Simulating massively parallel electron beam inspection for sub-20 nm defects

SEMATECH has initiated a program to develop massively-parallel electron beam defect inspection (MPEBI). Here we use JMONSEL simulations to generate expected imaging responses of chosen test cases of patterns and defects with ability to vary parameters for beam energy, spot size, pixel size, and/or defect material and form factor. The patterns are representative of the design rules for an aggressively-scaled FinFET-type design. With these simulated images and resulting shot noise, a signal-to-noise framework is developed, which relates to defect detection probabilities. Additionally, with this infrastructure the effect of detection chain noise and frequency dependent system response can be made, allowing for targeting of best recipe parameters for MPEBI validation experiments, ultimately leading to insights into how such parameters will impact MPEBI tool design, including necessary doses for defect detection and estimations of scanning speeds for achieving high throughput for HVM.