Metrology method for radiation calibration and monitoring in EUV lithography systems

Abstract

An instrumented substrate may provide a metrology platform for monitoring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation in an image plane of an EUV lithography tool. The instrumented substrate may include an in-band dose sensor. The in-band dose sensor may produce a dose measurement corresponding to illumination within the band. The instrumented substrate may also include an out-of-band dose sensor and an in-band scatter dose sensor. The instrumented substrate may be housed within a front open wafer transfer cassette (FOUP) of a system.

Description

Metrological methods for radiation calibration and monitoring in EUV lithography systems

[0001] Cross-reference of related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 546,758, filed November 1, 2023, entitled “A METROLOGY METHOD OF CALIBRATING AND MONITORING RADIATION IN EUV LITHOGRAPHIC SYSTEMS,” filed under 35 USC § 119(e), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] In general, this disclosure relates to monitoring wafers along semiconductor process lines, and more specifically, to measuring extreme ultraviolet irradiance. Background Technology

[0004] As tolerances for process conditions in semiconductor device processing environments decrease, the demand for improved process monitoring systems increases. Uniformity of illumination radiation, particularly ultraviolet (UV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light, within the processing system is one such condition. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus, system, and method that addresses the shortcomings described above. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An instrumentation substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is described. The instrumentation substrate may include: a substrate configured to receive illumination, wherein the illumination includes in-band EUV illumination, out-of-band illumination, and in-band diffused illumination; a power supply; a communication interface; a plurality of conductive traces; one or more in-band dose sensors configured to generate in-band dose measurements of the in-band EUV illumination; and a controller including: a memory maintaining program instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions.

[0006] In some aspects, the instrumentation substrate may include one or more out-of-band dose sensors, wherein the one or more out-of-band dose sensors are configured to generate out-of-band dose measurements from the out-of-band illumination.

[0007] In some aspects, the controller is configured to compare the in-band dose measurement with the out-of-band dose measurement to determine the signal composition of the illumination.

[0008] In some aspects, the in-band dose measurement is divided by the out-of-band dose measurement to determine the signal composition.

[0009] In some aspects, the communication interface is configured to transmit at least one of the signal components of the in-band dose measurement, the out-of-band dose measurement, or the illumination from the instrumentation substrate.

[0010] In some aspects, the one or more in-band dose sensors are adjacent to the one or more out-of-band dose sensors.

[0011] In some aspects, the in-band EUV illumination is between 10 nanometers and 20 nanometers.

[0012] In some aspects, the out-of-band illumination is between 100 nanometers and 400 nanometers.

[0013] In some aspects, the instrumentation substrate may include one or more in-band scattering dose sensors.

[0014] In some aspects, the one or more in-band dose sensors include: an absorption layer defining a cavity and an aperture; a photodiode disposed in the cavity and aligned with the aperture, wherein the photodiode is configured to receive illumination through the aperture; an integrator configured to receive a voltage from the photodiode and integrate the voltage to determine a dose; and an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the dose into the dose measurement.

[0015] In some aspects, the photodiode comprises a silicon photodiode or a silicon carbide photodiode.

[0016] In some aspects, the illumination is generated in the form of pulses, wherein the one or more in-band dose sensors include comparators, wherein the comparators are configured to receive the voltage from the photodiode, wherein the comparators are configured to detect the pulses of the illumination, and wherein the controller is configured to activate and deactivate the integrator based on the pulses detected by the comparators.

[0017] In some aspects, the instrumentation substrate may include: a plurality of dose sensors, the plurality of in-band dose sensors including the comparator, wherein the illumination is scanned across the substrate in a scan pattern, wherein the controller is configured to determine the scan pattern from the pulses of the illumination detected by the comparator of the plurality of dose sensors.

[0018] A system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is described. The system may include: an instrumentation substrate comprising: a substrate configured to receive illumination, wherein the illumination includes in-band EUV illumination and out-of-band illumination; a power supply; a communication interface; a plurality of conductive traces; one or more in-band dose sensors configured to generate in-band dose measurements from the in-band EUV illumination; and a controller comprising: a memory maintaining program instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions; and an EUV lithography system configured to generate the illumination.

[0019] In some aspects, the instrumentation substrate includes one or more out-of-band dose sensors, wherein the one or more out-of-band dose sensors are configured to generate out-of-band dose measurements from the out-of-band illumination.

[0020] In some aspects, the controller is configured to compare the in-band dose measurement with the out-of-band dose measurement to determine the signal composition of the illumination.

[0021] In some aspects, the communication interface is configured to transmit at least one of the signal components of the in-band dose measurement, the out-of-band dose measurement, or the illumination from the instrumentation substrate.

[0022] In some aspects, the system includes: a front-opening wafer transfer box; wherein the front-opening wafer transfer box is configured to receive the signal composition from the communication interface.

[0023] In some aspects, the in-band EUV illumination is between 10 nanometers and 20 nanometers.

[0024] A method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is described. The method may include: picking up an instrumented substrate from a front-opening wafer transfer cassette and placing it onto an EUV lithography tool, wherein the instrumented substrate comprises: a substrate configured to receive illumination, wherein the illumination includes in-band EUV illumination and out-of-band illumination; a power supply; a communication interface; a plurality of conductive traces; one or more in-band calorimeters, wherein the one or more in-band dose sensors are configured to generate in-band dose measurements from the in-band EUV illumination; and a controller comprising: a memory maintaining program instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions; generating the illumination via the EUV lithography tool; generating the in-band dose measurements and out-of-band dose measurements from the illumination; and returning the instrumented substrate to the front-opening wafer transfer cassette. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Those skilled in the art will better understand the many advantages of this disclosure by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0026] Figure 1A illustrates a top view of an instrumentation substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 1B illustrates a perspective view of an instrumentation substrate receiving illumination according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 2A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a dose sensor for an instrumented substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 2B illustrates a simplified block diagram of a dose sensor connected to a controller of an instrumentation substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 2C illustrates a diagram of a dose sensor activation integrator on an instrumented substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a system including an instrumentation substrate according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0033] This disclosure is shown and described in particular with respect to specific embodiments and their specific features. The embodiments set forth herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to the disclosed subject matter illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Embodiments of this disclosure relate to an instrumentation substrate. The instrumentation substrate provides a metrology platform for monitoring EUV radiation in an image plane of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tool. The instrumentation substrate may include an in-band dose sensor. The in-band dose sensor generates an in-band dose measurement corresponding to illumination within the band. The instrumentation substrate may also include an out-of-band dose sensor and an in-band scattered dose sensor. The instrumentation substrate may be housed within a front-opening wafer transfer cassette (FOUP) of the system.

