Asml Netherlands B.v.

Asml Holding N.v.

Hugo Augustinus Joseph Cramer

Paul Christiaan Hinnen

Thomas Theeuwes

Anagnostis Tsiatmas

Alok Verma

Arie Jeffrey Den Boef

Adriaan Johan Van Leest

Elliott Gerard McNamara

Maurits Van Der Schaar

Antoine Gaston Marie Kiers

Seyed Iman Mossavat

Bastiaan Onne Fagginger Auer

Bert Verstraeten

Patricius Aloysius Jacobus Tinnemans

Patrick Warnaar

Hendrik Jan Hidde Smilde

Armand Eugene Albert Koolen

Henricus Johannes Lambertus Megens

Marcus Adrianus Van De Kerkhof

Nitesh Pandey

Henricus Petrus Maria Pellemans

Mircea Dusa

Vasco Tomas Tenner

Remco Dirks

Shu-jin Wang

Hans Butler

Engelbertus Antonius Fransiscus Van Der Pasch

Justin Lloyd Kreuzer

Martin Jacobus Johan Jak

Hans Van Der Laan

Youping Zhang

Markus Gerardus Martinus Maria Van Kraaij

Michael Kubis

Johannes Anna Quaedackers

Irwan Dani Setija

Ferry Zijp

Duygu Akbulut

Marinus Johannes Maria Van Dam

Adrianus Franciscus Petrus Engelen

Christian Marinus Leewis

Grzegorz Grzela

Jeroen Arnoldus Leonardus Johannes Raaymakers

Marinus Petrus Reijnders

Maria Isabel De La Fuente Valentin

Mariya Vyacheslavivna Medvedyeva

Martijn Maria Zaal

Adrianus Johannes Hendrikus Schellekens

Koen Van Witteveen

Willem Jan Grootjans

Nikhil Mehta

Martinus Hubertus Maria Van Weert

Christine Corinne Mattheus

Johannes Jacobus Matheus Baselmans

Richard Johannes Franciscus Van Haren

Everhardus Cornelis Mos

Pieter Willem Herman De Jager

Wim Tjibbo Tel

Frank Staals

Jozef Maria Finders

Robert John Socha

Han-Kwang Nienhuys

Willem Marie Julia Marcel Coene

Marinus Jochemsen

Martin Ebert

Te-Chih Huang

Gerbrand Van Der Zouw

Alessandro Polo

Paul Frank Luehrmann

Zili Zhou

Jin Lian

Mark John Maslow

Olger Victor Zwier

Paul Jacques Van Wijnen

Jeroen Cottaar

Peter Clement Paul Vanoppen

Erik Johan Koop

Roy Anunciado

Hilko Dirk Bos

Jean-Pierre Agnes Henricus Marie Vaessen

Johan Maria Van Boxmeer

Ruben Alvarez Sanchez

Eric Jos Anton Brouwer

Alexandru Onose

Goce Naumoski

Carsten Andreas Kohler

Rene Hubert Jacobus Carpaij

Frank Bornebroek

Jouke Krist

Xiaoxin Shang

Jolanda Theodora Josephina Schmetz-Schagen

Maria Johanna Hendrika Aben

Noelle Martina Wright

Martijn Jaap Daniel Slob

Jan Hendrik Den Besten

Durk Oeds Van Der Ploeg

Roland Mark Van Weel

Antione Gaston Marie Kiers

Gerardus Maria Johannes Wijnand Janssen

Disclosed is a method for a metrology measurement on an area of a substrate comprising at least a portion of a target structure. The method comprises receiving a radiation information representing a portion of radiation scattered by the are, and using a filter in a Fourier domain for removing or suppressing at least a portion of the received radiation information that does not relate to radiation that has been scattered by the target structure for obtaining a filtered radiation information for the metrology measurement, wherein characteristics of the filter are based on target information about the target structure.

Method for filtering an image and associated metrology apparatus

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.

Method and apparatus to determine a patterning process parameter

A method of determining overlay of a patterning process, the method including: illuminating a substrate with a radiation beam such that a beam spot on the substrate is filled with one or more physical instances of a unit cell, the unit cell having geometric symmetry at a nominal value of overlay; detecting primarily zeroth order radiation redirected by the one or more physical instances of the unit cell using a detector; and determining, by a hardware computer system, a non-nominal value of overlay of the unit cell from values of an optical characteristic of the detected radiation.

Method and apparatus to determine a patterning process parameter using a unit cell having geometric symmetry

A method of evaluating a patterning process, the method including: obtaining the result of a first measurement of a first metrology target; obtaining the result of a second measurement of a second metrology target, the second metrology target having a structural difference from the first metrology target that generates a sensitivity difference and/or an offset, of a process parameter of the patterning process between the first and second metrology targets; and determining a value pertaining to the patterning process based on the results of the first and second measurements.

Method for process metrology

A patterning device for patterning product structures onto a substrate and an associated substrate patterned using such a patterning device. The patterning device includes target patterning elements for patterning at least one target from which a parameter of interest can be inferred. The patterning device includes product patterning elements for patterning the product structures. The target patterning elements and product patterning elements are configured such that the at least one target has at least one boundary which is neither parallel nor perpendicular with respect to the product structures on the substrate.

Metrology targets

A metrology tool for determining a parameter of interest of a structure fabricated on a substrate, the metrology tool comprising: an illumination optical system for illuminating the structure with illumination radiation under a non-zero angle of incidence; a detection optical system comprising a detection optical sensor and at least one lens for capturing a portion of illumination radiation scattered by the structure and transmitting the captured radiation towards the detection optical sensor, wherein the illumination optical system and the detection optical system do not share an optical element.

Metrology apparatus

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.

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.

Disclosed is a method and associated apparatus for measuring a characteristic of interest relating to a structure on a substrate. The method comprises calculating a value for the characteristic of interest directly from the effect of the characteristic of interest on at least the phase of illuminating radiation when scattered by the structure, subsequent to illuminating said structure with said illuminating radiation.

Metrology apparatus and method for determining a characteristic of one or more structures on a substrate

Methods for calibrating metrology apparatuses and determining a parameter of interest are disclosed. In one arrangement, training data is provided that comprises detected representations of scattered radiation detected by each of plural metrology apparatuses. An encoder encodes each detected representation to provide an encoded representation, and a decoder generates a synthetic detected representation from the respective encoded representation. A classifier estimates from which metrology apparatus originates each encoded representation or each synthetic detected representation. The training data is used to simultaneously perform, in an adversarial relationship relative to each other, a first machine learning process involving the encoder or decoder and a second machine learning process involving the classifier.

Method of calibrating a plurality of metrology apparatuses, method of determining a parameter of interest, and metrology apparatus

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.

Separation of contributions to metrology data

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.

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Eindhoven, Netherlands

Hugo Augustinus Joseph Cramer