Journal of Micro-Nanopatterning Materials and Metrology-JM3微纳图案化材料与计量学杂志
Journal of Micro-Nanopatterning Materials and Metrology-JM3(英文缩写 J MICRO-NANOPATTERN),ISSN 1932-5150,eISSN 2708-8340,中文译名:微纳图案化材料与计量学杂志 是一本学术期刊。本页汇总该期刊的最新影响因子、分区信息以及最新收录于 PubMed 的文献,帮助您快速了解期刊全貌。
发文量统计区间：2025-10-01 至 2026-09-30，按本站收录文献的发表日期统计。
期刊介绍
历年影响因子趋势
| JCR 数据年份 | 影响因子 | JCR 分区 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 未收录 | N/A |
| 2022 | 2.300 | Q3 |
| 2023 | 1.500 | Q3 |
| 2024 | 1.800 | Q3 |
| 2025 | 2.300 | Q3 |
Journal of Micro-Nanopatterning Materials and Metrology-JM3 最新收录文献
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1. Relating human and AI-based detection limits in scanning electron microscopy dimensional metrology.
PMID:日期:2025Nanoscale measurements of critical dimensions in semiconductor manufacturing rely on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SEM image analyses. The acquisition of SEM images requires a low primary electron beam current and a low dose of the SEM imaging microscope to avoid integrated circuit (IC) sample charging and inflicted damage to sensitive IC structures. These requirements inevitably result in noisy, low-contrast images, which can make traditional SEM image analyses no longer viable. With the advancement in computational hardware and artificial intelligence (AI) models, IC structure detection via AI-based SEM image segmentation can extend the viability of these measurements from noisy, low-contrast images. However, the use of AI models raises questions about the detection limits of extracted measurements and the confidence in such measurements. Our approach is to relate SEM image quality characteristics with AI-based object segmentation accuracy to establish detection limits of AI-based models and their relationships to human detection limits. Using SEM image simulation software, we create six image sets of quasi-circular objects on a substrate with varying noise and contrast characteristics. These sets of SEM images are characterized by 25 image quality metrics and then used to train and evaluate three AI models. The 25 SEM image quality characteristics and three AI model accuracy metrics per SEM image define the mapping between the quality of input SEM images and the performance of the trained AI models. We used the mapping to establish the detection limits of trained AI models with respect to a required confidence and then relate the human detection limits to the trained AI model detection limits. The human detection limit was established by Rose as the minimal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR = 5) to reliably delineate the shape and size of objects in an image. We matched the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) defined by Rose to image quality characteristics and demonstrated the upper and lower SNR bounds for three AI models with respect to the human detection limit and for a specified confidence. We establish a method to determine the detection limits of AI-based SEM dimensional metrology. The study is relevant to semiconductor vendors and consumers of AI models because critical dimension measurements are derived from noisy and low-contrast SEM images using AI models with varying performance characteristics. Given a measured SEM image with estimated noise and contrast characteristics, each AI model will be characterized by unique detection limits that can be trusted in semiconductor production. Our method enables improving the trust in critical dimensions while using advanced AI models.
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2. Wear comparison of critical dimension-atomic force microscopy tips.
PMID:日期:2020Nanoscale wear affects the performance of atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based measurements for all applications including process control measurements and nanoelectronics characterization. As such, methods to prevent or reduce AFM tip wear is an area of active research. However, most prior work has been on conventional AFMs rather than critical dimension AFM (CD-AFM). Hence, less is known about CD-AFM tip-wear. Given that tip-wear directly affects the accuracy of dimensional measurements, a basic understanding of CD-AFM tip wear is needed. Toward this goal, we evaluated the wear performance of electron beam deposited CD-AFM tips. Using a continuous scanning strategy, we evaluated the overall wear rate and tip lifetime and compared these with those of silicon-based CD-AFM tips. Our data show improved tip lifetime of as much as a factor of five and reduced wear rates of more than 17 times. Such improvements in wear rate means less measurement variability and lower cost.
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3. Tip on Tip Imaging and Self-Consistent Calibration for Critical Dimension Atomic Force Microscopy: Refinements and Extension to Second Lateral Axis.