[0035] U.S. Patent No. 11,668,601, entitled "Instrumented substrate apparatus"; U.S. Patent No. 11,823,925, entitled "Encapsulated instrumented substrate apparatus for acquiring measurement parameters in high temperature process applications"; U.S. Patent No. 7,855,549, entitled "Integrated process conditionsensing wafer and data analysis system"; U.S. Patent No. 9,356,822, entitled "Automated interface apparatus and method for use in semiconductor wafer handling systems"; U.S. Patent No. 10,215,626, entitled "Method and system for measuring radiation and temperature exposure of wafers along afabrication process line"; and U.S. Patent No. 10,215,626, entitled "Wafer level spectrometer"; The 9,964th entry is titled "Spectrometer".U.S. Patent No. 440, U.S. Patent No. 2022 / 0189803 entitled "Sensor configuration for process condition measuring devices," U.S. Patent No. 2020 / 0103746 entitled "Apparatus and method for monitoring reflectivity of the collector for extreme ultraviolet radiation source," U.S. Patent No. 10,146,133 entitled "Lithographic apparatus and method," U.S. Patent No. 2023 / 0035511 entitled "Lithographic apparatus and method for drift compensation," and U.S. Patent No. 11,569,138 entitled "System and method for monitoring parameters of a semiconductor factory automation system," are each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0036] Figures 1A and 1B illustrate an instrumentation substrate 100 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The instrumentation substrate 100 may be an instrumentation substrate assembly, a substrate device, an instrumentation wafer, an instrumentation wafer substrate, a sensor wafer, a substrate monitoring device, an instrumentation substrate device, an inspection substrate, an inspection wafer, a measurement wafer, an alignment measurement substrate, an alignment wafer, and such, for example.

[0037] The instrumentation substrate 100 may include one or more of the following: substrate 102, controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120.

[0038] Substrate 102 may comprise any substrate material. For example, substrate 102 may comprise a wafer. For example, substrate 102 may comprise a wafer structure formed of quartz, glass (e.g., fused silica glass wafers, borosilicate glass wafers, and such), silicon (e.g., single-crystal silicon), silicon carbide, silicon nitride, doped (e.g., n-type or p-type) silicon, carbon fiber stabilized epoxy matrix, one or more ceramic materials, glass carbon fibers, one or more composite materials, or combinations thereof. For example, substrate 102 may be formed of a composite material comprising two or more material layers that can be bonded together, or two or more materials that can be mixed in a single layer or multiple layers. Substrate 102 may also be, for example, a graphite / epoxy composite material or a laminate formed of silicon, graphite / epoxy, and silicon. Substrate 102 may be made of the same or similar material as the substrate being produced.

[0039] Substrate 102 may have the same or similar size and shape as a standard substrate processed by a semiconductor device processing system. The physical parameters of substrate 102 may approximate those of production substrates used in the manufacture of integrated circuits or other electronic devices. The dimensions of substrate 102 may conform to the dimensions of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI®) wafers. Substrate 102 may comprise a circular substrate (e.g., a circular wafer) with a selected diameter. For example, substrate 102 may have a diameter between 25 mm and 450 mm (e.g., but not limited to 25 mm, 50 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm, 125 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, or 450 mm). For example, substrate 102 may comprise a diameter between 100 mm and 300 mm. Additionally, substrate 102 may have a thickness between 275 μm and 925 μm. The thickness may be based on the diameter. The thickness of substrate 102 may also approximate the corresponding thickness of a production substrate, but said thickness may be slightly larger than the production substrate to accommodate additional electronic devices and / or other components of instrumentation substrate 100. The substrate 102 can also be a glass-shaped rectangular photomask.

[0040] Substrate 102 may include a top surface and / or a bottom surface. In embodiments, the top surface and / or bottom surface of substrate 102 may be planar. The bottom surface may also be referred to as the back side. One or more components of the instrumentation substrate 100 may be disposed on the top surface and / or bottom surface of substrate 102. For example, controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120 may be disposed on substrate 102. Any of the various components of the instrumentation substrate 100 may be disposed on and / or embedded in the substrate. Components of the instrumentation substrate 100 may be disposed on the top surface. Substrate 102 may define one or more cavities. Substrate 102 may define one or more cavities in its top surface. Cavities may be defined by etching, precision grinding, or, for example, such methods. Any of the various components of the instrumentation substrate 100 can be embedded in the cavity and thereby embedded in the substrate 102.

[0041] The controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may be disposed at one or more locations on the substrate 102. It should be noted that the arrangement and number of the controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 depicted are not limiting and are provided for illustrative purposes only. The controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may be configured in several patterns, shapes, and quantities. One consideration for the position of the controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118 and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120 on the substrate 102 is to maintain the center of gravity of the instrumentation substrate 100 at the center of the substrate 102.

[0042] The controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118 and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120 may be fabricated on the substrate 102 via microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) (e.g., but not limited to, wet etching, dry etching or electrical discharge machining).

[0043] The controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120 can be coupled via conductive trace 112. The conductive trace 112 may contain any conductive material, such as, but not limited to, aluminum.

[0044] The controller 104 provides data collection and data storage functionality for the instrumentation substrate 100. The controller 104 can be configured to send and / or receive data, including but not limited to data from the communication interface 110, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120.

[0045] The controller 104 may include a processor 106 and a memory 107. The memory 107 may store processing conditions and program instructions for the operation of the instrumentation substrate 100. The processor 106 may be configured to execute program instructions held in the memory 107, which cause the processor 106 to perform any of the various process steps described.

[0046] Power source 108 may be a power supply. Power source 108 may include one or more batteries (e.g., rechargeable batteries), wired power supplies, or the like. Power source 108 may provide power to any of the various components of instrumentation substrate 100. Power source 108 may optionally include one or more solar cells. Power source 108 may be embedded in substrate 102. Power source 108 may provide power storage functionality to instrumentation substrate 100.

[0047] Communication interface 110 may include any wired communication protocol (e.g., DSL-based interconnect, cable-based interconnect, T9-based interconnect, USB, and the like) or wireless communication protocol (e.g., GSM, GPRS, CDMA, EV-DO, EDGE, WiMAX, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi protocol, RF, Bluetooth, intermediate system-to-intermediate system (IS-IS), and the like). By another example, communication interface 110 may include communication protocols, including but not limited to radio frequency identification (RFID) protocols, open-source RF, and the like. By another example, communication interface 110 may include inductive wireless communication and / or inductive wireless charging. For example, communication interface 110 may use on / off keying and backscatter modulation for bidirectional data transmission and inductive power delivery for battery charging. Accordingly, interactions between various devices may be determined based on one or more characteristics, including but not limited to cellular signatures, IP addresses, MAC addresses, Bluetooth signatures, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and the like. Wireless communication may include wireless near-field communication.

