Applied Materials Israel Limited

Lavi Jacov Shachar

Amit Batikoff

Shaul Cohen

Noam Zac

Ron Katzir

Imry Kissos

Shay Attal

Vladislav Kaplan

Kevin Ryan Houchens

A method for overlay monitoring including: obtaining a secondary electron image and a backscattered electron image of as area of the substrate in which an array of first structural elements are positioned at a surface of the substrate and a second array of second structural elements are positioned below the first array; determining locations of the first structural elements within the secondary electron image; defining regions of interest in the backscattered electron image, based on the locations of the first structural elements; processing pixels of the backscattered electron image that are located within the regions of interest to provide a backscattered electron representation of a second structural element; and calculating an overlay error based on location information regarding the second structural element within the backscattered electron representation of the second structural element and on location information regarding of at least one first structural element in the secondary electron image.

Overlay monitoring

An apparatus, method and non-transitory computer readable storage medium for registering between an image and a description of a multi-layer object, the apparatus comprising: a memory for storing an image of the object and at least part of the description, the part comprising a first description of a first layer and a second description of a second layer of the object; and a processor operatively connected to the memory for: matching the first description to a first part of the image, the first part informative of a part of the first layer, thereby determining a first matching offset; matching the second description to a second part of the image, the second part informative of a part of the second layer, thereby determining a second matching offset; and registering between the image and the description of the multi-layer object based on the at least on the first and second matching offsets.

Registration between an image of an object and a description

One or more metrology objects and one or more metrology operations may be identified. A design-based representation of a first metrology object of the one or more metrology objects may be received. Furthermore, an image-based representation of the first metrology object of the one or more metrology objects may be received where the one or more metrology operations include a first metrology operation associated with the first metrology object that is to be performed on the image-based representation of the first metrology object. The design-based representation of the first metrology object may be mapped with the image-based representation of the first metrology object. The first metrology operation may be performed based on the mapping.

Method of performing metrology operations and system thereof

There are provided system and method of performing metrology operations related to a specimen. The method comprises: generating an examination recipe in accordance with a metrology application, the examination recipe specifying one or more metrology objects and one or more metrology operations related to the metrology application; obtaining an image-based representation of the specimen and a design-based representation of the specimen; mapping between the design-based representation of at least first metrology object and the image-based representation of at least first metrology object; and performing at least first metrology operation of the one or more metrology operations according to the examination recipe using the mapping, the at least first metrology operation specified as related to the at least first metrology object and to be performed on at least the image-based representation of the specimen.

There are provided system and method of performing metrology operations related to a specimen. The method comprises: accommodating definitions of metrology objects and metrology operations, at least one of the group consisting of the metrology objects and the metrology operations being defined using design data; accommodating a design-based representation and an image-based representation of the specimen, the design-based representation of the specimen comprising design-based representation of at least first metrology object, the image-based representation of the specimen comprising image-based representation of the at least first metrology object, the metrology operations including at least first metrology operation defined as related to the at least first metrology object and performed on at least the image-based representation of the specimen; mapping between the design-based representation and the image-based representation of the at least first metrology object; and performing the at least first metrology operation according to definition thereof using the mapping.

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Tel Aviv, Israel

Lavi Jacov Shachar