Kelly T. L. Kuo

KLA Corporation · OMD

Most fabrication facilities today use imaging overlay measurement methods, as it has been the industry’s reliable workhorse for decades. In the last few years, third-generation Scatterometry Overlay (SCOL™) or Diffraction Based Overlay (DBO-1) technology was developed, along another DBO technology (DBO-2). This development led to the question of wh...

As overlay margins shrink for advanced process nodes, a key overlay metrology challenge is finding the measurement conditions which optimize the yield for every device and layer. Ideally, this setup should be found in-line during the lithography measurements step. Moreover, the overlay measurement must have excellent correlation to the device elect...

Overlay metrology performance as Total Measurement Uncertainty (TMU), design rule compatibility, device correlation and measurement accuracy are been challenged at 2x nm node and below. Process impact on overlay metrology becoming critical, and techniques to improve measurement accuracy becomes increasingly important. In this paper, we present an i...

One of the main issues with accuracy is the bias between the overlay (OVL) target and actual device OVL. In this study, we introduce the concept of device-correlated metrology (DCM), which is a systematic approach to quantify and overcome the bias between target-based OVL results and device OVL values. In order to systematically quantify the bias c...

As fabs transition from 200 to 300mm wafers with shrinking design rules, the risk and cost associated with overlay excursions become more severe. This significantly impacts the overall litho-cell efficiency. Effective detection, identification, and reduction of overlay excursions are essential for realizing the productivity and cost benefits of the...