[0048] Sensor 114 can generate sensor measurements 115. Sensor measurements 115 can be generated by detecting one or more processing conditions. Processing conditions can refer to various processing parameters used in the manufacture of integrated circuits. Processing conditions can include any parameters used to control semiconductor manufacturing or any conditions that the manufacturer would like to monitor, such as, but not limited to, temperature, etching rate, thickness of layers on the substrate, processing chamber pressure, gas flow rate within the chamber, chemical composition of gases within the chamber, position within the chamber, ion current density, ion current energy, light energy density, and vibration and acceleration of the wafer or other substrate within the chamber, or vibration and acceleration during movement into or from the chamber.

[0049] Sensor 114 may comprise any discrete measuring device, including, but not limited to, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, radiation sensors, chemical sensors, multi-axis accelerometers, multi-axis angular rate sensors, optical sensors, barometric pressure sensors, capacitive sensors, time sensors, position sensors, line sensors, or combinations thereof. For example, sensor 114 may include one or more temperature sensors configured to acquire one or more parameters indicating temperature. For instance, one or more temperature sensors may include, but are not limited to, one or more thermocouple (TC) devices (e.g., thermoelectric junctions), one or more resistance temperature devices (RTDs) (e.g., thin-film RTDs), or similar types. By another example, in the case of pressure measurement, sensor 114 may include, but is not limited to, piezoelectric sensors, capacitive sensors, optical sensors, potentiometric sensors, or similar types. By another example, in the case of radiation measurement, sensor 114 may include, but is not limited to, one or more photodetectors (e.g., photovoltaic cells, photoresistors, and similar types) or other radiation detectors (e.g., solid-state detectors). In another example, in the case of chemical measurement, sensor 114 may include, but is not limited to, one or more chemical resistors, gas sensors, pH sensors, or similar devices. In another example, in the case of acceleration measurement, a multi-axis accelerometer may be of the type measuring acceleration along three or six axes. In another example, in the case of rotational rate measurement, a multi-axis angular rate sensor may be a gyroscope. A multi-axis angular rate sensor can measure three-axis rotational rates. In another example, in the case of optical measurement, an optical sensor may be of the optical measurement type with an excitation source. In another example, in the case of pressure measurement, a pressure sensor may generate the local pressure of the instrumentation substrate 100. In another example, in the case of capacitance measurement, a capacitance sensor may guide sampling of the proximity of the instrumentation substrate 100 to another component. In another example, in the case of time measurement, a time sensor may generate one or more time delay parameters.

[0050] The instrumentation substrate 100 can be configured to receive illumination 101. Illumination 101 can include one or more selected light wavelengths, including, but not limited to, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) illumination. EUV illumination can include wavelengths between 10 nm and 121 nm. Illumination 101 can include any range of in-band wavelengths. EUV illumination can include in-band EUV illumination between 10 nm and 20 nm. For example, EUV illumination can include in-band EUV illumination below 13.5 nm. In-band EUV illumination can include an irradiance of approximately 500 mW / cm². In-band EUV illumination can include energies in the range of 1 eV to 100 eV.

[0051] Illumination 101 may also include out-of-band illumination. Out-of-band illumination may be out-of-band ultraviolet (UV) illumination. Out-of-band UV illumination may be outside the 10 nm to 20 nm frequency band. Out-of-band UV illumination may be between 20 nm and 400 nm. Out-of-band UV illumination may be between 100 nm and 400 nm. For example, out-of-band UV light may be between 200 nm and 400 nm. Out-of-band UV light may include a priori unknown irradiance levels.

[0052] The instrumentation substrate 100 can be exposed to illumination 101 in a selected area. For example, the substrate 102 can be exposed to illumination 101 in the form of a 33 mm x 16 mm rectangle, a 16 mm x 16 mm square, or a value in between. The area exposed by illumination 101 can also be referred to as the scanning area.

[0053] The in-band dose sensor 116 and / or the out-of-band dose sensor 118 can each be exposed to illumination 101 within the scanning area. The in-band dose sensor 116 can be adjacent to the out-of-band dose sensor 118, such that the in-band dose sensor 116 and the out-of-band dose sensor 118 are simultaneously within the scanning area. For example, the in-band dose sensor 116 and the out-of-band dose sensor 118 can be positioned one millimeter apart or less.

[0054] Illumination 101 may also include in-band scattered EUV illumination. In-band scattered EUV illumination may be within the same band as the in-band EUV illumination. For example, in-band scattered EUV illumination may include EUV illumination between 10 nm and 20 nm (e.g., 13.5 nm). In-band scattered EUV illumination may also be referred to as stray light. In-band scattered EUV illumination may be the portion of the in-band EUV illumination scattered outside the scanning area exposed by illumination 101. In-band scattered EUV illumination may be diffuse in-band radiation occurring in a field adjacent to the exposure field.

[0055] The in-band scattering dose sensor 120 can be positioned remotely from the in-band dose sensor 116 and the out-of-band dose sensor 118, such that the in-band scattering dose sensor 120 is outside the scanning area while the in-band dose sensor 116 and the out-of-band dose sensor 118 are positioned within the scanning area. For example, the in-band scattering dose sensor 120 can be positioned tens or hundreds of millimeters away from the in-band dose sensor 116 and the out-of-band dose sensor 118.

[0056] The illumination 101 can be generated in the form of pulses. The pulses can contain a selected frequency. For example, the pulses can contain a frequency of 50 kHz.

[0057] Illumination 101 may not remain fixed on any given spot of light on instrumentation substrate 100. Alternatively, illumination 101 may scan a pattern across instrumentation substrate 100. The scanning pattern may include, but is not limited to, a serpentine scanning pattern. Illumination 101 may include a modulated photonic curtain that can scan across instrumentation substrate 100. Illumination 101 may scan across instrumentation substrate 100 in pulsed form over various components of instrumentation substrate 100, such as, but not limited to, substrate 102, controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120. The irradiance of illumination 101 can deposit a certain dose of energy onto substrate 102, controller 104, processor 106, memory 107, power supply 108, communication interface 110, conductive trace 112, sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118 and / or in-band scattering dose sensor 120.

[0058] Illumination 101 may contain a field with uniformity. Controller 104 may use in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118 and / or in-band diffused dose sensor 120 to determine the field uniformity of illumination 101.

[0059] In-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 can absorb energy from illumination 101. For example, in-band dose sensor 116 and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 can absorb energy from illumination at wavelengths between 10 nm and 20 nm (e.g., 13.5 nm). In-band dose sensor 116 and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 can be sensitive to EUV radiation at wavelengths between 10 nm and 20 nm. By another example, out-of-band dose sensor 118 can absorb energy from illumination at wavelengths between 100 nm and 400 nm. Out-of-band dose sensor 118 can be sensitive to EUV radiation at out-of-band wavelengths. Out-of-band dose sensor 118 can measure illumination 101 in other selected frequency bands.

