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The rapid adoption of damascene copper processing has brought about an increased need to understand and control microstructure in the barrier, seed and electroplated copper layers during manufacture. We have developed a fully automated metrology tool for rapidly characterizing thin film polycrystalline microstructures on 300 mm silicon oxidized substrates. This x‐ray based metrology tool measures crystallographic texture, phase composition, film thickness, and other microstructural characteristics of blanket and patterned films with a throughput suitable for in‐line applications. The acquired data can be used as a direct measure of the deposition process in terms of film quality, reproducibility, and stability over time. The spatial distribution of crystallographic texture and phase can be measured on a single wafer in order to check wafer uniformity. More importantly, the same measurements can be carried out at predetermined intervals on wafers from a single deposition tool, and the results used to create a database that can be applied to trend charting and tool qualification. The tool satisfies all safety, automation, and contamination standards applicable in the semiconductor industry. Examples of applications in damascene copper processing are presented. |
