Applied Materials is helping semiconductor manufacturers accelerate process development and maximize yields with the launch of a new electron-beam metrology system that can precisely measure pattern distances on semiconductor device elements.

Applied Materials held an online press conference on the 24th and announced a new electron beam metrology system, the VeritySEM 10.

The VeritySEM 10 is designed to precisely measure the distance to center (CD) of semiconductor devices patterned with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and emerging High-NA EUV lithography processes.

Semiconductor manufacturers can use CD-SEM (distance-comparison scanning electron microscope) to measure sub-nanometer dimensions of the patterns that a lithography scanner creates on a mask in photoresist.

Such measurements ensure accuracy of the pattern before it is etched onto the wafer by continuously calibrating the lithography process performance at that step.

Design pattern and wafer even after etching CD-SEM is used to compare the results.

In this way, CD-SEM supports etch process control and enables a feedback loop between lithography and etch, providing engineers with a highly correlated data set for overall process tuning.

Pattern distance measurements of semiconductor device elements are becoming increasingly difficult as photoresist thicknesses decrease in EUV, especially in High-NA EUV processes.

Capturing high-resolution images that provide sub-nanometer accuracy requires CD-SEM technology to precisely project a thin electron beam into the narrow space occupied by an extremely thin photoresist.

In general, electron beam energy interacts with photoresist, and if the landing energy of the irradiated electron beam is too high, the photoresist shrinks, causing errors due to pattern distortion.

Therefore, conventional CD-SEMs must use low landing energy to irradiate only the thin photoresist to minimize interaction with the delicate high-NA photoresist, but cannot produce high-resolution images due to resolution limitations.

Applied's new VeritySEM 10 system is designed with a unique architecture that enables twice the resolution of conventional CD-SEMs with lower landing energy.

This product reduces interaction with photoresist and increases throughput with a 30% faster scan speed.

The industry-leading resolution and scan speed of the VeritySEM 10 system provides increased control over EUV, High-NA EUV lithography and etch processes.

Therefore, semiconductor manufacturers can accelerate process development and maximize mass production yields.

Semiconductor manufacturers are developing patterns for 3D designs, including gate-all-around (GAA) logic transistors and 3D NAND memory. We are introducing VeritySEM 10 for distance measurement applications and utilizing its superior backscatter electron (BSE) imaging technology to achieve high-resolution imaging of deep structures.

The Verity SEM 10 is used to measure and identify the selective epitaxy process, which is key to transistor performance among many applications in GAA chips.

It provides wide-angle imaging and high depth of focus for 3D NAND memory, helping to measure all the cascaded interconnect structures of 3D NAND memory and tune the etch process recipe.

“The VeritySEM 10 system is a breakthrough in CD-SEM technology that addresses metrology challenges at a key technology inflection point for the industry,” said Keith Wells, vice president of Applied Materials’ Imaging and Process Control Group. “With its unique combination of low landing energy, high resolution and fast imaging speed, the system will help drive the transition to High-NA EUV, GAA transistors and high-density 3D NAND.”

VeritySEM 10 has attracted a lot of attention from major logic and memory semiconductor customers, with more than 30 systems shipped over the past year. Many customers have chosen this system as their representative development tool for GAA transistors. In addition, all major 3D NAND customers have chosen VeritySEM 10 as their representative development and process tool, and many DRAM customers have chosen it as their representative process tool.