公开(公告)号：US20240361702A1

公开(公告)日：2024-10-31

申请号：US18621218

申请日：2024-03-29

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Paul Christiaan Hinnen ,  Elliott Gerard MC NAMARA ,  Thomas Theeuwes ,  Maria Isabel DE LA FUENTE VALENTIN ,  Mir Homayoun SHAHRJERDY ,  Arie Jeffrey DEN BOEF ,  Shu-jin WANG

IPC: G03F7/00 ,  G03F7/20 ,  G06T7/00

CPC classification number: G03F7/70633 ,  G03F7/70625 ,  G03F7/70683 ,  G06T7/0006 ,  G03F7/20 ,  G06T2207/30148

Abstract: A method including: obtaining a detected representation of radiation redirected by each of a plurality of structures from a substrate additionally having a device pattern thereon, wherein each structure has an intentional different physical configuration of the respective structure than the respective nominal physical configuration of the respective structure, wherein each structure has geometric symmetry at the respective nominal physical configuration, wherein the intentional different physical configuration of the structure causes an asymmetric optical characteristic distribution and wherein a patterning process parameter measures change in the physical configuration; and determining a value, based on the detected representations and based on the intentional different physical configurations, to setup, monitor or correct a measurement recipe for determining the patterning process parameter.

公开(公告)号：US20220155694A1

公开(公告)日：2022-05-19

申请号：US17438994

申请日：2020-02-17

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Paul Jonathan TURNER ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS

IPC: G03F7/20

Abstract: A method, computer program and associated apparatuses for metrology. The method includes determining whether a substrate or substrate portion is subject to a process effect. The method includes: obtaining inspection data including a plurality of sets of measurement data associated with a structure on the substrate or portion thereof (for example measurement pupils); and obtaining fingerprint data describing a spatial variation of a parameter of interest. An iterative mapping of the inspection data to the fingerprint data is performed. Whether the structure is subject to a process effect is based on a degree to which the iterative mapping converges on a solution.

公开(公告)号：US20190354024A1

公开(公告)日：2019-11-21

申请号：US16347944

申请日：2017-10-31

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Alok VERMA ,  Bert VERSTRAETEN

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G01N21/47

Abstract: A method of measuring a parameter of a device manufacturing process is disclosed. The method includes measuring a target on a substrate by illuminating the target with measurement radiation and using an optical apparatus to detect the measurement radiation scattered by the target. The target has a target structure having a first periodic component and a second periodic component. The optical apparatus receives radiation resulting from diffraction of the measurement radiation from the target structure. The received radiation includes at least one diffraction order that would not be received from diffraction of the measurement radiation from the first periodic component alone nor from diffraction of the measurement radiation from the second periodic component alone.

公开(公告)号：US20190243253A1

公开(公告)日：2019-08-08

申请号：US16256359

申请日：2019-01-24

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Joannes Jitse Venselaar ,  Samee Ur Rehman ,  Mariya Vyacheslavivna Medvedyeva ,  Bastiaan Onne Fagginger Auer ,  Martijn Maria Zaal ,  Thaleia Kontoroupi

IPC: G03F7/20

CPC classification number: G03F7/70091 ,  G03F7/705 ,  G03F7/70508 ,  G03F7/70633 ,  G03F7/70641

Abstract: Methods of optimizing a metrology process are disclosed. In one arrangement, measurement data from a plurality of applications of the metrology process to a first target on a substrate are obtained. Each application of the metrology process includes illuminating the first target with a radiation spot and detecting radiation redirected by the first target. The applications of the metrology process include applications at a) plural positions of the radiation spot relative to the first target, and/or b) plural focus heights of the radiation spot. The measurement data includes, for each application of the metrology process, a detected pupil representation of an optical characteristic of the redirected radiation in a pupil plane. The method includes determining an optimal alignment and/or an optimal focus height based on comparisons between the detected pupil representations in the measurement data and a reference pupil representation.

公开(公告)号：US20210384086A1

公开(公告)日：2021-12-09

申请号：US17408043

申请日：2021-08-20

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Adriaan Johan VAN LEEST ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Paul Christiaan HINNEN ,  Elliott Gerard MC NAMARA ,  Alok VERMA ,  Thomas THEEUWES ,  Hugo Augustinus Joseph CRAMER

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  G03F7/20 ,  G03F9/00 ,  G01N21/95

Abstract: A method of determining overlay of a patterning process, the method including: obtaining a detected representation of radiation redirected by one or more physical instances of a unit cell, wherein the unit cell has geometric symmetry at a nominal value of overlay and wherein the detected representation of the radiation was obtained by illuminating a substrate with a radiation beam such that a beam spot on the substrate was filled with the one or more physical instances of the unit cell; and determining, from optical characteristic values from the detected radiation representation, a value of a first overlay for the unit cell separately from a second overlay for the unit cell that is also obtainable from the same optical characteristic values, wherein the first overlay is in a different direction than the second overlay or between a different combination of parts of the unit cell than the second overlay.

公开(公告)号：US20200073254A1

公开(公告)日：2020-03-05

申请号：US16675674

申请日：2019-11-06

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Maurits VAN DER SCHAAR ,  Youping ZHANG ,  Hendrik Jan Hidde SMILDE ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Adriaan Johan VAN LEEST ,  Alok VERMA ,  Thomas THEEUWES ,  Hugo Augustinus Joseph CRAMER ,  Paul Christiaan HINNEN

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G01N21/47 ,  G01N21/95

Abstract: A substrate has first and second target structures formed thereon by a lithographic process. Each target structure has two-dimensional periodic structure formed in a single material layer on a substrate using first and second lithographic steps, wherein, in the first target structure, features defined in the second lithographic step are displaced relative to features defined in the first lithographic step by a first bias amount that is close to one half of a spatial period of the features formed in the first lithographic step, and, in the second target structure, features defined in the second lithographic step are displaced relative to features defined in the first lithographic step by a second bias amount close to one half of said spatial period and different to the first bias amount. An angle-resolved scatter spectrum of the first target structure and an angle-resolved scatter spectrum of the second target structure is obtained, and a measurement of a parameter of a lithographic process is derived from the measurements using asymmetry found in the scatter spectra of the first and second target structures.

公开(公告)号：US20190323972A1

公开(公告)日：2019-10-24

申请号：US16385651

申请日：2019-04-16

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Samee Ur REHMAN ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Sergey TARABRIN ,  Joannes Jitse VENSELAAR ,  Alexandru ONOSE ,  Mariya Vyacheslavivna MEDVEDYEVA

IPC: G01N21/95 ,  G01N21/956

Abstract: Methods of determining a value of a parameter of interest are disclosed. In one arrangement, a symmetric component and an asymmetric component of a detected pupil representation from illuminating a target are derived. A first metric characterizing the symmetric component and a second metric characterizing the asymmetric component vary non-monotonically as a function of the parameter of interest over a reference range of values of the parameter of interest. A combination of the derived symmetric component and the derived asymmetric component are used to identify a correct value from a plurality of candidate values of the parameter of interest.

公开(公告)号：US20190250094A1

公开(公告)日：2019-08-15

申请号：US16268564

申请日：2019-02-06

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Nitesh PANDEY ,  Zili ZHOU ,  Gerbrand VAN DER ZOUW ,  Arie Jeffrey DEN BOEF ,  Markus Gerardus Martinus Maria VAN KRAAIJ ,  Armand Eugene Albert KOOLEN ,  Hugo Augustinus Joseph CRAMER ,  Paul Christiaan HINNEN ,  Martinus Hubertus Maria VAN WEERT ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Shu-jin WANG ,  Bastiaan Onne FAGGINGER AUER ,  Alok VERMA

IPC: G01N21/21 ,  G01N21/88 ,  G03F7/20

CPC classification number: G01N21/21 ,  G01N21/8806 ,  G01N2021/8848 ,  G03F7/70191 ,  G03F7/70616 ,  G03F7/70625 ,  G03F7/70633

Abstract: An inspection apparatus, method, and system are described herein. An example inspection apparatus includes an optical system and an imaging system. The optical system may be configured to output an illumination beam incident on a target including one or more features, the illumination beam polarized with a first polarization when incident on the target. The imaging system may be configured to obtain intensity data representing at least a portion of the illumination beam scattered by the one or more features, where the portion of the illumination beam has a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization. The inspection apparatus may be further configured to generate image data representing an image of each of the feature(s) based on the intensity data, and determine a measurement of a parameter of interest associated with the feature(s) based on an amount of the portion of the illumination beam having the second polarization.

公开(公告)号：US20250118528A1

公开(公告)日：2025-04-10

申请号：US18982902

申请日：2024-12-16

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Marco Jan-Jaco WIELAND ,  Vincent Sylvester KUIPER ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS

IPC: H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: An assessment method comprising: using an assessment apparatus to generate assessment signals representing a property of a surface of a sample; processing the assessment signals to identify candidate defects and outputting a candidate defect signal; monitoring the status of the assessment apparatus for error conditions and generating a status signal indicating any error conditions during functioning of the assessment apparatus; and analysing the candidate defect signal to determine if the candidate defects are real defects; wherein analysis of a candidate defect is not completed if the status signal indicates that the assessment signal(s) and/or the candidate defect signal corresponding to the candidate defect would have been affected by an error condition.

公开(公告)号：US20240014078A1

公开(公告)日：2024-01-11

申请号：US18230115

申请日：2023-08-03

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Adriaan Johan VAN LEEST ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Paul Christiaan HINNEN ,  Elliott Gerard Mc NAMARA ,  Alok VERMA ,  Thomas THEEUWES ,  Hugo Augustinus Joseph CRAMER

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  G03F7/00 ,  G03F9/00 ,  G01N21/95

CPC classification number: H01L22/12 ,  G03F7/70683 ,  G03F7/70633 ,  G03F9/7003 ,  G01N21/9501

Abstract: A method of determining a parameter of a patterning process, the method including: obtaining a detected representation of radiation redirected by a structure having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration, wherein the detected representation of the radiation was obtained by illuminating a substrate with a radiation beam such that a beam spot on the substrate was filled with the structure; and determining, by a hardware computer system, a value of the patterning process parameter based on optical characteristic values from an asymmetric optical characteristic distribution portion of the detected radiation representation with higher weight than another portion of the detected radiation representation, the asymmetric optical characteristic distribution arising from a different physical configuration of the structure than the nominal physical configuration.