Heterodyne polarimetry for mapping defects in lithography masks

A new optical technique based on the heterodyne polarimetry is developed for fast inspection of uniformity of lithography masks in semiconductor industry. Sub-wavelength periodical structure of a sample acts as a wire-grid polarizer, making both the amplitude and phase of the reflected laser beam dependent on geometrical dimensions and optical properties of the mask pattern. The heterodyne technology based on the cross-polarized two-frequency Zeeman laser is used to simultaneously measure the amplitude and the phase of the reflected laser beam. A two-dimensional map of spatial variations can be obtained via point-by-point scanning of the sample. The technique is applicable not only to exact periodical structures like diffraction gratings, but also to double-periodical patterns consisting of large number of periodically distributed small areas of sub-wavelength gratings. Theoretical background, simulation, and experimental results are presented.