A new high-aperture 193 nm microscope for the traceable dimensional characterization of micro- and nanostructures

A new deep UV transmission microscope for traceable micro- and nanometrology is currently being set up at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), the National Metrology Institute of Germany. The new microscope is especially designed to enable linewidth measurements of micro- and nanostructures with an unsurpassed absolute measurement uncertainty of down to 10 nm (95% confidence interval). The optical resolution is about 100 nm. The main field of this tool will be critical dimension (CD) metrology of photomasks used in optical lithography. In particular, this system offers the possibility of ‘at-wavelength’ metrology for the currently applied 193 nm lithography technology. The high lateral resolution will be attained by means of 193 nm excimer laser radiation for illumination in conjunction with a high-aperture objective (NA = 0.9). The illumination and imaging system will provide various imaging modalities, ranging from ordinary brightfield to specially structured illumination schemes. Traceability to the SI unit ‘meter’ will be accomplished by means of laser interferometry. The mechanical set-up is characterized by an ultra-stable bridge construction on a granite base and has been designed with special emphasis on realizing a positioning stability in the nanometer range. The instrument is being set up in the Clean Room Centre of the PTB and will be ready for operation in mid 2009. Simulation calculations, based on a rigorous optical modeling of the expected microscope images, are presented. These simulations are made for the important application of measuring Cr structures on quartz photomasks. Based on these simulations and on available data of the uncertainties of various experimental parameters—including instrument and sample parameters—expected uncertainty budgets for the measurement of the width of Cr lines on quartz substrates are estimated.