[0060] In-band dose sensor 116 and out-of-band dose sensor 118 can generate in-band dose measurement 117 and out-of-band dose measurement 119 respectively from illumination 101 in the scanning area. In-band dose measurement 117 and out-of-band dose measurement 119 can correspond to the in-band and out-of-band amounts of illumination 101 in the scanning area, respectively. In-band dose sensor 116 and / or out-of-band dose sensor 118 can utilize a relatively wide spectral acceptability to detect the power of illumination 101.

[0061] The controller 104 can compare the in-band dose measurement 117 with the out-of-band dose measurement 119 to determine the signal composition of the illumination 101. For example, the signal composition may include the luminous power at the wavelength of the illumination 101. Most of the signal may be in-band; however, some of the signal may be out-of-band. The signal composition may indicate the luminous power at in-band wavelengths and may also indicate the luminous power at out-of-band wavelengths. The signal composition can be determined based on a fractional signal composition, wherein the luminous power at in-band wavelengths is determined as a fraction of the total luminous power and / or as a fraction of the luminous power at out-of-band wavelengths. For example, the in-band dose measurement 117 can be divided by the out-of-band dose measurement 119 to determine the signal composition of the illumination 101.

[0062] The controller 104 can determine the signal composition of the illumination 101 upon receiving in-band dose measurement 117 and / or out-of-band dose measurement 119. Therefore, the signal composition of the illumination 101 can be determined in real-time or near real-time. Determining the signal composition of the illumination 101 upon receiving in-band dose measurement 117 and / or out-of-band dose measurement 119 can reduce the need for memory 107. For example, the signal composition of the illumination 101 can be stored in memory 107 without storing the in-band dose measurement 117 and / or out-of-band dose measurement 119 in memory.

[0063] The in-band scattered dose sensor 120 can be configured to generate an in-band scattered dose measurement 121 from illumination 101 outside the scan area. When the in-band dose sensor 116 and the out-of-band dose sensor 118 are in the scan area of ​​illumination 101, the in-band scattered dose measurement 121 can correspond to the amount of illumination 101 absorbed by the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 outside the scan area.

[0064] The in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may include any optical sensor. For example, the in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may include, but are not limited to, optical sensors capable of sensing illumination 101. The in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may include, but are not limited to, one or more photodetectors (e.g., photovoltaic cells, photoresistors, and such) or other radiation detectors (e.g., solid-state detectors).

[0065] The in-band dose measurement 117, the out-of-band dose measurement 119, the signal composition determined from the in-band dose measurement 117 and the out-of-band dose measurement 119, and / or the in-band scattering dose measurement 121 can be stored in the memory 107.

[0066] The controller 104 can be configured to send, via the communication interface 110, in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, signal composition determined from the in-band dose measurement 117 and out-of-band dose measurement 119, and / or in-band scattering dose measurement 121 from the instrumentation substrate 100.

[0067] Controller 104 can determine the field uniformity of illumination 101. Controller 104 can determine the field uniformity of illumination 101 using several of in-band dose sensors 116, out-of-band dose sensors 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensors 120. In-band dose sensors 116, out-of-band dose sensors 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensors 120 may include a selected spatial resolution for determining field uniformity. Even using several of in-band dose sensors 116, out-of-band dose sensors 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensors 120, the substrate 102 can be scanned under the field to determine field uniformity. The field of illumination 101 can be very uniform, requiring little or no adjustment for compensation. Thus, the field in a single measurement can be determined without the spatial resolution of in-band dose sensors 116, out-of-band dose sensors 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensors 120.

[0068] Figures 2A to 2C illustrate an in-band dose sensor 116, an out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or an in-band scattered dose sensor 120 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may include an absorption layer 202, a photodiode 204, an integrator 206, an analog-to-digital converter 208, a comparator 210, a current mirror 216, a bias voltage source 218, and / or a resistor 220. The in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may be a slit integrated energy (SLIE) sensor.

[0069] An absorption layer 202 may be disposed on a substrate 102. The absorption layer 202 and the substrate 102 may have a selected thickness. For example, the absorption layer 202 and the substrate 102 may have a thickness of 1.2 mm.

[0070] The absorption layer 202 may be an absorber. The absorption layer 202 may contain, but is not limited to, materials capable of absorbing illumination 101. The absorption layer 202 may be made of a selected material (e.g., silicon or silicon dioxide). The absorption layer 202 can absorb illumination 101, including in-band EUV illumination and / or out-of-band illumination. The absorption layer 202 may contain, but is not limited to, absorbers capable of absorbing in-band EUV illumination and / or out-of-band illumination. For example, the absorption layer 202 may be an absorber for 13.5 nm EUV illumination.

[0071] The absorption layer 202 defines the cavity 212. The photodiode 204 can be disposed in the cavity 212.

[0072] The absorption layer 202 can seal the photodiode 204 to the substrate 102. For example, the absorption layer can hermetically seal the photodiode 204. Hermetically sealing can achieve protection from environmental elements (such as temperature and moisture). The absorption layer 202 can be disposed above and / or around the photodiode 204.

[0073] Photodiode 204 may comprise a silicon photodiode, a silicon carbide photodiode, or something similar. Photodiode 204 may be a very shallow junction photodiode.

[0074] An absorption layer 202 may define an aperture 214. The aperture 214 may be defined as penetrating from the top surface of the absorption layer 202 into a cavity 212. The cavity 212 may be positioned below the aperture 214. A photodiode 204 may be aligned with the aperture 214. The photodiode 204 may be configured to receive illumination 101. For example, the photodiode 204 may receive illumination 101 through the aperture 214. The aperture 214 may allow illumination 101 to pass through the absorption layer 202 to reach the aperture of the photodiode 204. The absorption layer 202 may define the aperture 214 by embedding a disk (not shown) with through-holes within the absorption layer.

[0075] Photodiode 204 can be configured to generate current. Photodiode 204 can generate current in response to receiving illumination 101. Photodiode 204 can be sensitive to illumination 101. For example, the photodiode 204 of in-band dose sensor 116 and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 can be sensitive to in-band illumination. Photodiode 204 can detect illumination 101 as low as 1 nanometer. Photodiode 204 can have a responsivity R of 0.25 A / W for illumination 101 at 13.5 nanometers. By another example, the photodiode 204 of out-of-band dose sensor 118 can be sensitive to out-of-band illumination.

