing method described above.
Optionally, referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a phase shift mask 10 according to an embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the phase shift mask 10 shown in fig. 9 is a phase shift mask structure formed by adopting the steps S210 and S220, where the phase shift mask 10 includes a transparent substrate 110, and a phase shift layer 120 and a light shielding layer 130 stacked on the transparent substrate 110, where pattern trenches 141 for representing mask patterns are formed on the light shielding layer 130 and the phase shift layer 120, so that the mask pattern region 200 of the phase shift mask 10 is formed by the pattern trenches 141 on the light shielding layer 130 and the pattern trenches 141 on the phase shift layer 120. The pattern grooves 141 formed on the light shielding layer 130 are used for representing the effective range of the mask pattern region 200, and the pattern grooves 141 formed on the phase shift layer 120 are formed in the pattern grooves 141 formed on the light shielding layer 130 and are used for representing the distribution condition of specific mask patterns.
The light shielding layer 130 is formed with a target grating structure 132 in the mask pattern region 200, which is partially removed by the light shielding material residue 131, wherein two adjacent grating bars in the target grating structure 132 are spaced apart from each other to partially expose a region surface of the phase shift layer 120 in the mask pattern region 200 corresponding to the target grating structure 132. Wherein the distance between two adjacent bars in the target grating structure 132 is equal to the lithographic light source wavelength required for using the phase shift reticle 10.
In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners as well. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, for example, of the flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures that illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatus, methods and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
In addition, the functional modules in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated together to form a single part, or each module may exist alone, or two or more modules may be integrated to form a single part. The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional modules and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art or in a part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a readable storage medium, including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned readable storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (RAM, random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.
In summary, in the phase shift mask, the mask repairing method and the apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application, after the target phase shift mask having the light shielding material residue in the mask pattern region corresponding to the target phase shift mask is obtained, the light shielding material residue in the mask pattern region of the target phase shift mask is locally removed to construct the light shielding material residue into the target grating structure, and at this time, for the first phase shift region overlapping the projection position of the light shielding material residue in the target phase shift mask, the surface of the region of the first phase shift region, which is close to the target grating structure, is exposed with respect to the target grating structure, so that the first phase shift region in the target phase shift mask can recover the phase shift effect and the destructive interference function, thereby quickly and effectively implementing the repairing operation of the phase shift mask having the light shielding material residue, and ensuring that the repaired phase shift mask can achieve the expected exposure effect.
The foregoing is merely various embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and the changes and substitutions are intended to be covered in the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
Claims (10)
1. A method of reticle repair, the method comprising:
obtaining a target phase shift mask, wherein the target phase shift mask comprises a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked manner, wherein the light shielding layer is provided with light shielding material residues in a mask pattern area of the target phase shift mask, and the phase shift layer comprises a first phase shift area overlapped with projection positions of the light shielding material residues;
and locally removing the shading material residues in the mask pattern area of the target phase shift mask plate to construct the shading material residues into a target grating structure, so that the surface of the area, close to the target grating structure, of the first phase shift area is partially exposed relative to the target grating structure.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
obtaining a phase shift mask plate to be verified, wherein the phase shift mask plate to be verified comprises a shading layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode;
detecting whether a shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked has shading materials remained in a corresponding mask pattern area;
and under the condition that the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be checked is detected to remain with the light shielding material in the corresponding mask pattern area, directly taking the phase shift mask to be checked as the target phase shift mask.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of detecting whether the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be verified has a light shielding material remaining in the corresponding mask pattern region, comprises:
acquiring a real exposure pattern and a simulation exposure pattern of the phase shift mask to be verified;
determining a pattern linewidth difference value between the real exposure pattern and the simulation exposure pattern;
comparing the pattern line width difference value with a preset line width difference threshold value, and judging that a shading material remains in a shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked in a corresponding mask pattern area under the condition that the pattern line width difference value is larger than the preset line width difference threshold value.
4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the distance between two adjacent bars in the target grating structure is constructed to be equal to the lithographic light source wavelength required for use of the target phase shift mask.
