Plasma antireflective coating optimization using enhanced reflectivity modeling

An improved method is presented for the optimization of plasma deposited bottom inorganic anti-reflective coatings (ARCs). These ARCs have shown the capability to improve photolithography profess margins through reduction of substrate reflectivity while meeting integration issues. However, the ability to vary plasma ARC optical properties through deposition conditions has led to increased complexity of film stack optimization. We present simple but effective enhanced modeling methods for reducing the effort required to properly tune plasma ARC optical conditions and optimize complex films tacks incorporating these materials.