Determination of silicon wafer site flatness using dual heterodyne interferometers with sub-nanometer precision

Precise measurement of wafer flatness with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution is essential to realize high yields in nano-scale lithography because the depth of focus in this technology is relatively small. We report on a highly precise site flatness measurement system that employs a pair of heterodyne interferometers and achieves sub-nanometer precision for polished 300-mm silicon wafers. The determined overall mean standard deviation for the site flatness front-surface least-squares fit range is 0.21 nm. Furthermore, this system allows us to obtain images of the wafer flatness via scanning with a high spatial resolution of approximately 12 mu m. These results suggest that the heterodyne interferometer-based system is a suited candidate for use at the next-generation 16-nm half-pitch technology node.