[0076] Integrator 206 may include an operational amplifier and capacitors as an electronic integrated circuit. Integrator 206 may include operational amplifier (op amp) integrator circuitry (not depicted). Integrator 206 may have a gain defined via capacitors. The gain for out-of-band dose sensor 118 and / or in-band diffused dose sensor 120 may be significantly higher than the gain for in-band dose sensor 116. The gain may be significantly higher to compensate for the lower power received by out-of-band illumination and / or in-band diffused illumination compared to the higher power of in-band illumination.

[0077] Integrator 206 can be coupled to the output of photodiode 204. Integrator 206 can receive current from photodiode 204. Photodiode 204 can be biased by a current mirror 216 powered from bias voltage source 218. The mirrored current can be converted into a voltage by resistor 220. Integrator 206 can integrate the current from photodiode 204 to determine dose 207. The integration of the current output from photodiode 204 provides the dose 207 of photodiode 204. Dose 207 can be expressed in Joules per square centimeter (J / cm²). 2 The unit is ). Dosage (J / cm³) 2 ) Involves irradiance (W / cm) 2 Multiply by the duration in seconds. The equation is:

[0078] (1)

[0079] (2)

[0080] By substituting (1), and 1W ● seconds = 1J

[0081] (3)

[0082] Set a constant k for Area / C, in cm 2 With / F as the unit, equation 3 simplifies to:

[0083] (4)

[0084] Among them I diode (A) is the current passing through the photodiode in amperes, Irradiance (W / cm²). 2 R is the irradiance of illumination measured in watts per square centimeter. (λ) The responsivity is expressed in amperes per watt at a given wavelength; Area is the area of ​​photodiode 204 in square centimeters; t (sec) is the time in seconds for integrator 206 to integrate the current; C (F) is the capacitance of integrator 206 (e.g., the capacitance of the capacitor within integrator 206) in farads; and Dosage (J / cm²) is the responsivity at a given wavelength. 2 ) is the dose 207 of illumination 101 received by photodiode 204, measured in joules per square centimeter.

[0085] The in-band dose sensor 116 and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may include a responsivity matched to the in-band EUV illumination (e.g., at 10 nm to 20 nm). The responsivity of the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 may be significantly higher than that of the in-band dose sensor 116 to accommodate a lower percentage of in-band scattered illumination compared to a higher percentage of in-band EUV illumination in the scanned region. For example, the photodiode 204 of the in-band dose sensor 116 may include a responsivity R of 0.25 A / W for illumination 101 at 13.5 nm.

[0086] Dose 207 can be the power of illumination 101 divided by the area of ​​illumination 101 multiplied by the exposure time of illumination 101 to the in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattering dose sensor 120. For example, dose 207 can also be expressed in watts per square centimeter (W / cm²). 2 The irradiance in units of 101 is multiplied by the field size of illumination 101 in units of centimeters and divided by the scanning speed of illumination 101 in units of centimeters per second (cm / s).

[0087] The voltage can be integrated over a period, which contains the pulse sequence that forms the scan. Integration over the period determines the total energy of the scan of illumination 101. Integrator 206 can integrate the total energy under the "burst" of light pulses into a total energy measured in mJ.

[0088] Controller 104 may be coupled to integrator 206. Controller 104 may be configured to activate and / or deactivate integrator 206.

[0089] Analog-to-digital converter 208 can be coupled to the output of integrator 206. Analog-to-digital converter 208 can receive dose 207 from integrator 206. Analog-to-digital converter 208 can convert the dose 207 from integrator 206 into a dose measurement (e.g., in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, and / or in-band scattering dose measurement 121). Analog-to-digital converter 208 can output the dose measurement to controller 104. Analog-to-digital converter 208 can generate a dose measurement from dose 207 immediately after integrator 206 is deactivated.

[0090] Dosage measurements (e.g., in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, and / or in-band scattered dose measurement 121) may be slit integrated energy (SLIE). Slit integrated energy may be the in-band EUV energy per unit distance per pulse. The unit distance may be along the x-axis, where the x-axis lies in the plane of the instrumentation substrate 100. Slit integrated energy may contain several units of J / m.

[0091] Comparator 210 can be coupled to the output of current mirror 216. Comparator 210 can receive voltage from resistor 220. Comparator 210 can detect pulses of illumination 101. Comparator 210 can detect the start and end of pulses of illumination 101. Comparator 210 can output the detected pulses of illumination 101, 211, to controller 104. Comparator 210 can be connected to a pulse counter within controller 104. The pulse counter can count the number of detected pulses.

[0092] The controller 104 can determine the timing of illumination 101 received by the in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 based on the pulses detected by the comparator 210. The timing of illumination 101 received by the in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120 can also be referred to as a radiation time burst. The controller 104 can use the pulses detected by the comparator 210 to execute an adaptive learning algorithm. The adaptive learning algorithm can predict and gate measurements of future pulses of illumination 101. The controller 104 can predict the repeating pattern of the pulses of illumination 101 to determine the period for activating and deactivating the integrator 206.

[0093] The controller 104 can activate and deactivate the integrator 206 based on a pulse detected by the comparator 210. The controller 104 can activate and deactivate the integrator 206 via signal line 205. The controller 104 can activate the integrator 206 within the said period. The controller 104 can be configured to activate the integrator 206 before the illumination 101 is pulsed onto the in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120. The controller 104 can maintain the integrator 206 in operation for the duration during which the in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 receive the illumination 101. The duration during which the in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 receive the illumination 101 can be equal to the scan rate of the illumination 101 divided by the sum of the field size of the illumination 101 and the diameter of the aperture 214. The controller 104 can deactivate the integrator 206 after the in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 stop receiving illumination 101. Therefore, the controller 104 can activate the integrator 206 during the period in which the in-band dose sensor 116, the out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or the in-band scattered dose sensor 120 receive illumination 101, a period with tolerances before and after receiving illumination 101. Activating and deactivating the integrator 206 based on pulses detected by the comparator 210 ensures that the entire dose of illumination 101 is measured, maximizing available storage space in memory 107, and / or avoiding the storage of irrelevant data in memory 107.

[0094] For example, Figure 2C depicts a graph of dose 207 determined by integrator 206 based on five sequential scans of illumination 101. In the first scan of illumination 101, as instructed by comparator 210, controller 104 activates integrator 206 after initially receiving the first scan, such that the entire portion of the dose of the first scan of illumination 101 is not captured during integration. The duration of the scan in dose 207 can be determined at the termination of the pulse from comparator 210. Assuming the bursts are sufficiently similar in repetition rate and burst length, controller 104 can predict the future start time of the third scan after determining the start of the second scan, which is detected in the same manner as the first scan. In the third through fifth scans, controller 104 has activated integrator 206 before initially receiving the scan according to predictions made by repetition rate and pulse duration interval, such that the entire portion of the dose of the scan of illumination 101 is captured during integration. After comparator 210 stops detecting pulses, controller 104 deactivates integrator 206 and then receives the correct dose measurement for the third to fifth scans from analog-to-digital converter 208.

