公开(公告)号：US12217927B2

公开(公告)日：2025-02-04

申请号：US17633556

申请日：2020-08-04

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Jian Zhang ,  Ning Ye ,  Zhiwen Kang ,  Yixiang Wang

IPC: H01J37/26 ,  G02B27/09 ,  H01J37/02 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: A system and a method for manipulating a beam of an Advanced Charge Controller module in different planes in an e-beam system are provided. Some embodiments of the system include a lens system configured to manipulate a beam in the tangential plane and the sagittal plane such that the beam spot is projected onto the wafer with high luminous energy. Some embodiments of the system include a lens system comprising at least two cylindrical lens.

公开(公告)号：US20250037966A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-30

申请号：US18910626

申请日：2024-10-09

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Jinmei YANG ,  Jian ZHANG ,  Zhiwen KANG ,  Yixiang WANG

IPC: H01J37/28 ,  G01N23/2251 ,  H01J37/26

Abstract: A sensor may be used to measure a degree of tilt of a sample. The sensor may include an apparatus having a light source, first, second, and third optical elements, a lens, and an aperture. The first optical element may supply light from the light source toward the sample, and may supply light input into the first optical element from the sample toward the second optical element. The second optical element may supply light toward first and second sensing elements. An aperture may be arranged on a focal plane of the lens. A light beam incident on the first sensing element may be a reference beam.

公开(公告)号：US20250031294A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-23

申请号：US18716468

申请日：2022-12-07

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Roger Anton Marie TIMMERMANS ,  Alexander Evgenevich LINKOV ,  Bas Willem Johannes Johanna Anna VAN DORP ,  Thomas William Georg KHOURI ,  Paul Peter Anna Antonius BROM

IPC: H05G2/00 ,  G01B11/27 ,  G02B5/00 ,  G03F7/00

Abstract: An aperture for detecting a laser beam misalignment, the aperture comprising: a body including a first opening and defining a first axis; a beam dump; an optical element including a second opening wherein the first opening and the second opening are coaxial with the first axis, the optical element being configured to redirect a misaligned laser beam to a detector or to split a misaligned laser beam into at least two sub-beams; a laser beam detection system configured to detect laser light, wherein the optical element is configured to direct a first sub-beam to the beam dump, and to direct a second sub-beam to the laser beam detection system. Also described is an aperture including an enclosure, a method of detecting misalignment of a laser beam, a radiation source comprising such an aperture, a lithographic apparatus comprising such a radiation source or aperture, and the use of the same in a lithographic apparatus or method.

公开(公告)号：US20250028254A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-23

申请号：US18712560

申请日：2022-10-27

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Huaichen ZHANG ,  Vadim Yourievich TIMOSHKOV ,  Cyrus Emil TABERY ,  Marc HAUPTMANN ,  Oleksandr KHODKO

IPC: G03F7/00

Abstract: A method for determining a mechanical property of a layer applied to a substrate. The method includes obtaining input data including metrology data relating to the layer and layout data relating to a layout of a pattern to be applied in the layer. A first model or first model term is used to determine a global mechanical property related to the layer based on at least the input data; and at least one second model or at least one second model term is used to predict a mechanical property distribution or associated overlay map based on the first mechanical property and the layout data, the mechanical property distribution describing the mechanical property variation over the layer.

公开(公告)号：US20250021020A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-16

申请号：US18712057

申请日：2022-11-03

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Patrick Philipp HELFENSTEIN ,  Sandy Claudia SCHOLZ ,  Loes Frederique VAN RIJSWIJK ,  Scott Anderson MIDDLEBROOKS

IPC: G03F7/00

Abstract: A measurement process is performed for each of a plurality of locations on a product of a fabrication process at which a parameter of interest characterizing the fabrication process is believed to be nominally the same, to derive measured signals for each location including at least one image. A dimensional reduction method is applied to a dataset of the measured signals, to obtain components of the dataset, including components indicative of variation between the images. For at least one of these components, one or more associated ones of the measured signals are identified, comprising at least one set of corresponding pixels in the respective images for the plurality of locations. The contribution of the identified measured signals in the dataset is reduced or eliminated to obtain a processed signal, and the parameter of interest is obtained from the processed signal.

公开(公告)号：US20250021009A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-16

申请号：US18714411

申请日：2022-11-22

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V. P.O.

