Asml Netherlands B.v.

Martinus Hubertus Maria Van Weert

Anagnostis Tsiatmas

Hugo Augustinus Joseph Cramer

Nitesh Pandey

Markus Gerardus Martinus Maria Van Kraaij

Gerbrand Van Der Zouw

Zili Zhou

Bastiaan Onne Fagginger Auer

Arie Jeffrey Den Boef

Paul Christiaan Hinnen

Armand Eugene Albert Koolen

Alok Verma

Sergey Tarabrin

Bert Verstraeten

Shu-jin Wang

Mariya Vyacheslavivna Medvedyeva

Hilko Dirk Bos

Johan Maria Van Boxmeer

Xiaoxin Shang

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.

Method and apparatus for measuring a parameter of interest using image plane detection techniques

The disclosure relates to methods of determining a value of a parameter of interest of a patterning process, and of cleaning a signal containing information about the parameter of interest. In one arrangement, first and second detected representations of radiation are obtained. The radiation is provided by redirection of polarized incident radiation by a structure. The first and second detected representations are derived respectively from first and second polarization components of the redirected radiation. An asymmetry in the first detected representation comprises a contribution from the parameter of interest and a contribution from one or more other sources of asymmetry. An asymmetry in the second detected representation comprises a larger contribution from said one or more other sources of asymmetry relative to a contribution from the parameter of interest. A combination of the first and second detected representations is used to determine a value of the parameter of interest.

Method of determining a value of a parameter of interest, method of cleaning a signal containing information about a parameter of interest, device manufacturing method

Methods of determining an optimal focus height are disclosed. In one arrangement, measurement data from a plurality of applications of the metrology process to a target are obtained. Each application of the metrology process includes illuminating the target with a radiation spot and detecting radiation redirected by the target. The applications of the metrology process include applications at different nominal focus heights. The measurement data includes, for each application of the metrology process, at least a component of a detected pupil representation of an optical characteristic of the redirected radiation in a pupil plane. The method includes determining an optimal focus height for the metrology process using the obtained measurement data.

Method of determining an optimal focus height for a metrology apparatus

Growing community of inventors

's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Martinus Hubertus Maria Van Weert