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Search Publications by: Richard M. Silver (Fed)

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Displaying 76 - 100 of 307

Effects of wafer noise on the detection of 20 nm defects using optical volumetric inspection

February 11, 2015
Author(s)
Bryan M. Barnes, Francois R. Goasmat, Martin Y. Sohn, Hui Zhou, Andras Vladar, Richard M. Silver
Patterning imperfections in semiconductor device fabrication may either be noncritical [e.g., line edge roughness (LER)] or critical, such as defects that impact manufacturing yield. As the sizes of the pitches and linewidths decrease in lithography

193 nm scatterfield microscope illumination optics

December 17, 2014
Author(s)
Martin Y. Sohn, Richard M. Silver
A scatterfield microscope for deep sub-wavelength semiconductor metrology using 193 nm light has been designed. In addition to accommodating the fixed numerical aperture and size of its commercial catadioptric objective lens, the illumination optics are

Pattern Transfer of Hydrogen Depassivation Lithography Patterns into Silicon with Atomically Traceable Placement and Size Control

July 17, 2014
Author(s)
Josh Ballard, Stephen McDonnell, Don Dick, Maia Bischof, Joseph Fu, D Jaeger, James Owen , w Owen, Justin Alexander, Udi Fuchs, Pradeep Namboodiri, Kai Li, John Randall, Robert Wallace, Yves Chabal, Richard Reidy, Richard M. Silver
Reducing the scale of etched nanostructures below the 10 nm range eventually will require an atomic scale understanding of the masks being used in order to maintain exquisite control over both feature size and feature density. Here, we demonstrate a method

Optimizing Hybrid Metrology through a Consistent Multi-Tool Parameter Set and Uncertainty Model

April 14, 2014
Author(s)
Richard M. Silver, Bryan Barnes, Nien F. Zhang, Hui Zhou, Andras Vladar, John S. Villarrubia, Regis J. Kline, Daniel Sunday, Alok Vaid
There has been significant interest in hybrid metrology as a novel method for reducing overall measurement uncertainty and optimizing measurement throughput (speed) through rigorous combinations of two or more different measurement techniques into a single

Optical volumetric inspection of sub-20 nm patterned defects with wafer noise

April 2, 2014
Author(s)
Bryan M. Barnes, Francois R. Goasmat, Martin Y. Sohn, Hui Zhou, Richard M. Silver, Andras Vladar, Abraham Arceo
We have previously introduced a new data analysis method that more thoroughly utilizes scattered optical intensity data collected during defect inspection using bright-field microscopy. This volumetric approach allows conversion of focus resolved 2-D

Three-dimensional deep sub-wavelength defect detection using (lambda) = 193 nm optical microscopy

October 25, 2013
Author(s)
Bryan M. Barnes, Martin Y. Sohn, Francois R. Goasmat, Hui Zhou, Andras Vladar, Richard M. Silver, Abraham Arceo
Identifying defects in photolithographic patterning is a persistent challenge in semiconductor manufacturing. Well-established optical methods in current use are jeopardized by upcoming sub-20 nm device dimensions. Volumetric processing of focus-resolved

Fourier Domain Optical Tool Normalization for Quantitative Parametric Image Reconstruction

September 5, 2013
Author(s)
Jing Qin, Richard M. Silver, Bryan M. Barnes, Hui Zhou, Francois R. Goasmat
There has been much recent work in developing advanced optical metrology methods that use imaging optics for critical dimension measurements and defect detection. Sensitivity to nanometer scale changes has been observed when measuring critical dimensions

Harnessing 3D Scattered Optical Fields for sub-20 nm Defect Detection

June 24, 2013
Author(s)
Bryan M. Barnes, Martin Y. Sohn, Francois R. Goasmat, Hui Zhou, Richard M. Silver, Abraham Arceo
Experimental imaging at =193 nm of sub-resolved defects performed at several focus positions yields a volume of spatial and intensity data. Defects are located in a differential volume, given a reference, with up to 5x increase in sensitivity.

Distributed Force Probe Bending Model of CD-AFM Bias

April 1, 2013
Author(s)
Vladimir A. Ukraintsev, Ndubuisi George Orji, Theodore V. Vorburger, Ronald G. Dixson, Joseph Fu, Richard M. Silver
Critical Dimension AFM (CD-AFM) is a widely used reference metrology technique. To characterize modern semiconductor devices, small and flexible probes, often 15 nm to 20 nm in diameter, are used. Recent studies have reported uncontrolled and significant

3-D Optical Metrology of Finite sub-20 nm Dense Arrays using Fourier Domain Normalization

March 25, 2013
Author(s)
Jing Qin, Hui Zhou, Bryan M. Barnes, Ronald G. Dixson, Richard M. Silver
Reduced target dimensions requiring improved resolution and sensitivity have driven the need to use and analyze the phase and scattered frequency information available when using image-based scatterometry systems. One such system is scatterfield microscopy