Coma measurement by use of an alternating phase-shifting mask mark with a specific phase width

Zicheng Qiu; Xiangzhao Wang; Qiongyan Yuan; Fan Wang

doi:10.1364/ao.48.000261

Coma measurement by use of an alternating phase-shifting mask mark with a specific phase width

Appl Opt. 2009 Jan 10;48(2):261-9. doi: 10.1364/ao.48.000261.

Authors

Zicheng Qiu¹, Xiangzhao Wang, Qiongyan Yuan, Fan Wang

Affiliation

¹ Information Optics Laboratory, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China.

PMID: 19137036
DOI: 10.1364/ao.48.000261

Abstract

The correlation between the coma sensitivity of the alternating phase-shifting mask (Alt-PSM) mark and the mark's structure is studied based on the Hopkins theory of partially coherent imaging and positive resist optical lithography (PROLITH) simulation. It is found that an optimized Alt-PSM mark with its phase width being two-thirds its pitch has a higher sensitivity to coma than Alt-PSM marks with the same pitch and the different phase widths. The pitch of the Alt-PSM mark is also optimized by PROLITH simulation, and the structure of p=1.92lambda/NA and pw=2p/3 proves to be with the highest sensitivity. The optimized Alt-PSM mark is used as a measurement mark to retrieve coma aberration from the projection optics in lithographic tools. In comparison with an ordinary Alt-PSM mark with its phase width being a half its pitch, the measurement accuracies of Z(7) and Z(14) apparently increase.