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Product Briefing Outline: Timbre Technologies, a TEL company, have launched the latest version of their Optical Digital Profilometry (ODP) technology, ODP 2006. The company has included a broad range of enhancements and expanded capabilities to improve scatterometry technology to control CD process conditions at the 65nm node.  ODP 2006 is included as part of Timbre's maintenance plans and is standard for all new orders.  It is also available to existing customers as an upgrade to their existing ODP systems.

Problem: ODP addresses the industry's hunger for critical dimension (CD) process control for 65nm and 45nm nodes.  Profile shape metrology has become an extremely important aspect of metrology.  Users need to know critical dimensions such as sidewall angles, recess depths, spacer widths and fill depths.  With ODP 2006, Timbre has extended their market leading ODP technology to model and measure the shape and size of these complex structures. Profile measurements are especially critical on the front-end-of-line (FEOL) trench processes.  Process control requirements for shallow trench isolation (STI) layers and deep-trench capacitors benefit from ODP's ability to measure complex and high-aspect ratio shapes.  Advanced gate stack layers gain from its capability to measure sidewalls of asymmetric spacer shapes.  

Solution: The primary objective of the enhancements is to increase the accessibility and power of scatterometry within the fab.  ODP2006 has a smart and flexible interface that intuitively guides the user to the best possible solution.  It also includes an enhanced ability to measure multi-layer structures such as dual-damascene, where vias and metal lines must be measured simultaneously, improves inherently complex back-end-of-line (BEOL) structures.  The system also has an enhanced ability to measure multi-layer interconnect patterns that run in different directions, making it better suited to represent the true in-device pattern.  One of the standout features of ODP 2006 is its ability to model and measure complex high-aspect three-dimensional structures where the ability to model structures beyond simple circles and to measure at the bottom of the contact are critical, such as deep-trench, contact and via. .  One such feature applies Timbre's Turbo Technology to ODP-NOW, resulting in orders of magnitude reduction in regression time, dramatically accelerating the users' time-to-results.

Applications: Photolithography, etch, CMP and deposition applications for both stand-alone and integrated metrology systems.  

Platform: The ODP platform was introduced in 2002. ODP uses broadband light to provide non-destructive 2D & 3D profiles and is enabled with the ‘TeraGen' off-line monitoring and library generation system.

Availability: July 2006 onwards.