Inventor： Ferry ZIJP

IPC: G03F7/00 ,  G03F7/20 ,  H01J61/16 ,  H01J61/30 ,  H01J61/33

Abstract: An optical assembly includes a bulb and a lens for a laser-operated light source. The bulb has a chamber for accommodating an ionizable gas and a plasma formed by energizing the ionizable gas and has a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. In use, the lens is arranged to focus a wavefront of radiation from a laser to a virtual object point located inside the chamber. In use, the bulb is arranged to transmit and refract the wavefront of the radiation to a first real image point in a first cross-section of the longitudinal axis and a second real image point in a second cross-section of the transverse axis. The first real image point and the second real image point are image conjugates of the virtual object point. The virtual object point, the first real image point and the second real image point coincide.

公开(公告)号：US12197139B2

公开(公告)日：2025-01-14

申请号：US17802841

申请日：2021-02-25

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Bastiaan Lambertus Wilhelmus Marinus Van De Ven ,  Johannes Bernardus Charles Engelen ,  Arnoud Willem Notenboom ,  Jim Vincent Overkamp ,  Kjeld Gertrudus Hendrikus Janssen ,  Johannes Adrianus Cornelis Maria Pijnenburg ,  Jeroen Van Duivenbode ,  Erik Johannes Nieuwenhuis ,  Koos Van Berkel

IPC: G03F7/00

Abstract: An object holder configured to support an object, the object holder including: a core body comprising a plurality of burls having distal ends in a support plane for supporting the object; and an electrostatic sheet between the burls, the electrostatic sheet comprising an electrode sandwiched between dielectric layers, wherein the electrostatic sheet is bonded to the core body by a bonding material having a thickness of at least 100 nm.

公开(公告)号：US12197136B2

公开(公告)日：2025-01-14

申请号：US18229984

申请日：2023-08-03

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Wim Tjibbo Tel ,  Mark John Maslow ,  Koenraad Van Ingen Schenau ,  Patrick Warnaar ,  Abraham Slachter ,  Roy Anunciado ,  Simon Hendrik Celine Van Gorp ,  Frank Staals ,  Marinus Jochemsen

IPC: G03F7/00 ,  G03F1/00 ,  G06F30/20 ,  G06F30/33 ,  G06F30/398 ,  G06T7/00 ,  G21K5/00 ,  H01L21/00 ,  H01L21/66 ,  G06F119/18

Abstract: A method including: obtaining an image of at least part of a substrate, wherein the image includes at least one feature manufactured on the substrate by a manufacturing process including a lithographic process and one or more further processes; determining one or more image-related metrics in dependence on a contour determined from the image, wherein one of the one or more image-related metrics is an edge placement error, EPE, of the at least one feature; and determining one or more control parameters of the lithographic process and/or the one or more further processes in dependence on the edge placement error, wherein at least one control parameter is determined so as to minimize the edge placement error of the at least one feature.

公开(公告)号：US12196692B2

公开(公告)日：2025-01-14

申请号：US17769690

申请日：2020-09-30

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Weiming Ren ,  Xuedong Liu ,  Zhong-wei Chen ,  Xiaoyu Ji ,  Xiaoxue Chen ,  Weimin Zhou ,  Frank Nan Zhang

IPC: G01N23/2202 ,  G01N1/44 ,  G01N23/2251 ,  H01J37/02 ,  H01J37/244 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: Systems and methods of providing a probe spot in multiple modes of operation of a charged-particle beam apparatus are disclosed. The method may comprise activating a charged-particle source to generate a primary charged-particle beam and selecting between a first mode and a second mode of operation of the charged-particle beam apparatus. In the flooding mode, the condenser lens may focus at least a first portion of the primary charged-particle beam passing through an aperture of the aperture plate to form a second portion of the primary charged-particle beam, and substantially all of the second portion is used to flood a surface of a sample. In the inspection mode, the condenser lens may focus a first portion of the primary charged-particle beam such that the aperture of the aperture plate blocks off peripheral charged-particles to form the second portion of the primary charged-particle beam used to inspect the sample surface.

公开(公告)号：US20250013158A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-09

申请号：US18712671

申请日：2022-11-22

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Huaichen ZHANG ,  Ruben Cornelis MAAS ,  Syam Parayil VENUGOPALAN ,  Jan Wouter BIJLSMA

IPC: G03F7/00

Abstract: A method and system for designing a mark for use in imaging of a pattern on a substrate using a lithographic process in a lithographic apparatus. The method includes obtaining a mark construction, obtaining a spatial variation of a geometric parameter associated with the mark construction, and determining a geometry design of individual patterns of a mark based on the spatial variation and a spatial location of the mark.