Estimation of mechanical stability of EUV pellicle by the collision of the particle defect

Abstract

The pellicle prevents image errors due to contaminated particles in the EUV mask and protects the mask for a stable process. However, the lifetime of the pellicle could be shortened due to deformation and destruction caused by the collision of the particle defects in the chamber. Therefore, in order to increase the lifetime of the pellicle, it is required to develop an optimal pellicle material and structure that is resistant to deformation and destruction and has excellent mechanical stability. Accordingly, it is necessary to know the deformation caused by the particle collision and estimate the lifetime of the pellicles with different mechanical stability. In this study, we simulate the collision of particle defects for the pellicle and compare the mechanical stability depending on the single-layer pellicle materials.