Comparison of left and right side line edge roughness in lithography

Abstract

The left side and right side line edge roughnesses (LER) of a line are compared for different conditions, such as through pitch, through critical dimension (CD), from horizontal to vertical line direction, from litho to etch. The investigation shows that the left and right side LER from lithography process are the same, however, the metrology can cause a 4-25% increase in the measured right side LER. The LER difference is related to the CDSEM e-beam scan direction.