U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science: Flatness Metrology of Large Wafers with Nanometer Accuracy

该奖项支持纽约州立大学石溪分校的黄培森教授与日本东北大学高伟教授为期三年的合作研究项目。研究人员将进行一项具有纳米精度的大型晶圆平面测量的研究。对更小的特性和更大的晶圆尺寸的不断推动使得对晶圆平面度的要求越来越严格。这一需求不能通过简单地扩展现有技术来满足。范式的转变是必要的，需要发展新的概念。本研究旨在开发一种全新的方法，即绝对平面度测量，用于下一代晶圆和器件制造。利用该方法，板形测量结果不受扫描运动和方法引起的误差的影响，板形测量结果不受扫描运动引起的误差的影响，因此与传统方法相比，有望获得更高的精度。该项目汇集了两个具有互补专业知识和研究能力的实验室的努力。该方法的成功使用将最终消除使用晶圆母片定期校准计量系统的需要，从而降低了系统维护成本。这项研究的影响并不局限于半导体行业。同样的技术也可以应用于液晶面板、先进光学反射镜如x射线同步加速器反射镜、硬盘衬底等的计量，显著提高其测量精度。本研究通过研究生的参与促进了国际人力资源的发展。通过思想和技术的交流，该项目将扩大我们的基础知识基础，促进国际了解与合作。研究人员计划在技术会议和他们的网站（http://www.precision.eng.sunysb.edu）上发表研究结果。

9910063HuangThis award supports a three year collaborative research project between Professor Peisen Huang of the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook and Professor Wei Gao of Tohoku University in Japan. The researchers will be undertaking a study of the flatness metrology of large wafers with nanometer accuracy. The continuous drive toward smaller features and larger wafer sizes is making the requirements on wafer flatness increasingly stringent. This demand cannot be met by simply extending the currently existing technologies. A paradigm shift is necessary and new concepts need to be developed. This research is aimed at developing a completely new method, namely absolute flatness metrology, for next generation wafer and device manufacturing. With this method, the flatness measurement results are free from errors caused by the scanning motion and method, the flatness measurement results are free from errors caused by the scanning motion and are thus expected to be significantly more accurate compared to those achievable by the traditional methods. The project brings together the efforts of two laboratories that have complementary expertise and research capabilities. The successful use of this method will eventually eliminate the need for periodical calibration of the metrology system with a wafer master, which reduces system maintenance costs. The impact of this research is not limited to the semiconductor industry. The same technology can also be applied to the metrology of liquid crystal panels, advanced optical mirrors such as x-ray synchrotron mirrors, hard disk substrates, etc. to significantly improve their measurement accuracy. This research advances international human resources through the participation of graduate students. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. The researchers plan to publish results of the research at technical meetings and on their web site (http://www.precision.eng.sunysb.edu).