Inspection results of advanced (sub-50nm design rule) reticles using the TeraScanHR

Results from the recently available TeraScanHR reticle inspection system were published in early 2007. These results showed excellent inspection capability for 45nm logic and 5xnm half-pitch memory advanced production reticles, thus meeting the industry need for the mid-2007 start of production. The system has been in production use since that time. In early 2007, some evidence was shown of capability to inspect reticles for 32nm logic and sub-50nm half-pitch memory, but the results were incomplete due to the limited availability of such reticles. However, more of these advanced reticles have become available since that time. In this paper, inspection results of these advanced reticles from various leading-edge reticle manufacturers using the TeraScanHR are shown. These results indicate that the system has the capability to provide the needed inspection sensitivity for continued development work to support the industry roadmap.