A proven methodology for detecting photo-resist residue and for

qualifying photo-resist material by measuring fluorescence using SP2

bare wafer inspection and SURFmonitor
David Feiler*a, Sanda Radovanovica, Prasanna Dighea, Arul Kitnana, Gavin Simpsona
b
Gad Schwager, bAlexander Eynis, bDiti Enidjer
a
KLA-Tencor Corporation, One Technology Drive, Milpitas, CA, USA 95035
b
Numonyx Israel Ltd., Qiryat Gat, Israel, 82109
ABSTRACT
During the chip making process, complete removal of photo-resist is very critical. Current metrology & analytical
methods do not provide enough sensitivity to detect residual amounts of photo-resist remaining on the wafer. Using the
novel method described in this study, the Surfscan SP2 and SURFmonitor solution has successfully demonstrated the
sensitivity needed to detect residual photo-resist. This method takes advantage of the fact that residual photo-resist,
which is organic in nature, will fluoresce. By scanning wafers after the ash and clean step using the SP2 (UV
wavelength) unpatterned defect inspection tool equipped with SURFmonitor, it is possible to generate a full-wafer
fluorescence SURFimage. This SURFimage was shown to clearly indicate the regions of the wafer where residual photoresist was present.
Keywords: Fluorescence, map, photo, resist, residue, organic, contamination, SP2, Surfscan, SURFmonitor, strip, ash,
clean, residual, coat

1. INTRODUCTION
As IC manufacturing processes migrate to smaller design rules, the impact of residual resist residue on inline defectivity
and end-of-line (EOL) yield has begun to increase. Residual resist residue is now being identified as a source of
significant inline and EOL defect/yield impact [1]. In particular, residual resist residue can cause such problems as
blocked etch, poor adhesion of subsequent layers, and reliability issues. This paper describes a novel method for
detecting residual resist residue using a KLA-Tencor Surfscan SP2 unpatterned-wafer inspection tool equipped with
SURFmonitor.

2. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
As shown in Fig. 1, the Surfscan SP2 system used in this study features two incidence angles, oblique and normal, and
two azimuthally symmetric DF signal collection channels, wide and narrow. The incidence wavelength used falls in
the UV range at 355 nm.
*david.feiler@kla-tencor.com

Lithography Asia 2009, edited by Alek C. Chen, Woo-Sung Han, Burn J. Lin, Anthony Yen,
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520, 75201M 2009 SPIE CCC code: 0277-786X/09/$18 doi: 10.1117/12.837020

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-1

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

Fig. 1. Schematics of the optical configuration of the Surfscan SP2 system used in the study.

Fluorescence is an optical phenomenon that occurs when a material absorbs light at a particular wavelength (usually UV)
and subsequently emits light at a longer wavelength (usually visible) as shown in Fig. 2. When a fluorescent material
absorbs UV light, some of its electrons will be excited to higher energy states. These excited electrons will lose some of
their energy through non-radiative processes, such as thermal vibrations, placing them in less excited states. These
electrons will then relax back to their ground energy state, and in the process emit longer wavelength light usually in the
visible region.

Fig. 2. Illustration of Fluorescence Process.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-2

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

The KLA-Tencor Surfscan SP2 uses a UV laser that can cause some materials (usually organic in nature) to fluoresce.
For this reason, the SP2 was designed with a fluorescence filter (F1) that can be placed in front of the detector to
decrease the background scatter from a fluorescent material, thus increasing the sensitivity to smaller defects for these
layers. Using this option to scan a wafer with and without the F1 filter, and with the help of SURFmonitor to produce a
pixel by pixel ratio map of the two scans, one can create a fluorescence map. This fluorescence map shows exactly
where on the wafer fluorescent material exists. Moreover, the fact that materials like resist residue are organic in nature,
means that they are likely to fluoresce, and thus resist strips can then be monitored for effectiveness at removing resist.
Fig. 3 shows the theory behind creating a fluorescence map. When a wafer is scanned without the F1 filter, the
background scattering (haze) is due to a combination of surface roughness, thickness (only for transparent films), and
fluorescence. However, when the same wafer is scanned with the F1 filter, the background scattering is due to a
combination of only surface roughness and thickness. Also, the F1 filter attenuates the UV light by an amount known as
its attenuation factor which is approximately 2. Using SURFmonitor, which is an option on SP2, a map can be generated
by taking the haze values from the scan without the F1 filter and dividing them by the haze values from the scan with the
F1 filter on a pixel by pixel basis. If the wafer scanned does not fluoresce, like clean bare silicon for example, the
resulting ratio will be equal to the attenuation factor of the F1 filter. On the other hand, if the wafer scanned does
fluoresce, then the resulting ratio will be greater than the attenuation factor of the F1 filter. This resultant ratio map is
referred to as a fluorescence map, where any value greater than the attenuation factor means that fluorescent material is
on the surface of the wafer in that area.

