Method of managing semiconductor processing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024272561-A1
Application number	US-202318373030-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 26, 2023
Priority date	Feb 15, 2023
Publication date	Aug 15, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

Provided is a method of managing a semiconductor processing apparatus, including irradiating, by a light source, a plurality of regions included in a diffuser on a mask stage with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light, reflecting or transmitting, by the diffuser, the EUV light, transmitting, by an optical system, the EUV light from the diffuser, receiving, by an image sensor, the EUV light from the optical system, obtaining, by the image sensor, a plurality of original images corresponding to the plurality of regions, generating, based on an optical prediction model, a plurality of predictive images estimating a diffraction pattern in the image sensor, adjusting an optical prediction model by comparing the plurality of predictive images with the plurality of original images, and generating, based on the optical prediction model, a plurality of wavefront images corresponding to optical characteristics of each of the plurality of mirrors.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of managing a semiconductor processing apparatus, the method comprising:
irradiating, by a light source, a plurality of regions included in a diffuser on a mask stage with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light; reflecting or transmitting, by the diffuser, the EUV light; transmitting, by an optical system, the EUV light from the diffuser; receiving, by an image sensor, the EUV light from the optical system, obtaining, by the image sensor, a plurality of original images corresponding to the plurality of regions; generating, based on an optical prediction model to which optical characteristics of the light source, the diffuser, and the plurality of mirrors are applied, a plurality of predictive images estimating a diffraction pattern in the image sensor; adjusting an optical prediction model by comparing the plurality of predictive images with the plurality of original images, until consistency between the plurality of predictive images and the plurality of original images is obtained; and generating, based on the optical prediction model, a plurality of wavefront images corresponding to optical characteristics of each of the plurality of mirrors, based on the consistency between the plurality of predictive images and the plurality of original images being obtained.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the image sensor is on a wafer stage.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the image sensor is on a position of the wafer different from a position of a focal plane of light passing through the optical system and incident on the wafer.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of wavefront images correspond to at least one of amplitude modulation of the EUV light and phase aberration of the EUV light on one of a light output surface between the light source and the diffuser, and a surface of each of the plurality of mirrors.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising executing a backward propagation operation based on a difference between the plurality of predictive images and the plurality of original images to adjust the optical prediction model.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the optical prediction model includes a mirror prediction model reflecting at least one of amplitude modulation and phase aberration between incident light and outgoing light of each of the plurality of mirrors, and
wherein the mirror prediction model for at least one mirror, among the plurality of mirrors, is modified in the backward propagation operation.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the consistency between the plurality of predictive images and the plurality of original images is obtained based on a difference between the plurality of predictive images and the plurality of original images being smaller than a predetermined reference difference.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of predictive images correspond to the plurality of regions.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical prediction model includes a diffusion prediction model corresponding to optical characteristics of each of the plurality of regions, and
wherein the generating the plurality of predictive images comprises arbitrarily generating the diffusion prediction model for each of the plurality of regions.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the acquiring the plurality of original images comprises irradiating the plurality of regions with the EUV light while moving the mask stage.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein optical characteristics of the plurality of mirrors are obtained by executing orthogonal decomposition or matrix decomposition on some wavefront images corresponding to the plurality of mirrors, among the plurality of wavefront images, based on the consistency between the plurality of predictive images and the plurality of original images being obtained.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of mirrors comprise a first mirror and a second mirror, and
wherein the plurality of wavefront images comprise a first mirror image corresponding to phase aberration between incident light and outgoing light of the first mirror, and a second mirror image representing phase aberration between incident light and outgoing light of the second mirror.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein aberration and contamination of the first mirror is determined based on the first mirror image, and
wherein aberration and contamination of the second mirror is determined based on the second mirror image.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of wavefront images comprise a light source image corresponding to at least one of an amplitude and a phase of a light output surface, perpendicular to an optical axis of the EUV light, between the light source and the diffuser.

15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising diagnosing states of an illumination mirror and a collector, included in an illumination optical system between the light source and the diffuser, based on the light source image.

16 . A method of managing a semiconductor processing apparatus, the method comprising:
generating a predictive image configured to estimate a diffraction pattern of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light reflected from a diffuser and a plurality of mirrors, based on phase aberration between incident light and outgoing light of the diffuser and each of the plurality of mirrors; comparing an original image corresponding to a real diffraction pattern of the EUV light reflected from the diffuser and the plurality of mirrors with the predictive image; adjusting phase aberration of at least one of the plurality of mirrors such that the original image and the predictive image match each other; obtaining a plurality of wavefront images corresponding to phase aberration of the diffuser and each of the plurality of mirrors, based on the original image and the predictive image matching each other; and diagnosing the diffuser and each of the plurality of mirrors based on the plurality of wavefront images.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein, in the generating the predictive image, the phase aberration of the diffuser is arbitrarily set, and the phase aberration of each of the plurality of mirrors is set to a value obtained by each of the plurality of mirrors.

18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising adjusting phase aberration of at least one of the plurality of mirrors by executing a backward propagation operation based on a difference between the predictive image and the original image.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising regenerating the predictive image to determine whether the predictive image matches the original image, based on the backward propagation operation being completed.

20 . A method of managing a semiconductor processing apparatus, the method comprising:
obtaining an original image corresponding to a diffraction pattern of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light, diffused by a diffuser and transmitted through an optical system; generating a diffusion prediction model arbitrarily corresponding to diffusion characteristics of the EUV light; generating a mirror prediction model configured to predict phase aberration between the EUV light incident on and the EUV light outgoing from each of a plurality of mirrors included in the optical system; obtaining a predictive image configured to estimate a diffraction pattern of the EUV light, diffused by the diffuser and transmitted through the optical system, by executing a forward propagation operation

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Shin Junho
• Park Seungbeom
• Sung Jangwoon
• Lee Hojun
• Kim Wookrae
• Lee Myungjun

Classifications

• G01M11/005

  Testing of reflective surfaces, e.g. mirrors · CPC title

• G01M11/0242

  by measuring geometrical properties or aberrations · CPC title

• G03F7/70591 Primary

  Testing optical components · CPC title

• G06T7/001

  using an image reference approach · CPC title

• G03F7/705

  Modelling or simulating from physical phenomena up to complete wafer processes or whole workflow in wafer productions · CPC title