Kla Tencor Corporation

Kla Corporation

Vistec Semiconductor Systems Gmbh

Kla-tencor Mie Gmbh

Frank Laske

Stefan Eyring

Nadav Gutman

Ulrich Pohlmann

Oliver Ache

Andrei V Shchegrov

Slawomir Czerkas

Amnon Manassen

Yoram Uziel

Christopher Sears

Eran Amit

John Charles Robinson

Michael Heiden

Mark Wagner

Klaus Rinn

Amir Widmann

Zain Saidin

Aviv Balan

Mark Allen Neil

Hans-Artur Boesser

Hari Pathangi

Dongsub Choi

Mohammad Mehdi Daneshpanah

Eric Cotte

Ariel Hildesheim

Thomas Heidrich

Christian Enkrich

Zhijin Chen

A wafer metrology tool, such as a scanning electron microscope, can generate an image of a structure on a wafer. A simulated image of the structure also is determined from a design of the wafer. A contour of the structure in the image and a contour of the structure in the simulated image are determined. These contours are compared.

Image modeling-assisted contour extraction

A system and method are disclosed for generating metrology measurements with second sub-system such as an optical sub-system. The method may include performing a training and a run-time operation. The training may include receiving first metrology data for device features from the first metrology sub-system (e.g., optical); generating first metrology measurements (e.g., critical dimensions, etc.); binning the device features into two or more device bins based on the first metrology measurements; and identifying representative metrology targets for the two or more device bins based on distributions of the first metrology measurements. The run-time operation may include receiving run-time metrology data (e.g., optical) of the representative metrology targets; and generating run-time metrology measurements based on the run-time metrology data.

Device feature specific edge placement error (EPE)

A metrology system may receive design data including a layout of fabricated instances of a structure on a sample. The system may further receive detection signals from the metrology tool associated within a field of view including multiple of the fabricated instances of the structure. The system may further generate design-assisted composite data for the structure by combining detection signals from one or more common features of the structure associated with the fabricated instances of the structure within the field of view using the design data. The system may further generate one or more metrology measurements of the structure based on the design-assisted composite data.

Design-assisted large field of view metrology

A first x-y translation stage, a second x-y translation stage, and a chuck are disposed in a chamber. The chuck is situated above and coupled to the second x-y translation stage, which is situated above and coupled to the first x-y translation stage. The chuck is configured to support a substrate and to be translated by the first and second x-y stages in x- and y-directions, which are substantially parallel to a surface of the chuck on which the substrate is to be mounted. A first barrier and a second barrier are also disposed in the chamber. The first barrier is coupled to the first x-y translation stage to separate a first zone of the chamber from a second zone of the chamber. The second barrier is coupled to the second x-y translation stage to separate the first zone of the chamber from a third zone of the chamber.

Multi-stage, multi-zone substrate positioning systems

An overlay metrology system may include a controller to generate optical tool error adjustments for a hybrid overlay target including optically-resolvable features and device-scale features by measuring a difference between an optical overlay measurement based on the optically-resolvable features and a device-scale overlay measurement based on the device-scale features, generate target-to-device adjustments for the hybrid overlay target based on positions of features within the device area, determine device-relevant overlay measurements for one or more locations in the device area based on at least one of the optical overlay measurement, the optical tool error adjustments, or the target-to-device adjustments, and provide overlay correctables for the device area to a lithography tool to modify exposure conditions for at least one subsequent exposure based on the device-relevant overlay measurements.

Metrology and control of overlay and edge placement errors

An overlay metrology system includes a particle-beam metrology tool to scan a particle beam across an overlay target on a sample including a first-layer target element and a second-layer target element. The overlay metrology system may further include a controller to receive a scan signal from the particle-beam metrology tool, determine symmetry measurements for the scan signal with respect to symmetry metrics, and generate an overlay measurement between the first layer and the second layer based on the symmetry measurements in which an asymmetry of the scan signal is indicative of a misalignment of the second-layer target element with respect to the first-layer target element and a value of the overlay measurement is based on the symmetry measurements.

Overlay measurements of overlapping target structures based on symmetry of scanning electron beam signals

An overlay metrology system may measure a first-layer pattern placement distance between a pattern of device features and a pattern of reference features on a first layer of an overlay target on a sample. The system may further measure, subsequent to fabricating a second layer including at least the pattern of device features and the pattern of reference features, a second-layer pattern placement distance between the pattern of device features and the pattern of reference features on the second layer. The system may further measure a reference overlay based on relative positions of the pattern of reference features on the first layer and the second layer. The system may further determine a device-relevant overlay for the pattern of device-scale features by adjusting the reference overlay with a difference between the first-layer pattern placement distance and the second-layer pattern placement distance.

Systems and methods for device-correlated overlay metrology

A method with increased throughput for measuring positions of structures on a substrate is disclosed. The substrate is taken from a load port of a metrology machine and is placed immediately in a stage of the metrology machine. At least two measurement loops are carried out, wherein a first measurement loop is started at a time when a substrate temperature is different from the temperature at the stage, and at least one second measurement loop is started at a time after the first measurement loop when the substrate temperature is different from the temperature at the stage. A model is used to calculate from the measured data, taken while there is a temperature mismatch between the stage and the substrate, a real grid of positions of structures on the substrate, corresponding to a situation where the temperature of the stage matches the temperature of the substrate.

