Potential application of far-field superlens in optical critical dimension metrology: a simulation study

Wen Li; Shuqiang Chen; Hao Deng

doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.5.053109

22 May 2017 Potential application of far-field superlens in optical critical dimension metrology: a simulation study

Wen Li, Shuqiang Chen, Hao Deng

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 56, Issue 5, 053109 (May 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.5.053109

Abstract

Subwavelength periodic gratings, which are widely used in optical systems, exhibit only zero-order diffraction, owing to a diffraction limit. This limits the resolution of optical critical dimension (OCD) metrology. We propose a method to enhance the diffraction of subwavelength periodic gratings using a far-field superlens (FSL), which has the potential to obtain higher resolution in OCD metrology. All simulations in this study are performed using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis method. An FSL grating structure is developed for verifying the proposed method and for evaluating the role of the incident angle, misalignment, and air gap on the diffraction by the FSL grating structure. The simulation results show that, when overlaid with an FSL, a silicon grating with a period of 100 nm, which evoked zero-order diffraction only, can also evoke first- and second-order diffraction in the case of a large incident angle. Last, the potential application of an FSL in OCD metrology is discussed.

Citation Download Citation

Wen Li, Shuqiang Chen, and Hao Deng "Potential application of far-field superlens in optical critical dimension metrology: a simulation study," Optical Engineering 56(5), 053109 (22 May 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.5.053109

Received: 3 November 2016; Accepted: 28 April 2017; Published: 22 May 2017

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