SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE AND PATTERN DIMENSION MEASUREMENT METHOD USING THE SAME

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To overcome the problem that the measurement accuracy is deteriorated by a variation in an error between a dimension measurement value and an actually-measured pattern dimension depending on a cross-sectional shape of a pattern in a semiconductor pattern dimension measurement by a CD-SEM. SOLUTION: An AFM measurement result of a plurality of the patterns having different shapes is stored in a database in association with the dimension measurement error obtained by the AFM measurement result when the identical shape pattern is measured by the CD-SEM. When the dimension is actually measured, the AFM measurement result is obtained from a small number of regions in the to-be-measured pattern, and compared with the database. The dimension measurement error obtained by the CD-SEM measurement and corresponding to the most similar sidewall shape is referred. A corrected dimension has the reduced dimension error depending on the cross-sectional shape of the pattern, and is calculated by correcting the CD-SEM measurement result of the to-be-measured pattern based on the referred dimension measurement error. COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT