公开(公告)号：US11681229B2

公开(公告)日：2023-06-20

申请号：US17214456

申请日：2021-03-26

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Hans Van Der Laan ,  Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Marinus Jochemsen ,  Stefan Hunsche

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G06F30/398 ,  H01L21/66 ,  G03F7/00

CPC classification number: G03F7/705 ,  G03F7/7065 ,  G03F7/70608 ,  G03F7/70616 ,  G03F7/70625 ,  G06F30/398 ,  H01L22/20 ,  H01L22/12

Abstract: A process of selecting a measurement location, the process including: obtaining pattern data describing a pattern to be applied to substrates in a patterning process; obtaining a process characteristic measured during or following processing of a substrate, the process characteristic characterizing the processing of the substrate; determining a simulated result of the patterning process based on the pattern data and the process characteristic; and selecting a measurement location for the substrate based on the simulated result.

公开(公告)号：US20230042759A1

公开(公告)日：2023-02-09

申请号：US17968352

申请日：2022-10-18

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Frank Staals ,  Mark John Maslow ,  Roy Anunciado ,  Marinus Jochemsen ,  Hugo Augustinus Joseph Cramer ,  Thomas Theeuwes ,  Paul Christiaan Hinnen

IPC: G03F7/20

Abstract: A method including: computing a value of a first variable of a pattern of, or for, a substrate processed by a patterning process by combining a fingerprint of the first variable on the substrate and a certain value of the first variable; and determining a value of a second variable of the pattern based at least in part on the computed value of the first variable.

公开(公告)号：US11112700B2

公开(公告)日：2021-09-07

申请号：US16087338

申请日：2017-03-14

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Laurent Michel Marcel Depre ,  Jorge Humberto Salvador Entradas

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G06F30/398

Abstract: A method to improve a lithographic process of imaging a portion of a design layout onto a substrate using a lithographic apparatus, the method including computing a multi-variable cost function. The multi-variable cost function represents an interlayer characteristic, the interlayer characteristic being a function of a plurality of design variables that represent one or more characteristics of the lithographic process. The method further includes reconfiguring one or more of the characteristics of the lithographic process by adjusting one or more of the design variables and computing the multi-variable cost function with the adjusted one or more design variables, until a certain termination condition is satisfied.

公开(公告)号：US11029614B2

公开(公告)日：2021-06-08

申请号：US16318388

申请日：2017-06-22

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Frank Staals ,  Martin Jules Marie-Emile De Nivelle ,  Tanbir Hasan

IPC: G05B19/4097 ,  G03F9/00

Abstract: A method of determining topographical variation across a substrate on which one or more patterns have been applied. The method includes obtaining measured topography data representing a topographical variation across a substrate on which one or more patterns have been applied by a lithographic process; and combining the measured topography data with knowledge relating to intra-die topology to obtain derived topography data having a resolution greater than the resolution of the measured topography data. Also disclosed is a corresponding level sensor apparatus and lithographic apparatus having such a level sensor apparatus, and a more general method of determining variation of a physical parameter from first measurement data of variation of the physical parameter across the substrate and intra-die measurement data of higher resolution than the first measurement data and combining these.

公开(公告)号：US10990018B2

公开(公告)日：2021-04-27

申请号：US16481143

申请日：2018-02-12

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Bart Peter Bert Segers ,  Everhardus Cornelis Mos ,  Emil Peter Schmitt-Weaver ,  Yichen Zhang ,  Petrus Gerardus Van Rhee ,  Xing Lan Liu ,  Maria Kilitziraki ,  Reiner Maria Jungblut ,  Hyunwoo Yu

IPC: G06F17/50 ,  G03F7/00 ,  G06N3/02 ,  G03F7/20

Abstract: A method, involving determining a first distribution of a first parameter associated with an error or residual in performing a device manufacturing process; determining a second distribution of a second parameter associated with an error or residual in performing the device manufacturing process; and determining a distribution of a parameter of interest associated with the device manufacturing process using a function operating on the first and second distributions. The function may include a correlation.