PMID:日期:2018-10One type of atomic force microscopy (AFM) used for critical dimension (CD) metrology is commonly referred to as critical dimension atomic force microscopy (CD-AFM); it uses flared tips and two-dimensional surface sensing to enable scanning of features with near-vertical sidewalls. An important consideration in this type of CD-AFM metrology is the calibration uncertainty of the tip width. Standards for traceable tip width calibration have thus been developed both by national metrology institutes (NMIs) and commercial suppliers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has previously reported the implementation of a self-consistency tip width calibration using three CD-AFM tips to image each other. The results of this method were shown to be consistent with prior calibrations based on transmission electron microscope cross-sections. In the present work, the extension of this method to tips smaller than 50 nm is demonstrated, as well as the extension of the method to include a second lateral axis.
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4. Design and characterization of a package-less hybrid PDMS-CMOS-FR4 contact-imaging system for microfluidic integration.
PMID:日期:2018-07-24We demonstrate a hybrid "package-less" polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-FR4 system for contact imaging. The system embeds the CMOS image sensor directly in a PDMS layer instead of the standard chip package to support microfluidic structures much larger and more complex than those in prior art. The CMOS/PDMS layer is self-aligned to form a continuous, flat surface to provide structural support for upper microfluidic layers. The system consists of five layers of PDMS implementing fluid channels, valves, chambers, and inlets/outlets. A custom CMOS image sensor with integrated signal conditioning circuits directly captures light from sample fluid for high optical collection efficiency. Owing to the flexibility afforded by the integration process, the system demonstrates, for the first time, integrated valves in contact imaging. Moreover, we present the first direct comparison of the optical performance of a CMOS image sensor and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) in identical contact-imaging conditions. Measurements show that our CMOS sensor achieves 17 dB better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to a commercial PMT across a broad range of integration times, with a maximum SNR of 47 dB. Chemiluminescent testing successfully shows signal detection for different analyte concentrations and integration times. The contact-imaging system demonstrates a detection limit of 25 μM of a 9,10-diphenylanthracene-based solution.
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5. Antireflective light-blocking layers using a liquid top matte coating.
PMID:日期:2018-04-23Methods exist for the creation of antireflective thin film layers; however, many of these methods depend on the use of high temperatures, harsh chemical etches, or are made with difficult pattern materials, rendering them unusable for many applications. In addition, most methods of light blocking are specifically designed to increase light coupling and absorption in the substrate, making them incompatible with some appli-cations that also require blocking transmission of light. A method of forming a simple, patternable light-blocking layer that drastically reduces both transmission and reflection of light without dependence on processes that could damage underlying structures using a light scattering matte coating over a partially antireflective thin film light-blocking layer is presented.
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6. Methodology for evaluating the information distribution in small angle scattering from periodic nanostructures.
PMID:日期:2018Optimizing the extraction of information from x-ray measurements while minimizing exposure time is an important area of research in a variety of fields. The semiconductor industry is reaching a point where the traditional optical metrologies need to be augmented in order to better resolve the critical dimensions of structures with feature sizes below 10 nm. Critical dimension small angle x-ray scattering (CDSAXS) is one measurement technique that is capable of characterizing detailed features of periodic nanostructures. As currently implemented, the measurement utilizes the combined scattering from up to 60 different angles. Reducing the number of angles would dramatically improve the feasibility of CDSAXS for implementation in a fabrication setting, but currently there are no clear guidelines as to which angles provide the most information to minimize the uncertainty in the shape of the target structure while maximizing the throughput. In order to develop guidelines for optimizing the angle selection, simulation studies were conducted on a wide variety of structures with subsets of the full angular range to identify which angles minimized the overall shape uncertainty. Analyzing sets of two angle pairs (including all combinations between 0 deg and 60 deg) provides guidance on which angles best constrain the samples. For select samples, higher numbers of angles were included to explore the impact of additional information on the model uncertainty. In general, low angles (<3 deg) best contributed to minimizing the line-width uncertainty, while higher angles near high curvature regions of the scattering profile best constrained the height of the structure. The minimum uncertainty was generally achieved with combinations of the two. This simulation approach can be used to minimize the number of angles measured on real samples and significantly reduce the measurement time.
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7. Multiple-Instrument Evaluation of the Consistency and Long Term Stability of Tip Width Calibration for Critical Dimension Atomic Force Microscopy.
