CD metrology for the 45-nm and 32-nm nodes

One of the many technology decisions facing the semiconductor industry for the 45 nm node (and beyond) is the selection of the best critical dimension (CD) metrology equipment to meet the needs of process equipment suppliers and semiconductor manufacturers. In an effort to address this need we fabricated advanced metrology structures using the Nanowriter e-beam writing tool at the Center for X-Ray Optics (CXRO) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The structures include lines and holes both in resist and etched into substrates. The smallest isolated CDs are 16 nm, while the smallest holes are less than 50nm. We used these samples to characterize a variety of metrology technologies. In this paper we discuss the capability of those technologies to measure structures having dimensions representative of the 45 nm and 32 nm nodes.