SEMICONDUCTOR MICROELECTRONICS AND N ANOELECTRONICS P ROGRAMS NISTIR 7010 July 2003 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Donald L. Evans, Secretary Technology Administration Phillip J. Bond, Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director DISCLAIMER Disclaimer: Certain commercial equipment and/or software are identified in this report to adequately describe the experimental procedure. Such identification does not imply recom- mendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the equipment and/or software identified is necessarily the best available for the purpose. References: References made to the International Technology Roadmap for Semicon- ductors (ITRS) apply to the most recent edition, dated 2001. This document is available from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), 181 Metro Drive, Suite 450, San Jose, CA 95110, phone: (408) 436-6600; fax: (408) 436-6646. The reader will notice that there are acronyms and abbreviations throughout this document that are not spelled out due to space limitations. We have listed the acronyms and abbrevia- tions in an appendix at the end of this document. We also have included a list of the NSMP projects that demonstrate the synergism resulting from this matrix-managed program. CONTENTS Welcome and Introduction .................................................................................................... v Office of Microelectronics Programs Organization ............................................................ vii Lithography......................................................................................................................... 1 Metrology Supporting Deep Ultraviolet Lithography ............................................................ 2 Metrology Supporting EUV Lithography .............................................................................. 7 Polymer Photoresist Fundamentals for Next-Generation Lithography ............................... 12 Critical Dimension and Overlay Metrology Program ................................................ 17 Atom-Based Dimensional Metrology ................................................................................. 18 Scanning Electron Microscope-Based Dimensional Metrology .......................................... 22 Optical-Based Dimensional Metrology ............................................................................... 26 Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM)-Based Dimensional Metrology ................................. 31 Electrical-Based Dimensional Metrology ........................................................................... 35 Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)-Based Dimensional Metrology .............................. 40 Model-Based Linewidth Metrology .................................................................................... 44 Thin Film and Shallow Junction Metrology Program ................................................ 48 Two- and Three-Dimensional Dopant Profiling .................................................................. 49 Gate Dielectric Metrology .................................................................................................. 56 Chemical Metrology of Materials & Particle Contamination ............................................. 68 Thin Film X-ray Metrology for Microelectronics ................................................................ 73 Interconnect and Packaging Metrology Program ...................................................... 77 Superconformal Deposition of Copper and Advanced Interconnect Materials .................. 78 Porous Thin Film Metrology for Low-k Dielectric ............................................................. 82 Electron Microscope Tomography of Electronic Materials ................................................ 87 Wire Bonding to Copper/Low-k Semiconductor Devices ................................................... 89 Solders and Solderability Measurements for Microelectronics ........................................... 90 Interconnect Materials and Reliability Metrology ............................................................... 93 Thermal Measurements and Packaging Reliability ............................................................. 99 Atomic Layer Deposition – Process Models and Metrologies ......................................... 104 Dielectric Metrology Supporting Integrated Passive Device Technology ........................ 107 Wafer Characterization and Process Metrology Program....................................... 110 Wafer and Chuck Flatness Metrology ...............................................................................111 Modeling, Measurements, and Standards for Wafer Surface Inspection ......................... 114 High Resolution Microcalorimeter X-ray Spectrometer for Chemical Analysis ............... 119 Thermophysical Property Data for Modeling CVD Processes and for the Calibration of Mass Flow Controllers ............................................................................... 124 Temperature Measurements and Standards for Rapid Thermal Processing .................... 129 Semiconductor Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics Programs iii Low Concentration Humidity Standards ........................................................................... 133 Plasma Process Metrology ............................................................................................... 138 Measurements for Vacuum Process Control.................................................................... 143 Test Metrology Program .............................................................................................. 145 Metrology for System-on-a-Chip (SoC) ........................................................................... 146 Nonlinear Device Characterization ................................................................................... 148 At-Speed Test of Digital Integrated Circuits .................................................................... 152 Jitter and Propagation Delay Measurement ..................................................................... 154 Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuits.............................................................................. 156 Manufacturing Support ................................................................................................. 158 NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods .................................................. 159 Engineering Chain Management in the Semiconductor Industry ...................................... 160 Abbreviations and Acronyms ....................................................................................... 162 Technical Contacts ........................................................................................................ 166 iv National Institute of Standards and Technology WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION WELCOME The microelectronics industry supplies vital components to the electronics industry and to the U.S. economy, enabling rapid improvements in productivity and in new high technology growth industries such as electronic commerce and biotechnology. The National Institute of Stan- dards and Technology, NIST, in fulfilling its mission of strengthening the U.S. economy, works with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards; and applies substantial efforts on behalf of the semiconductor industry and its infrastructure. This report describes the many projects being conducted at NIST that constitute that effort. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE NIST’s predecessor, the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), began work in the mid-1950s to meet the measurement needs of the infant semiconductor industry. While this was initially focused on transistor applications in other government agencies, in the early 1960s the Bu- reau sought industry guidance from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the (U.S.) Electronic Industries Association (EIA). ASTM’s top priority was the accu- rate measurement of silicon resistivity. NBS scientists developed a practical nondestructive method ten times more precise than previous destructive methods. The method is the basis for five industrial standards and for resistivity standard reference materials widely used to calibrate the industry’s measurement instruments. The second project, recommended by a panel of EIA experts, addressed the “second breakdown” failure mechanism of transistors. The results of this project have been widely applied, including solving a problem in main engine control responsible for delaying the launch of a space shuttle. From these beginnings, by 1980 the semiconductor metrology program had grown to employ a staff of sixty with a $6 million budget, mostly from a variety of other government agencies. Congressional funding in that year gave NBS the internal means to maintain its semiconduc- tor metrology work. Meeting industrial needs remained the most important guide for manag- ing the program. INDUSTRIAL METROLOGY N EEDS By the late 1980s, NBS (now NIST) recognized that the semiconductor industry was applying a much wider range of science and engineering technology than the existing NIST program was designed to cover. The necessary expertise existed at NIST, but in other parts of the organization. In 1991, NIST established the Office of Microelectronics Programs (OMP) to coordinate and fund metrological research and development across