5. A reticle repair apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
the device comprises a mask plate acquisition module, a phase shift module and a phase shift module, wherein the mask plate acquisition module is used for acquiring a target phase shift mask plate, the target phase shift mask plate comprises a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode, the light shielding layer is provided with light shielding material residues in mask pattern areas of the target phase shift mask plate, and the phase shift layer comprises a first phase shift area overlapped with projection positions of the light shielding material residues;
and the residue removing module is used for locally removing the shading material residues in the mask pattern area of the target phase-shifting mask so as to construct the shading material residues into a target grating structure, and the surface of the area, close to the target grating structure, of the first phase-shifting area is exposed relative to the target grating structure.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a residue detection module and a reticle evaluation module;
the mask plate acquisition module is further used for acquiring a phase shift mask plate to be verified, wherein the phase shift mask plate to be verified comprises a shading layer and a phase shift layer which are arranged in a stacked mode;
the residue detection module is used for detecting whether a shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked has shading materials remained in a corresponding mask pattern area;
the mask evaluation module is used for directly taking the phase shift mask to be checked as the target phase shift mask under the condition that the light shielding layer of the phase shift mask to be checked is detected to remain light shielding materials in the corresponding mask pattern area.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the residue detection module comprises:
the exposure pattern acquisition sub-module is used for acquiring the real exposure pattern and the simulation exposure pattern of the phase shift mask to be verified;
the pattern difference determining submodule is used for determining a pattern line width difference value between the real exposure pattern and the simulation exposure pattern;
and the shading residue judging sub-module is used for comparing the pattern line width difference value with a preset line width difference threshold value and judging that shading materials remain in the shading layer of the phase shift mask to be checked in a corresponding mask pattern area under the condition that the pattern line width difference value is larger than the preset line width difference threshold value.
8. The apparatus of any of claims 5-7, wherein a distance between two adjacent bars in the target grating structure is constructed to be equal to a lithographic light source wavelength required for use of the target phase shift reticle.
9. The phase shift mask is characterized by comprising a transparent substrate, a phase shift layer and a shading layer, wherein the phase shift layer and the shading layer are arranged on the transparent substrate in a stacked mode, and pattern grooves for representing mask patterns are formed in the shading layer and the phase shift layer so as to form mask pattern areas of the phase shift mask;
and the light shielding layer is provided with a target grating structure which is obtained by removing the residues of the light shielding material locally in the mask pattern area, wherein two adjacent grating bars in the target grating structure are mutually spaced so as to partially expose the surface of the phase shifting layer in the area corresponding to the target grating structure in the mask pattern area.
10. The phase shift reticle of claim 9, wherein a distance between two adjacent gratings in the target grating structure is equal to a lithographic light source wavelength required for use of the phase shift reticle.
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| JPH0756322A (en) * | 1993-08-09 | 1995-03-03 | Hitachi Electron Eng Co Ltd | Method for correcting photomask |
| US5965301A (en) * | 1996-11-26 | 1999-10-12 | Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. | Method for repairing photomask by removing residual defect in said photomask |
| US6114073A (en) * | 1998-12-28 | 2000-09-05 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Method for repairing phase shifting masks |
| CN101526731A (en) * | 2008-03-07 | 2009-09-09 | 中芯国际集成电路制造(上海)有限公司 | Method for repairing mask plate |
| CN101989036A (en) * | 2009-08-04 | 2011-03-23 | 中芯国际集成电路制造(上海)有限公司 | Repairing method of shielding layer residue of phase shifting mask |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7150946B2 (en) * | 2004-01-08 | 2006-12-19 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Method for the repair of defects in photolithographic masks for patterning semiconductor wafers |
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| JPH0756322A (en) * | 1993-08-09 | 1995-03-03 | Hitachi Electron Eng Co Ltd | Method for correcting photomask |
| US5965301A (en) * | 1996-11-26 | 1999-10-12 | Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. | Method for repairing photomask by removing residual defect in said photomask |
| US6114073A (en) * | 1998-12-28 | 2000-09-05 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Method for repairing phase shifting masks |
| CN101526731A (en) * | 2008-03-07 | 2009-09-09 | 中芯国际集成电路制造(上海)有限公司 | Method for repairing mask plate |
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