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：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.

公开(公告)号：US20170255112A1

公开(公告)日：2017-09-07

申请号：US15445612

申请日：2017-02-28

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Adriaan Johan VAN LEEST ,  Anagnostis TSIATMAS ,  Paul Christiaan HINNEN ,  Elliott Gerard McNAMARA ,  Alok VERMA ,  Thomas THEEUWES ,  Hugo Augustinus Joseph CRAMER ,  Maria Isabel DE LA FUENTE VALENTIN ,  Koen VAN WITTEVEEN ,  Martijn Maria ZAAL ,  Shu-jin WANG

IPC: G03F9/00 ,  G01B3/14

Abstract: A metrology target includes: a first structure arranged to be created by a first patterning process; and a second structure arranged to be created by a second patterning process, wherein the first structure and/or second structure is not used to create a functional aspect of a device pattern, and wherein the first and second structures together form one or more instances of a unit cell, the unit cell having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration and wherein the unit cell has a feature that causes, at a different physical configuration than the nominal physical configuration due to a relative shift in pattern placement in the first patterning process, the second patterning process and/or another patterning process, an asymmetry in the unit cell.

公开(公告)号：US20210035871A1

公开(公告)日：2021-02-04

申请号：US17072391

申请日：2020-10-16

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 ,  Maria Isabel DE LA FUENTE VALENTIN ,  Koen VAN WITTEVEEN ,  Martijn Maria ZAAL ,  Shu-jin WANG

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

Abstract: A metrology target includes: a first structure arranged to be created by a first patterning process; and a second structure arranged to be created by a second patterning process, wherein the first structure and/or second structure is not used to create a functional aspect of a device pattern, and wherein the first and second structures together form one or more instances of a unit cell, the unit cell having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration and wherein the unit cell has a feature that causes, at a different physical configuration than the nominal physical configuration due to a relative shift in pattern placement in the first patterning process, the second patterning process and/or another patterning process, an asymmetry in the unit cell.

公开(公告)号：US20200185281A1

公开(公告)日：2020-06-11

申请号：US16790809

申请日：2020-02-14

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 ,  G01N21/95 ,  G03F9/00 ,  G03F7/20

Abstract: A method of configuring a parameter determination process, the method including: obtaining a mathematical model of a structure, the mathematical model configured to predict an optical response when illuminating the structure with a radiation beam and the structure having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration; using, by a hardware computer system, the mathematical model to simulate a perturbation in the physical configuration of the structure of a certain amount to determine a corresponding change of the optical response in each of a plurality of pixels to obtain a plurality of pixel sensitivities; and based on the pixel sensitivities, determining a plurality of weights for combination with measured pixel optical characteristic values of the structure on a substrate to yield a value of a parameter associated with change in the physical configuration, each weight corresponding to a pixel.

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：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：US20160026096A1

公开(公告)日：2016-01-28

申请号：US14753642

申请日：2015-06-29

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Alok VERMA ,  Hugo Augustinus Joseph CRAMER

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G01N21/47

CPC classification number: G03F7/70558 ,  G01N21/4738 ,  G01N21/4785 ,  G01N2021/4735 ,  G03F7/70625 ,  G03F7/70683 ,  G03F7/7085

Abstract: A method of determining exposure dose of a lithographic apparatus used in a lithographic process on a substrate, the method comprising the steps: (a) receiving a substrate comprising first and second structures produced using the lithographic process; (b) detecting scattered radiation while illuminating the first structure with radiation to obtain a first scatterometer signal; (c) detecting scattered radiation while illuminating the second structure with radiation to obtain a second scatterometer signal; (d) using the first and second scatterometer signals to determine an exposure dose value used to produce said first and second structures wherein the first structure has a first periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics and yet at least another second periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics designed to be affected by the exposure dose and the second structure has a first periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics and yet at least another second periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics designed to be affected by the exposure dose wherein the exposure dose affects the exposure dose affected spatial characteristics of the first and second structures in a different manner.

Abstract translation: 一种确定在光刻工艺中使用的光刻设备在衬底上的曝光剂量的方法，所述方法包括以下步骤：（a）接收包含使用光刻工艺制备的第一和第二结构的衬底; （b）在用辐射照射第一结构的同时检测散射的辐射以获得第一散射仪信号; （c）在用辐射照射第二结构的同时检测散射的辐射，以获得第二散射仪信号; （d）使用第一和第二散射仪信号来确定用于产生所述第一和第二结构的曝光剂量值，其中所述第一结构具有具有空间特性的第一周期特性，并且至少另外具有空间特性的另一第二周期特性被设计为 受曝光剂量的影响，第二结构具有空间特性的第一周期性特征，而至少具有设计为受曝光剂量影响的空间特征的另一第二周期特性，其中曝光剂量影响曝光剂量影响第一 和第二结构以不同的方式。

公开(公告)号：US20240004309A1

公开(公告)日：2024-01-04

申请号：US18039712

申请日：2021-12-06

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Hendrik Adriaan VAN LAARHOVEN ,  Alok VERMA ,  Roy ANUNCIADO ,  Hermanus Adrianus DILLEN ,  Stefan Cornelis Theodorus VAN DER SANDEN

IPC: G03F7/00 ,  H01L21/66

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

Abstract: A method of monitoring a semiconductor manufacturing process. The method includes obtaining at least one first trained model being operable to derive local performance parameter data from high resolution metrology data, wherein the local performance parameter data describes a local component, or one or more local contributors thereto, of a performance metric and high resolution metrology data relating to at least one substrate having been subject to at least a part of the semiconductor manufacturing process. Local performance parameter data is determined from the high resolution metrology data using the first trained model. The first trained model is operable to determine the local performance parameter data as if it had been subject to an etch step on at least the immediately prior exposed layer, based on the high resolution metrology data including only metrology data performed prior to any such etch step.