Abstract
As advanced lithographical techniques progressively reach denser pitches, pattern collapse becomes increasingly an issue owing to the capillary forces of the receding liquid present at the development and rinse. Process control and development require a reliable investigation method to be able to detect and quantify pattern collapse with the requirement of being non-invasive for resist structures while maintaining a high throughput. In this paper we present an inspection method based on an optical defectivity detection tool and specially designed lithographic structures to maximize the probability of pattern collapse. Collapse quantification and wafer signatures are presented along with extensive SEM review such as to validate the inspection method.
