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Anderson, Erik H

Publications and source records attributed to Anderson, Erik H.

Nanometer-scale ablation using focused, coherent extreme ultraviolet/soft x-ray light

Ablation of holes having diameters as small as 82 nm and having clean walls was obtained in a poly(methyl methacrylate) on a silicon substrate by focusing pulses from a Ne-like Ar, 46.9 nm wavelength, capillary-discharge laser using a freestanding Fresnel zone plate diffracting into third order is described. Spectroscopic analysis of light from the ablation has also been performed. These results demonstrate the use of focused coherent EUV/SXR light for the direct nanoscale patterning of materials.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Calibration of the modulation transfer function of surface profilometers with binary pseudo-random test standards: expanding the application range

A modulation transfer function (MTF) calibration method based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays [Proc. SPIE 7077-7 (2007), Opt. Eng. 47, 073602 (2008)] has been proven to be an effective MTF calibration method for a number of interferometric microscopes and a scatterometer [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A616, 172 (2010)]. Here we report on a further expansion of the application range of the method. We describe the MTF calibration of a 6 inch phase shifting Fizeau interferometer. Beyond providing a direct measurement of the interferometer's MTF, tests with a BPR array surface have revealed an asymmetry in the instrument's data processing algorithm that fundamentally limits its bandwidth. Moreover, the tests have illustrated the effects of the instrument's detrending and filtering procedures on power spectral density measurements. The details of the development of a BPR test sample suitable for calibration of scanning and transmission electron microscopes are also presented. Such a test sample is realized as a multilayer structure with the layer thicknesses of two materials corresponding to BPR sequence. The investigations confirm the universal character of the method that makes it applicable to a large variety of metrology instrumentation with spatial wavelength bandwidths from a few nanometers to hundreds of millimeters.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Replicated mask surface roughness effects on EUV lithographic pattering and line edge roughness

To quantify the roughness contributions to speckle, a programmed roughness substrate was fabricated with a number of areas having different roughness magnitudes. The substrate was then multilayer coated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface maps were collected before and after multilayer deposition. At-wavelength reflectance and total integrated scattering measurements were also completed. Angle resolved scattering based power spectral densities are directly compared to the AFM based power spectra. We show that AFM overpredicts the roughness in the picometer measurements range. The mask was then imaged at-wavelength for the direct characterization of the aerial image speckle using the SEMATECH Berkeley Actinic Inspection Tool (AIT). Modeling was used to test the effectiveness of the different metrologies in predicting the measured aerial-image speckle. AIT measured contrast values are 25% or more than the calculated image contrast values obtained using the measured rms roughness input. The extent to which the various metrologies can be utilized for specifying tolerable roughness limits on EUV masks is still to be determined. Further modeling and measurements are being planned.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Standing-wave excited soft x-ray photoemission microscopy: application to Co microdot magnetic arrays

We demonstrate the addition of depth resolution to the usual two-dimensional images in photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM), with application to a square array of circular magnetic Co microdots. The method is based on excitation with soft x-ray standing-waves generated by Bragg reflection from a multilayer mirror substrate. Standing wave is moved vertically through sample simply by varying the photon energy around the Bragg condition. Depth-resolved PEEM images were obtained for all of the observed elements. Photoemission intensities as functions of photon energy were compared to x-ray optical calculations in order to quantitatively derive the depth-resolved film structure of the sample.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Characterization of electron microscopes with binary pseudo-random multilayer test samples

Verification of the reliability of metrology data from high quality x-ray optics requires that adequate methods for test and calibration of the instruments be developed. For such verification for optical surface profilometers in the spatial frequency domain, a modulation transfer function (MTF) calibration method based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays has been suggested [Proc. SPIE 7077-7 (2007), Opt. Eng. 47(7), 073602-1-5 (2008)} and proven to be an effective calibration method for a number of interferometric microscopes, a phase shifting Fizeau interferometer, and a scatterometer [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 616, 172-82 (2010)]. Here we describe the details of development of binary pseudo-random multilayer (BPRML) test samples suitable for characterization of scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopes. We discuss the results of TEM measurements with the BPRML test samples fabricated from a WiSi2/Si multilayer coating with pseudo randomly distributed layers. In particular, we demonstrate that significant information about the metrological reliability of the TEM measurements can be extracted even when the fundamental frequency of the BPRML sample is smaller than the Nyquist frequency of the measurements. The measurements demonstrate a number of problems related to the interpretation of the SEM and TEM data. Note that similar BPRML test samples can be used to characterize x-ray microscopes. Corresponding work with x-ray microscopes is in progress.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Calibration of the modulation transfer function of surface profilometers with binary pseudo-random test standards: Expanding the application range

A modulation transfer function (MTF) calibration method based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays [Proc. SPIE 7077-7 (2007), Opt. Eng. 47(7), 073602-1-5 (2008)] has been proven to be an effective MTF calibration method for a number of interferometric microscopes and a scatterometer [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 616, 172-82 (2010]. Here we report on a significant expansion of the application range of the method. We describe the MTF calibration of a 6 inch phase shifting Fizeau interferometer. Beyond providing a direct measurement of the interferometer's MTF, tests with a BPR array surface have revealed an asymmetry in the instrument's data processing algorithm that fundamentally limits its bandwidth. Moreover, the tests have illustrated the effects of the instrument's detrending and filtering procedures on power spectral density measurements. The details of the development of a BPR test sample suitable for calibration of scanning and transmission electron microscopes are also presented. Such a test sample is realized as a multilayer structure with the layer thicknesses of two materials corresponding to BPR sequence. The investigations confirm the universal character of the method that makes it applicable to a large variety of metrology instrumentation with spatial wavelength bandwidths from a few nanometers to hundreds of millimeters.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