The Future of CD Metrology

State-of-the-art critical dimension (CD) metrology tools have had difficulty keeping pace with the extremely stringent lithography and etch CD measurement requirements in cutting-edge device fabrication facilities. These tight CD control requirements for 90 nm technology and below have been set forth in the 2005 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). This paper will provide a comprehensive review of the CD metrology challenges for photolithography, taking into account the areas addressed in the 2005 ITRS for the 45 nm technology generation and beyond.