[0095] The controller 104 can determine a scan pattern of illumination 101 across the instrumentation substrate 100 based on pulses of illumination 101 detected by comparator 210 from multiple of the in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120. The scan pattern may refer to a pattern in which illumination 101 travels along substrate 102. The scan pattern may include the pattern and / or timing of illumination 101 received by the in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and / or in-band scattered dose sensor 120. The controller 104 can synchronize the generation of in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, and / or in-band scattered dose measurement 121 with the scan pattern.

[0096] Figure 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a system 300 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 300 may be a substrate processing system. The system 300 may include an instrumented substrate 100, an automated material handling system 302 (AMHS), an EUV lithography tool 304, a station 306, a front-opening wafer cassette 308 (FOUP), a system controller 310, and / or a user interface 312.

[0097] The front-opening wafer transfer box 308 can be an automation-ready FOUP. The front-opening wafer transfer box 308 may contain one or more of the instrumentation substrates 100. The front-opening wafer transfer box 308 can be configured to receive and hold the instrumentation substrates 100. The instrumentation substrates 100 can be housed within the front-opening wafer transfer box 308. The front-opening wafer transfer box 308 may contain a substrate carrier that can be integrated with system 300. The front-opening wafer transfer box 308 provides an environment for storing and transporting the instrumentation substrates 100.

[0098] The front-opening chip transfer box 308 can be configured to provide power to the power supply 108. For example, the front-opening chip transfer box 308 can recharge the power supply 108.

[0099] The front-opening wafer transfer box 308 can be configured to exchange data with the communication interface 110. For example, the front-opening wafer transfer box 308 can be configured to receive sensor measurements 115, in-band dose measurements 117, out-of-band dose measurements 119, signal composition, and / or in-band scattered dose measurements 121 from the communication interface 110. The controller 104 of the instrumentation substrate 100 can be wirelessly coupled to the front-opening wafer transfer box 308. For example, the front-opening wafer transfer box 308 may include a communication circuitry (not depicted). The communication circuitry may include, but is not limited to, one or more communication antennas (e.g., communication coils). In an embodiment, the communication circuitry is configured to establish a communication link between the controller 104 and the front-opening wafer transfer box 308. The front-opening wafer transfer box 308 may include a FOUP interface (not depicted). The FOUP interface may be used by the front-opening wafer transfer box 308 to receive recipes, task start commands, relayed task data, and other similar interfaces.

[0100] The automated material handling system 302 can position the front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308 in three dimensions. The automated material handling system 302 may include an overhead rail (OHT) system. The space occupied by the automated material handling system 302 may be located at the normal floor working level. The automated material handling system 302 can pick up the front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308 from station 306 and transport it to the EUV lithography tool 304. Similarly, the automated material handling system 302 can pick up the front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308 from the EUV lithography tool 304 and transport it to station 306.

[0101] Station 306 can be an automated station. Station 306 can be an Automated Material Handling System (AMHS) compatible station. Station 306 can carry a front-opening wafer transfer box 308. Station 306 can be configured to receive the front-opening wafer transfer box 308. Station 306 can communicate with the front-opening wafer transfer box 308. Station 306 can also recharge the front-opening wafer transfer box 308. Station 306 can communicate with the system controller 310.

[0102] EUV lithography tool 304 can be configured to receive instrumentation substrate 100. Automated material handling system 302 can also be configured to remove instrumentation substrate 100 from front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308 and place instrumentation substrate 100 within the path of illumination 101.

[0103] EUV lithography tool 304 can be configured to generate illumination 101. EUV lithography tool 304 can be configured to generate illumination 101 using plasma or, for example, such as, such as, ASML™. EUV lithography tool 304 can generate illumination 101 in an image plane on instrumented substrate 100.

[0104] The instrumentation substrate 100 provides a metrology platform for calibrating and monitoring the illumination 101 in the EUV lithography tool 304. The EUV lithography tool 304 can utilize the signal composition of the illumination 101 determined by the controller 104, sensor measurements 115, in-band dose measurements 117, out-of-band dose measurements 119, and / or in-band diffused dose measurements 121 to achieve optimal semiconductor process performance. The instrumentation substrate 100 enables tool matching to within 1% of the dose. The EUV lithography tool 304 may not provide stability better than a few percent. However, the exposure level of the EUV lithography tool 304 must be measured and controlled within 0.5%. The instrumentation substrate 100 enables the measurement and control of the exposure level of the EUV lithography tool 304 within 0.5%. The instrumentation substrate 100 provides system-to-system exposure control or transfer. The EUV lithography tool 304 can use EUV radiation; out-of-band and / or diffused in-band radiation can be used for room matching, statistical process control (SPC) monitoring, formulation development, and debugging.

[0105] The instrumentation substrate 100 can be configured to autonomously perform measurements of the lighting 101 in response to factory automation requests.

[0106] System controller 310 and instrumentation substrate 100 may include interfaces via front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308 and station 306 and / or via EUV lithography tool 304. System controller 310 can process data from instrumentation substrate 100 for statistical processing control (SPC). System 300 may have the ability to automatically add data collected from instrumentation substrate 100 to a database within system controller 310.

[0107] The task can perform a data collection session for the instrumentation substrate 100 and subsequently download data from the instrumentation substrate 100. The task can be initiated by the system controller 310 for the purpose of confirming the health status of the EUV lithography tool 304. The task can be passed to the station 306 carrying the front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308. The station 306 can then pass the task to the front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308. The front-opening wafer transfer cassette 308 can then pass the task to the instrumentation substrate 100. The instrumentation substrate 100 can then execute the task to determine the health status of the EUV lithography tool 304.

[0108] User interface 312 is communicatively coupled to station 306. User interface 312 may include, but is not limited to, one or more desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, and the like. User interface 312 may include a display for displaying system data to a user. The display of user interface 312 may include any display known in the art. For example, the display may include, but is not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) based display, or a CRT display. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any display device capable of being integrated with the user interface is suitable for embodiments of this disclosure. The user may input selections and / or commands in response to data displayed to the user via user input devices of user interface 312.

[0109] Any of the various components of system 300 can be configured to communicate using a selected communication protocol. For example, the selected communication protocol may include industry-standard communication protocols consistent with those defined by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Association (SEMI). These standards are known as SEMI Equipment Communication Standards (SECS) and General Equipment Models (GEMs).

