NIST, in collaboration with SEMATECH and industry partners, has developed new test structures that enable reliable measurement of device features on computer chips as small as 40 nanometers in width. These test structures, replicated on reference materials, serve as standard “rulers” for calibrating tools used in the manufacturing of microprocessors and integrated circuits.
The new NIST reference materials include precisely etched lines of crystalline silicon ranging in width from 40 nm to 275 nm, with tiny spacing between atoms within the silicon crystals acting as hash marks on a ruler to measure dimensions. The reference materials are configured as a 9 millimeter by 11 millimeter chip embedded in a silicon wafer and measured with uncertainties of less than 2 nanometers, compared to 14 nanometers in previous versions.
The development of these new standards represents a significant milestone in the semiconductor industry, as they provide a reliable means of calibrating measurement tools and ensuring consistent manufacturing processes. The reference materials will be publicly unveiled in March 2005 at a workshop cosponsored by NIST and SEMATECH, and could potentially be distributed as NIST-traceable artifacts to end users in the semiconductor industry for development of metrology tools.
Keywords: Nanometer, Calibration Standards, Reference Materials
