This paper presents the "2003" update of the SEMI Standards Task Force on Mask Qualification Terminology, covering of the progress made since the BACUS Photomask 2002 Symposium. The focus of the past 2 years has been on terminology for two-dimensional mask metrology. The main contents of the document is discussed, including the general approach for 2D qualification based on area assessment, together with its application to corner rounding, line-end shortening, contact hole measurement. The concept used is the same as used for the 1D terminology in the published proposed standard PR007-00-0302 [1]: together with a definition, mandatory and optional information are listed to minimize the ambiguity in a quality assessment result; distinction is made between true and measured value. The work also suggests how to take into account the actual 1D quality to deliver 2D assessment results that can be compared to those of other mask fabrication processes, for example in benchmarking exercises, and how overlay between nominal and actual features can be controlled. In Q2 of 2003 a survey has been issued, with the main intention to quantify the interest in the achieved result of this work and help to determine the further steps of the initiative. The feedback obtained through this survey is discussed. The first results of defining phase shift terminology are also presented.

Date Published: 2 June 2004
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 5504, 20th European Conference on Mask Technology for Integrated Circuits and Microcomponents, (2 June 2004); doi: 10.1117/12.568031

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5504:
20th European Conference on Mask Technology for Integrated Circuits and Microcomponents
Uwe F. W. Behringer, Editor(s)