ONLINE STATE AND PARAMETER-IDENTIFICATION OF POSITIVE PHOTORESIST DEVELOPMENT

The development phase of the optical photolithography process has long been considered the most crucial, as it is the final image‐forming step. Process monitoring methods have focused primarily on end point detection and have not used other inferable on‐line information. This paper examines the use of mathematical models in conjunction with on‐line development penetration data to determine process changes. An on‐line sequential parameter identification scheme is used to calculate a current rate parameter value for the development model, and a Kalman filter is used to reduce erroneous observations caused by measurement noise. A powerful development monitor system results from the combination of real‐time data, and on‐line parameter and state estimation theory. Copyright © 1990 American Institute of Chemical Engineers