Test Object for SEM Calibration. 1. Methods for Quality Control of Manufacturing

Abstract

The quality of manufacturing of a test object for the calibration of a scanning electron microscope is studied. The test object is made of silicon and consists of relief pitch structures with a nominal pitch size of 2000 nm. All relief elements (protrusions and grooves) have a trapezoidal profile with large inclination angles of the side walls. The planes of the side walls coincide with the crystallographic planes {111} of silicon, and the planes of the vertex of protrusions and the bottom of the grooves coincide with the crystallographic planes {100}. Several methods for controlling the quality of manufacturing of the test objects are considered: visual examination of surface defects, use of cleavages of the relief, and transmission electron microscopy. None of them makes it possible to determine the quality of manufacturing of a particular test object or its individual elements.