公开(公告)号：US10775705B2

公开(公告)日：2020-09-15

申请号：US16325228

申请日：2017-08-02

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Jozef Maria Finders ,  Orion Jonathan Pierre Mouraille ,  Anton Bernhard Van Oosten

IPC: G03F7/20

Abstract: A method of tuning a patterning stack, the method including: defining a function that measures how a parameter representing a physical characteristic pertaining to a pattern transferred into a patterning stack on a substrate is affected by change in a patterning stack variable, the patterning stack variable representing a physical characteristic of a material layer of the patterning stack; varying, by a hardware computer system, the patterning stack variable and evaluating, by the hardware computer system, the function with respect to the varied patterning stack variable, until a termination condition is satisfied; and outputting a value of the patterning stack variable when the termination condition is satisfied.

公开(公告)号：US10712672B2

公开(公告)日：2020-07-14

申请号：US16315026

申请日：2017-07-07

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Marinus Jochemsen ,  Stefan Hunsche ,  Wim Tjibbo Tel

IPC: G03F7/20

Abstract: A method including determining a first color pattern and a second color pattern associated with a hot spot of a design layout pattern, the design layout pattern configured for transfer to a substrate, and predicting, by a hardware computer system, whether there would be a defect at the hot spot on the substrate caused by overlay error, based at least in part on a measurement of an overlay error between the first color pattern and the second color pattern.

公开(公告)号：US09977344B2

公开(公告)日：2018-05-22

申请号：US15358321

申请日：2016-11-22

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Frank Staals

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G03F9/00

CPC classification number: G03F7/70683 ,  G03F7/70625 ,  G03F7/70633 ,  G03F7/70641 ,  G03F9/7026

Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate comprising a combined target for measurement of overlay and focus. The target comprises: a first layer comprising a first periodic structure; and a second layer comprising a second periodic structure overlaying the first periodic structure. The target has structural asymmetry which comprises a structural asymmetry component resultant from unintentional mismatch between the first periodic structure and the second periodic structure, a structural asymmetry component resultant from an intentional positional offset between the first periodic structure and the second periodic structure and a focus dependent structural asymmetry component which is dependent upon a focus setting during exposure of said combined target on said substrate. Also disclosed is a method for forming such a target, and associated lithographic and metrology apparatuses.

公开(公告)号：US11733610B2

公开(公告)日：2023-08-22

申请号：US16722557

申请日：2019-12-20

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Mark John Maslow ,  Frank Staals ,  Paul Christiaan Hinnen

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G03F7/00 ,  H01L21/66

CPC classification number: G03F7/2043 ,  G03F7/705 ,  G03F7/70616 ,  G03F7/70625 ,  G03F7/70633 ,  H01L22/12 ,  H01L22/20

Abstract: A method involving determining a contribution that one or more process apparatuses make to a characteristic of a substrate after the substrate has been processed according to a patterning process by the one or more process apparatuses by removing from values of the characteristic of the substrate a contribution of a lithography apparatus to the characteristic and a contribution of one or more pre-lithography process apparatuses to the characteristic.

公开(公告)号：US11709432B2

公开(公告)日：2023-07-25

申请号：US17283307

申请日：2019-09-19

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Ekaterina Mikhailovna Viatkina ,  Tom Van Hemert

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G03F7/00 ,  G05B15/02

CPC classification number: G03F7/70508 ,  G03F7/70525 ,  G03F7/70616 ,  G05B15/02

Abstract: A method for characterizing post-processing data in terms of individual contributions from processing stations, the post-processing data relating to a manufacturing process for manufacturing integrated circuits on a plurality of substrates using a corresponding processing apparatus for each of a plurality of process steps, at least some of the processing apparatuses each including a plurality of the processing stations, and wherein the combination of processing stations used to process each substrate defines a process thread for the substrate; the method including: obtaining post-processing data associated with processing of the plurality of substrates in a cyclic sequence of processing threads; and determining an individual contribution of a particular processing station by comparing a subset of the post-processing data corresponding to substrates having shared process sub-threads, wherein a process sub-thread describes the process steps of each process thread other than the process step to which the particular processing station corresponds.