Case with No F1:

Haze = (R+T+F)

Scattering (haze) due to a combination of roughness (R), thickness (T), and fluorescence (F).

Case with F1:

Haze = (R+T)/A
Scattering (haze) due to a combination of roughness (R), and thickness (T), only.
Haze is reduced by attenuation factor (A), of F1 filter which is approximately 2.

Ratio of haze ((No F1)/F1) yields fluorescence map:

No F1
F1

(R+T+F)
(R+T)
A

A*(R+T+F)
(R+T)

= A +

A*F
(R+T)

If wafer does not fluoresce then F=0 and

ratio = A. If wafer does fluoresce then F>0 and ratio > A.
Fig. 3. Theory behind creating a fluorescence map.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-3

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

Fig 4. shows the haze image for a clean bare silicon wafer with and without the F1 filter. In addition, the pixel by pixel
ratio map generated using SURFmonitor and the histogram of the ratio values is displayed. The attenuation factor has an
average value of about 1.67 and a max value of about 1.70. Therefore, any ratio map containing a value greater than 1.70
would be due to a fluorescent material on the surface of the wafer.

With F1 Filter

Without F1 Filter

Ratio (No F1) / (F1)

Fig. 4. Determining the attenuation factor of the fluorescence filter using a clean bare silicon wafer.

3. RESULTS
Bare silicon wafers were coated with resist, exposed with a checkerboard pattern (see Fig. 5), developed, ashed, and then
cleaned. The split carried out in this experiment was based on the resist, where a known good batch of resist, and a
suspected bad batch of resist were used. It was suspected that the bad resist was leaving behind residue even after ash
and clean, and this needed to be confirmed. With the use of Surfscan SP2 and SURFmonitor, fluorescence maps were
created which could clearly show where resist residue was being left behind as shown in Fig. 6. Since the dark blue areas
have a ratio equal to the attenuation factor, these areas are clean, and so it can be seen that the ash and clean were more
effective with the good rather than the bad batch of resist. However, it is evident that even for the wafer with good resist,

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-4

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

the ash and clean were not completely effective, especially in the lower left hand corner of the wafer. This may have
been due to temperature control on the ash tool, but nevertheless, the fluorescence map was still able to bring this to the
module owners attention.

Fig. 5. Checkerboard pattern used in this study. A squares were not exposed and B squares were exposed.

Slot 23 Good Resist

Slot 25 Bad Resist

Attenuation Factor of F1 filter = 1.8

No Fluorescence

Strong Fluorescence

No Residue

More Residue

Fig. 6. Fluorescence maps on a fixed scale showing where resist remains on the wafers.

In addition, it should be noted that SEM and EDX were not sensitive enough to distinguish between areas where residue
remained and areas that were clean as can be seen in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. EDX only detected Si, and the SEM images did
not reveal any visual differences. Furthermore, neither the scans with the F1 filter nor those without the F1 filter by
themselves correlate to where the resist remains on the wafers. Fig. 9 shows the haze maps for the wafers when scanned
without the F1 filter, and Fig. 10 shows the haze maps for the wafers when scanned with the F1 filter.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-5

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um
FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um
FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

Fig. 7. SEM and EDX are not sensitive enough to distinguish between clean and residue areas for Slot 23 (good resist).

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

FOV: 1um

Fig. 8. SEM and EDX are not sensitive enough to distinguish between clean and residue areas for Slot 25 (bad resist).

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-6

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

Slot 23 Good Resist

Slot 25 Bad Resist

Fig. 9. Haze images on a fixed scale from scans without the F1 filter for good and bad resist wafers.

Slot 23 Good Resist

Slot 25 Bad Resist

Fig. 10. Haze images on a fixed scale from scans with the F1 filter for good and bad resist wafers.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-7

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx

At first glance it appears that there may be some correlation of resist residue with haze values from the single scans,
however, upon further inspection, it can be seen that this is not the case. For example, one could argue that high haze
(red color) means no residue, but parts of the lower left portion of the wafers are low haze (blue color) and are also
residue free. Therefore, it is necessary to take the ratio of the haze map without the F1 filter and the haze map with the
F1 filter to generate the fluorescence map. This fluorescence map can then be used to correctly determine where resist
remains on the wafer.

4. CONCLUSIONS
Using Surfscan SP2 and SURFmonitor it is possible to create fluorescence maps for different wafer splits. These maps
have allowed us to determine whether and where resist remains on the wafers after cleaning. With this information, the
resist material itself can be classified as being good or bad, and the effectiveness of the ash and clean processes can also
be evaluated. This fluorescence map technique could also prove useful in other applications where fluorescent materials
are used.

REFERENCES
[1]

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors 2008 Edition, Yield Enhancement.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7520 75201M-8

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 06/21/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/TermsOfUse.aspx