Alignment marks for polarized light lithography and method for use thereof
View Patent ↗Mark and method for integrated circuit fabrication with polarized light lithography. A preferred embodiment comprises a first plurality of elements comprised of a first component type, wherein the first component type has a first polarization, and a second plurality of elements comprised of a second component type, wherein the second component type has a second polarization, wherein the first polarization and the second polarization are orthogonal, wherein adjacent elements are of different component types. The alignment marks can be used in an intensity based or a diffraction based alignment process.
1. An alignment mark for use in integrated circuit fabrication, the alignment mark comprising:
a first plurality of elements, each element comprising a plurality of first sub elements disposed on a substrate, wherein the first sub elements have all a first orientation, are all substantially the same size and are aligned relative to each other; and
a second plurality of elements, each element comprising a plurality of second sub elements disposed on the substrate, wherein the second sub elements have all a second orientation, are all substantially the same size and are aligned relative to each other, wherein the first orientation and the second orientation are substantially orthogonal,
all of the first plurality of elements and all of the second plurality of elements formed on one layer,
wherein the elements of the first plurality and the elements of the second plurality are arranged into a plurality of groups of four, wherein there are two elements from the first plurality and two elements from the second plurality in each group of four, wherein the groups of four are arranged into a plurality of columns, and
wherein the alignment mark provides an alignment information.
2. The alignment mark of claim 1 , wherein the elements of the first plurality and the elements of the second plurality are alternatingly arranged.
3. The alignment mark of claim 1 , wherein the elements of the first plurality and the elements of the second plurality are positioned based upon design rules for an integrated circuit layer being fabricated.
4. The alignment mark of claim 1 , wherein the alignment mark is used in the determination of position information of one or more selected from the group comprising: semiconductor fabrication tools, semiconductor wafers, and wafer layer masks.
5. The alignment mark of claim 1 , wherein the alignment mark is used in integrated circuit fabrication using polarized light lithography.
6. The alignment mark of claim 1 , wherein the elements of the group of four are aligned relative to each other.
7. The alignment mark of claim 1 , wherein there are four sub elements per element.
8. The alignment mark of claim 1 , wherein the sub elements of the first element are arranged substantially parallel relative to the column.
9. An alignment mark for use in integrated circuit fabrication, the alignment mark comprising:
a plurality of columns, each of the columns comprising two sub-columns; and
the sub-columns divided into a plurality of adjacent segments, each of the adjacent segments alternatively comprising a plurality of aligned elements all having substantially the same size and shape and all being substantially parallel to the sub-columns and a plurality of aligned elements all having substantially the same size and shape and all being substantially orthogonal to the sub-columns, all of the aligned elements substantially parallel to the sub-columns and the aligned elements substantially orthogonal to the sub-columns in the adjacent segments formed in a single layer of an integrated circuit, and wherein the alignment mark provides an alignment information.
10. The alignment mark of claim 9 , wherein segments in a first sub-column comprising aligned elements substantially parallel to the sub-columns are adjacent to segments in a second sub-column comprising aligned elements substantially orthogonal to the sub-columns.
11. The alignment mark of claim 9 , wherein segments in a first sub-column comprising aligned elements substantially orthogonal to the sub-columns are adjacent to segments in a second sub-column comprising aligned elements substantially parallel to the sub-columns.
12. The alignment mark of claim 9 , wherein there are four elements per segment.
13. An alignment mark disposed on a layer, the alignment mark comprising a plurality of vertical components, each vertical component comprising a plurality of sub-components arranged in a column that extends along a direction, each sub-component comprising first, second, third and fourth individual regions, each individual region comprising a plurality of extended elements arranged side by side all having substantially the same size and shape, the elements of the first and third individual regions being arranged parallel to the direction of the column and the elements of the second and fourth individual regions being arranged perpendicular to the direction of the column, the first, second, third and fourth regions being aligned, and wherein the alignment mark provides an alignment information.
14. The alignment mark of claim 13 , wherein the elements of the first plurality and the elements of the second plurality are positioned based upon design rules for an integrated circuit layer being fabricated.
15. The alignment mark of claim 13 , wherein the alignment mark is used in the determination of position information of one or more selected from the group comprising: semiconductor fabrication tools, semiconductor wafers, and wafer layer masks.
16. The alignment mark of claim 13 , wherein the alignment mark is used in integrated circuit fabrication using polarized light lithography.
17. The alignment mark of claim 13 , wherein there are four sub extended elements per individual region.