We demonstrate a tilt-modulated phase imaging method to adjust the gap inconsistency for wafer-mask leveling in proximity lithography. Two gratings with close periods are etched on the mask and used as leveling marks. At the illumination of a monochromatic planar wave, the diffracted image of one grating is projected back onto the other one beside it through reflection at the wafer surface. Any wafer-mask tilts in two orthogonal sections are directly modulated into the phase distribution of the interference field and can be directly remedied according to the frequency and angle deviation of the two sets of fringes. Finally, wafer-mask leveling can be achieved at only one spot with preserved accuracy. Computational and experimental results confirm that tilts at the magnitude of ${10}^{-3}\mathrm{rad}$ can be readily resolved by this method.

© 2010 Optical Society of America

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

Related Journal Articles

• Phase-Modulation Scatterometry (AO)
• Inverse design for phase mask lithography (OE)
• Inverse design for phase mask lithography: erratum (OE)
• Parameter-tolerant binary gratings (JOSAA)
• Carrier fringes in the two-aperture common-path interferometer (OL)

Related Conference Papers

• Phase mask period characterization with picometer accuracy using Bragg gratings and diffractive interferometric technique
• Measurement of Electron Spin Relaxation in Charged GaAs Quantum Dots: Application of Nonlinear Optical Phase-Modulation Spectroscopy
• Tunable optical filtering with an intracavity Bragg grating associated to a standard grating
• Suppression of side fringes in a low-coherence measurement with gain-switched Fabry-Perot laser diode
• External generation of flat power envelope THz modulation sidebands from a CW laser based on electrooptic phase modulator