PMID:日期:2017-06Since 2004 standards for calibration of critical dimension atomic force microscope (CD-AFM) tip width have been available both commercially and through national metrology institutes (NMIs) - such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States. There have been inter-laboratory and inter-method comparisons performed on such samples, but less attention has been paid to the long-term stability of standards and monitoring for damage, wear, or contamination. Using three different CD-AFM instruments, we have tested the consistency and long-term stability of two independent reference calibrations for CD-AFM tip width. Both of these tip width calibrations were based on independently implemented transmission electron microscope (TEM) reference measurements. There were circumstances in which damage occurred or samples needed to be cleaned. Nevertheless, our results show agreement within the uncertainties and stability over a period exceeding 10 years.
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8. Evaluating the Effects of Modeling Errors for Isolated Finite 3D Targets.
PMID:日期:2017Optical 3D nanostructure metrology utilizes a model-based metrology approach to determine critical dimensions (CDs) that are well below the inspection wavelength. Our project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is evaluating how to attain key CD and shape parameters from engineered in-die capable metrology targets. More specifically, the quantities of interest are determined by varying the input parameters for a physical model until the simulations agree with the actual measurements within acceptable error bounds. As in most applications, establishing a reasonable balance between model accuracy and time efficiency is a complicated task. A well-established simplification is to model the intrinsically finite 3D nanostructures as either periodic or infinite in one direction, reducing the computationally expensive 3D simulations to usually less complex 2D problems. Systematic errors caused by this simplified model can directly influence the fitting of the model to the measurement data and are expected to become more apparent with decreasing lengths of the structures. In this paper we identify these effects using selected simulation results and present experimental setups, e.g., illumination numerical apertures and focal ranges, that can increase the validity of the 2D approach.
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9. Evaluation of carbon nanotube probes in critical dimension atomic force microscopes.
PMID:日期:2016-08-26The decreasing size of semiconductor features and the increasing structural complexity of advanced devices have placed continuously greater demands on manufacturing metrology, arising both from the measurement challenges of smaller feature sizes and the growing requirement to characterize structures in more than just a single critical dimension. For scanning electron microscopy, this has resulted in increasing sophistication of imaging models. For critical dimension atomic force microscopes (CD-AFMs), this has resulted in the need for smaller and more complex tips. Carbon nanotube (CNT) tips have thus been the focus of much interest and effort by a number of researchers. However, there have been significant issues surrounding both the manufacture and use of CNT tips. Specifically, the growth or attachment of CNTs to AFM cantilevers has been a challenge to the fabrication of CNT tips, and the flexibility and resultant bending artifacts have presented challenges to using CNT tips. The Korea Research Institute for Standards and Science (KRISS) has invested considerable effort in the controlled fabrication of CNT tips and is collaborating with the National Institute of Standards and Technology on the application of CNT tips for CD-AFM. Progress by KRISS on the precise control of CNT orientation, length, and end modification, using manipulation and focused ion beam processes, has allowed us to implement ball-capped CNT tips and bent CNT tips for CD-AFM. Using two different generations of CD-AFM instruments, we have evaluated these tip types by imaging a line/space grating and a programmed line edge roughness specimen. We concluded that these CNTs are capable of scanning the profiles of these structures, including re-entrant sidewalls, but there remain important challenges to address. These challenges include tighter control of tip geometry and careful optimization of scan parameters and algorithms for using CNT tips.
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10. Advancing X-ray scattering metrology using inverse genetic algorithms.
PMID:日期:2016-07-07We compare the speed and effectiveness of two genetic optimization algorithms to the results of statistical sampling via a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to find which is the most robust method for determining real space structure in periodic gratings measured using critical dimension small angle X-ray scattering. Both a covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy and differential evolution algorithm are implemented and compared using various objective functions. The algorithms and objective functions are used to minimize differences between diffraction simulations and measured diffraction data. These simulations are parameterized with an electron density model known to roughly correspond to the real space structure of our nanogratings. The study shows that for X-ray scattering data, the covariance matrix adaptation coupled with a mean-absolute error log objective function is the most efficient combination of algorithm and goodness of fit criterion for finding structures with little foreknowledge about the underlying fine scale structure features of the nanograting.