[0110] Referring now to FIG4, a method 400 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is described. The method can be used to measure illumination 101. The embodiments and enabling technologies previously described herein in the context of the instrumentation substrate 100 and system 300 should be interpreted as extending to the method. However, it should be further noted that the method is not limited to the architecture of the instrumentation substrate 100 and system 300.

[0111] In step 410, the instrumentation substrate can be picked up from the front-opening wafer cassette and placed onto the EUV lithography tool. For example, the instrumentation substrate 100 can be picked up from the front-opening wafer cassette 408 and placed onto the EUV lithography tool 304.

[0112] In step 420, the EUV lithography tool can generate illumination. For example, EUV lithography tool 304 can generate illumination 101. EUV lithography tool 304 may require calibration of illumination 101.

[0113] In step 430, the instrumentation substrate can generate dose measurements from illumination. For example, the instrumentation substrate 100 can generate in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, and / or in-band scattered dose measurement 121 from illumination 101. The instrumentation substrate 100 can generate sensor measurements 115, in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, and / or in-band scattered dose measurement 121 from illumination 101 using sensor 114, in-band dose sensor 116, out-of-band dose sensor 118, and in-band scattered dose sensor 120, respectively.

[0114] In step 440, the EUV lithography tool can compensate for illumination based on dose measurements. For example, the EUV lithography tool 304 can compensate for illumination 101 based on in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, the signal composition of illumination 101, and / or in-band scattered dose measurement 121. The in-band dose measurement 117, out-of-band dose measurement 119, the signal composition of illumination 101, and / or in-band scattered dose measurement 121 can be sent from the instrumentation substrate 100 to the EUV lithography tool 304 to compensate for illumination 101.

[0115] In step 450, the instrumentation substrate may be returned to the front-opening wafer transfer box. For example, the instrumentation substrate 100 may be returned to the front-opening wafer transfer box 408.

[0116] In this embodiment, each of the steps can be performed automatically by the system 300, enabling the instrumentation substrate 100 to be positioned efficiently and accurately without human intervention. In this embodiment, the steps can be performed iteratively to improve positioning accuracy.

[0117] Any suitable process can be used to manufacture any of the various optical elements. For example, 3D printing or similar methods can be used to fabricate various optical elements. Fabrication processes can be used to make optical assemblies. For example, optical assemblies can be made by molding (e.g., injection molding, glass molding, blank molding), casting, embossing, and similar methods. Optical assemblies can be made of materials. For example, optical assemblies can be made of plastic, glass, or similar materials.

[0118] One or more processors may comprise any processor or processing element known in the art. For the purposes of this disclosure, the terms "processor" or "processing element" may be broadly defined to encompass any means having one or more processing or logic elements (e.g., one or more microprocessor devices, one or more application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) devices, one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs)). In this sense, one or more processors may comprise any means configured to execute algorithms and / or instructions (e.g., program instructions stored in memory). In one embodiment, one or more processors may embody a desktop computer, a host computer system, a workstation, a graphics computer, a parallel processor, a networked computer, or any other computer system configured to execute a program. Furthermore, different subsystems of the system may include processors or logic elements suitable for performing at least a portion of the steps described in this disclosure. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as a limitation on the embodiments of this disclosure but is merely illustrative. Moreover, the steps described throughout this disclosure may be performed by a single controller or alternatively by multiple controllers.

[0119] In an embodiment, the controller may include one or more controllers housed in a common housing or multiple housings. In this way, any controller or combination of controllers can be individually packaged as a module suitable for integration into a system. Furthermore, the controller can analyze data received from the detector and feed the data to additional components inside or outside the system.

[0120] The memory medium may comprise any storage medium known in the art suitable for storing program instructions executable by one or more associated processors. For example, the memory medium may comprise a non-transitory memory medium. By another example, the memory medium may comprise, but is not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic or optical memory devices (e.g., magnetic disks), magnetic tape, solid-state drives, and the like. The memory medium may comprise flash memory cells or any type of memory, discrete EPROM or EEPROM, or the like. It should be further noted that the memory medium may be housed with one or more processors in a shared controller housing. In one embodiment, the memory medium may be remotely located relative to the physical location of one or more processors and the controller. For example, one or more processors of the controller may access remote memory (e.g., a server) accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet, an intranet, and the like).

[0121] As used throughout this disclosure, the term "substrate" generally refers to a substrate formed of a semiconductor or non-semiconductor material (e.g., thin-film glass or similar). For example, semiconductor or non-semiconductor materials may include, but are not limited to, single-crystal silicon, gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, or glass materials. A substrate may comprise one or more layers. For example, these layers may include, but are not limited to, resists (including photoresists), dielectric materials, conductive materials, and semiconducting materials. Many different types of such layers are known in the art, and the terminology used herein is intended to cover substrates on which all types of such layers can be formed. The one or more layers formed on the substrate may be patterned or unpatterned. For example, the substrate may comprise multiple dies, each having repeatable patterned features. The formation and processing of these material layers can ultimately produce a finished device. Many different types of devices can be formed on a substrate, and the term "substrate" as used herein is intended to cover substrates on which any type of device known in the art is fabricated. Furthermore, for the purposes of this disclosure, the terms substrate and wafer should be interpreted interchangeably. Furthermore, for the purposes of this disclosure, the terms patterning device, mask, and photomask should be interpreted as interchangeable.

[0122] It should be further considered that each of the embodiments of the methods described above may include any other steps of any other method described herein. Furthermore, each of the embodiments of the methods described above may be performed by any of the systems described herein.

[0123] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the components, operations, devices, objects, and accompanying discussions described herein are used as examples for the sake of conceptual clarity, and various configuration modifications should be taken into account. Therefore, as used herein, the specific examples stated and the accompanying discussions are intended to represent their more general categories. Generally speaking, the use of any particular example intended to represent its category, without including specific components, operations, devices, and objects, should not be considered limiting.

[0124] As used herein, directional terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” “upper,” “upward,” “lower,” “downward,” and “downward” are intended to provide relative positions for illustrative purposes and are not intended to specify an absolute reference frame. Those skilled in the art will recognize various modifications to the described embodiments, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments.

[0125] Regarding the use of virtually any plural and / or singular terms in this document, those skilled in the art can convert them from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural as appropriate in context and / or application. For clarity, various singular / plural arrangements are not explicitly stated herein.

[0126] The objects described herein sometimes illustrate different components contained within or connected to other components. It should be understood that these depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and many other architectures can in fact be implemented to achieve the same functionality. Conceptually, any arrangement of components achieving the same functionality is effectively “associated” to achieve the desired functionality. Thus, any two components combined herein to achieve a particular functionality can be considered “associated” with each other to achieve the desired functionality, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components. Similarly, any two such associated components can also be considered “connected” or “coupled” with each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components that can be suchly associated can also be considered “coupleable” with each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of coupleability include, but are not limited to, components that can be physically mixed and / or physically interact, and / or components that can interact wirelessly and / or wirelessly, and / or components that can interact logically and / or logically.