Method for measuring positions of structures on a substrate and computer program product for determining positions of structures on a substrate

In a method for controlling the positioning of patterns on a substrate in a manufacturing process at least one registration measurement is conducted with a registration tool on at least one pattern formed in at least one layer on the substrate by a previous process step of the manufacturing process. From the registration measurement a position of the at least one pattern in a coordinate system is determined. The determined position of the at least one pattern is fed into an automatic process control of a manufacturing system for controlling a setup of the manufacturing system for a subsequent process step of the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process may be a wafer manufacturing process with a silicon substrate. Complementary information may be collected in addition to performing the registration measurement and fed to the automatic process control. The process steps may for example include lithography steps, etching steps, layer deposition.

Method and computer program product for controlling the positioning of patterns on a substrate in a manufacturing process

An apparatus and a method are disclosed for the measurement of pattern placement and/or edge placement and/or size of a pattern on a surface of a substrate for the semiconductor industry. At least one source for detection and at least one assigned detector are used to measure the positions of a pattern on a substrate. With a movable stage the substrate is moved while detection takes place. A displacement measurement system determines the position of the movable stage during the movement. A computer is used for correlating detected signals of the at least one detector along the derived trace line with the actual positions of the stage during the movement of the stage.

Apparatus and method for the measurement of pattern placement and size of pattern and computer program therefor

Methods and systems for performing measurements of multiple die with an array of electron beam columns are presented herein. The wafer is scanned in a direction parallel to the die rows disposed on the wafer. The electron beam measurement columns are spatially separated in a column alignment direction. The wafer is scanned in a direction that is oriented at an oblique angle with respect to the column alignment direction such that each electron beam column measures the same row of die features on different die during the same wafer pass. The wafer is oriented with respect to the array of electron beam columns by rotating the wafer, rotating the electron beam columns, or both. In further aspects, each measurement beam is deflected to correct alignment errors between each column and the corresponding die row to be measured and to correct wafer positioning errors reported by the wafer positioning system.

Measurement of overlay and edge placement errors with an electron beam column array

A scanning electron microscopy system includes an electron beam source, a sample stage that includes a first alignment feature, an electron-optical column that includes electron-optical elements that include a lens having a second alignment feature, and an alignment plate having a third alignment feature. The system additionally includes a reference target, and a detector assembly. The electron-optical elements configurable to simultaneously focus on a substrate and the reference target. The system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to at least one or more portions of the electron-optical column and the sample stage, to make adjustments in order to align the electron beam to at least one of the first set of alignment features, the second set of alignment features, the third set of alignment features, the reference target or the substrate. The controller also makes adjustments to simultaneously focus the electron beam at a first and second high resolution plane.

System and method for drift compensation on an electron beam based characterization tool

A method for correcting optical errors occurring in coordinates of positions of a plurality of targets measured via an imaging system comprising a field of view. The plurality of targets includes a first array of targets and a second array of targets overlapping the first array of targets, and a portion of the plurality of targets are outside of the field of view. The method broadly includes the following steps: a) placing the first array of targets in the field of view of the imaging system; b) measuring coordinates of each target within the first array of targets repeatedly via the imaging system; c) placing the second array of targets in the field of view of the imaging system; d) measuring coordinates of each target within the second array of targets repeatedly via the imaging system; e) determining an alignment function from the measurement results of step b, step d, or steps b and d, the alignment function being a function of coordinates of the field of view of the imaging system and giving an additive correction for optical errors of the coordinates of positions of the plurality of targets measured by the imaging system; f) correcting the coordinates of the positions of the plurality of targets measured by the imaging system by adding the respective value of the alignment function at the field-of-view coordinates at which the coordinates of the position of the respective target were measured; and, g) obtaining a final result for the position of each target of the plurality of targets by averaging over the corrected coordinates found in step f for the respective target at each relative position of the plurality of targets and field of view of the imaging system.

Method for correcting position measurements for optical errors and method for determining mask writer errors

The invention discloses a method for measuring positions of structures on a mask and thereby determining mask manufacturing errors. It is shown, that from a plurality measurement sites an influence of an optical proximity effect on a position measurement of structures on the mask, is determined with a metrology tool. A rendered image of the data representation of the structures is obtained. Additionally, at least one optical image of the pattern within the area on the mask is captured with the imaging system of the metrology tool. The field of view of the metrology tool is approximately identical to the size of the selected area of the mask design data. Finally, a residual is determined, which shows the manufacturing based proximity effect.

Method for measuring positions of structures on a mask and thereby determining mask manufacturing errors

A method is disclosed for correcting errors introduced by optical distortions or aberrations in the measured values of coordinates of targets of an array of targets, like for example structures on a wafer or a photolithography mask. The array of targets is placed into a field of view of an imaging system via which the coordinates are to be measured. The array of targets is placed at different relative positions with respect to the field of view, and for each relative position the coordinates of the targets relative to the array of targets are determined by measurements. From the results of these measurements an alignment function, giving a correction for optical errors as a function of the position in the field of view, is derived. The measured coordinates are corrected by the alignment function. The corrected coordinates can be used to identify registration errors of a mask writer.

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Weilburg, Germany

Frank Laske