Engineering Commons^™

Plasmonic Enhancement Of The Ellipsometric Measurement Of Thin Metal Lines, Samuel O'Mullane

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In semiconductor manufacturing, defect analysis and process control are extremely important for optimal device performance and yield enhancement. One in-line tool used for quick optical characterization is the ellipsometer. Because it is nondestructive and largely automated, ellipsometers have become key tools in this process. Scatterometry based optical critical dimension (OCD) analysis is the full optical modeling of ellipsometric measurements using regression-based structures. Specifically for metallic gratings, OCD has a couple of challenges. First, the sensitivity to changes in the width of the metal lines is decreasing for smaller widths. Second, the main scatterometry spectral simulation method (rigorous coupled wave analysis, …