This document discusses determining the performance of gauging/measurement systems for a very specific application — the lithography section of integrated circuit wafer fabrication. This document in many cases, will be applicable to IC mask-making, in which case the word "mask" can be substituted for "wafer."

It is acknowledged that the final measurement for a fabricated wafer is the electrical functionality. However, the intermediate lithographic measurements can be useful in prediction and control of final functionality. This document is intended to be useful for this litho-metrology application, irrespective of the technology employed.

Measurement results and system performance depend on the sample(s) used. Therefore, performance for different systems or the same system at different times can only be appropriately compared when the measurements are obtained with a sample of the same material composition.

The parameter addressed is precision. Additional important parameters are reliability and cleanliness, which have been addressed by other SEMI standards.

NOTICE: This standard does not purport to address safety issues, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the users of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory or other limitations prior to use.

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to establish uniform procedures for metrology systems for the lithometrology task. It does not address how these systems will be applied to solve problems, nor does it address other contributors to process variations such as thermal wafer processing, exposure tool focus control, materials, etc.

Background — Fundamental to manufacturing is the gauging or measurement process. It is required initially to develop a usable manufacturing capability and then to verify that what is being manufactured conforms to specification/expectation.