[0127] Furthermore, it should be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art will understand that, generally speaking, the terms used herein and particularly in the appended claims (e.g., the body of the appended claims) are intended to be “open-ended” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” and so on). Those skilled in the art will further understand that if the introduced technical elements are intended to be a specific number, this intention will be explicitly stated in the technical solution, and without such a statement, this intention does not exist. For example, as an aid to understanding, the appended claims may contain the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce technical elements. However, the use of these phrases should not be construed as implying the introduction of a technical requirement by the indefinite article "a (a or an)," even when the same technical solution contains the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a (a or an)" (e.g., "a (a and / or an)" should generally be interpreted as meaning "at least one" or "one or more"), thus limiting any particular technical solution containing this introduced technical requirement to an invention containing only one such requirement; the same applies to the use of definite articles for introducing technical requirements. Furthermore, even when a specific number of introduced technical requirements is explicitly stated, those skilled in the art should recognize that this statement should generally be interpreted as meaning at least the stated number (e.g., an explicit statement of "two requirements" without other modifiers generally means at least two requirements, or two or more requirements). Furthermore, in examples where conventions such as "at least one of A, B, and C" are used, generally speaking, this construction is intended to mean that a person skilled in the art should understand the meaning of the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, both A and B, both A and C, both B and C, and / or both A, B, C, and such). In examples where conventions such as "at least one of A, B, or C" are used, generally speaking, this construction is intended to mean that a person skilled in the art should understand the meaning of the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, both A and B, both A and C, both B and C, and / or both A, B, C, and such).Those skilled in the art should further understand that any transition word and / or phrase that actually represents two or more alternative terms (whether in the description, claims, or drawings) should be understood to include the possibility of including one, any, or both of the terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" should be understood to include the possibility of including "A" or "B" or "A and B".

[0128] It is believed that this disclosure and its many accompanying advantages should be understood from the foregoing description, and it should be appreciated that various changes can be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components without departing from the subject matter of the disclosure or sacrificing all its substantial advantages. The forms described are merely illustrative, and the appended claims are intended to cover and encompass these changes. Furthermore, it should be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An instrumentation substrate, comprising: Substrate, The substrate is configured to receive illumination, which includes in-band EUV illumination and out-of-band illumination; power supply; Communication interface; Multiple conductive traces; One or more in-band dose sensors, wherein the one or more in-band dose sensors are configured to generate in-band dose measurements from the in-band EUV illumination; And a controller, which includes: memory that holds program instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions.

2. The instrumentation substrate of claim 1, comprising one or more out-of-band dose sensors, wherein the one or more out-of-band dose sensors are configured to generate out-of-band dose measurements from the out-of-band illumination.

3. The instrumentation substrate of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to compare the in-band dose measurement with the out-of-band dose measurement to determine the signal composition of the illumination.

4. The instrumentation substrate of claim 3, wherein the in-band dose measurement is divided by the out-of-band dose measurement to determine the signal composition.

5. The instrumentation substrate of claim 3, wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit at least one of the signal components of the in-band dose measurement, the out-of-band dose measurement, or the illumination from the instrumentation substrate.

6. The instrumentation substrate of claim 2, wherein the one or more in-band dose sensors are adjacent to the one or more out-of-band dose sensors.

7. The instrumentation substrate of claim 1, wherein the in-band EUV illumination is between 10 nm and 20 nm.

8. The instrumentation substrate of claim 1, wherein the out-of-band illumination is between 100 nm and 400 nm.

9. The instrumentation substrate of claim 1, comprising one or more in-band scattering dose sensors, wherein the illumination comprises in-band scattering EUV illumination, wherein the one or more in-band scattering dose sensors are configured to generate in-band scattering dose measurements from the in-band scattering EUV illumination.

10. The instrumentation substrate of claim 1, wherein the one or more in-band dose sensors comprise: Absorbent layer, wherein the absorbent layer defines the cavity and the orifice; A photodiode, wherein the photodiode is disposed in the cavity and aligned with the aperture, wherein the photodiode is configured to receive the illumination through the aperture; An integrator, wherein the integrator is configured to receive current from the photodiode and integrate the current to determine a dose; And an analog-to-digital converter, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is configured to convert the dose into the in-band dose measurement.

11. The instrumentation substrate according to claim 10, wherein the photodiode comprises a silicon photodiode or a silicon carbide photodiode.

12. The instrumentation substrate of claim 10, wherein the illumination is generated in the form of pulses, wherein the one or more in-band dose sensors include a comparator, wherein the comparator is configured to detect the pulses of the illumination, and wherein the controller is configured to activate and deactivate the integrator based on the pulses detected by the comparator.

13. The instrumentation substrate of claim 12, comprising a plurality of in-band dose sensors, the plurality of in-band dose sensors including the comparator, wherein the illumination is scanned across the substrate in a scan pattern, wherein the controller is configured to determine the scan pattern from the pulses of the illumination detected by the comparator of the plurality of in-band dose sensors.

14. A system comprising: An instrumentation substrate comprising: a substrate configured to receive illumination, the illumination including in-band EUV illumination and out-of-band illumination; a power supply; a communication interface; a plurality of conductive traces; one or more in-band dose sensors configured to generate in-band dose measurements from the in-band EUV illumination; and a controller comprising: a memory holding program instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions; and an EUV lithography system configured to generate the illumination.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the instrumentation substrate includes one or more out-of-band dose sensors, wherein the one or more out-of-band dose sensors are configured to generate out-of-band dose measurements from the out-of-band illumination.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to compare the in-band dose measurement with the out-of-band dose measurement to determine the signal composition of the illumination.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit at least one of the signal components of the in-band dose measurement, the out-of-band dose measurement, or the illumination from the instrumentation substrate.

18. The system of claim 17, comprising a front-opening wafer transfer box; wherein the front-opening wafer transfer box is configured to receive the signal composition from the communication interface.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the in-band EUV illumination is between 10 nanometers and 20 nanometers.

20. A method comprising: An instrumentation substrate is picked up from a front-opening wafer cassette and placed onto an EUV lithography tool, wherein the instrumentation substrate includes: a substrate configured to receive illumination, wherein the illumination includes in-band EUV illumination and out-of-band illumination; a power supply; a communication interface; a plurality of conductive traces; one or more in-band dose sensors configured to generate in-band dose measurements from the in-band EUV illumination; and a controller including: a memory that maintains program instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions; generate the illumination through the EUV lithography tool; generate the in-band dose measurements from the illumination; and return the instrumentation substrate to the front-opening wafer cassette.

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