Asml Netherlands B.v.

Simon Philip Spencer Hastings

Chenxi Lin

Boris Menchtchikov

Hakki Ergün Cekli

Cyrus Emil Tabery

Patrick Warnaar

Alexander Ypma

Peter Ten Berge

Michael James Lercel

Yana Cheng

Simon Hendrik Celine Van Gorp

Lukasz Jerzy Macht

Alberto Da Costa Assafrao

Davit Harutyunyan

Dag Sonntag

Ruben Alvarez Sanchez

Pierre-Yves Jerome Yvan Guittet

Christiaan Theodoor De Ruiter

Shih-Chin Liu

Wei Duan

Wim Tjibbo Tel

Youping Zhang

Yi Zou

Armand Eugene Albert Koolen

Roy Werkman

Sarathi Roy

David Frans Simon Deckers

Sergey Tarabrin

Yichen Zhang

Maxime Philippe Frederic Genin

Tzu-Chao Chen

Samee Ur Rehman

Jeroen Van Dongen

Andrea Cavalli

Bart Laurens Sjenitzer

Jeffrey Thomas Ziebarth

A method for determining a root cause affecting yield in a process for manufacturing devices on a substrate, the method including: obtaining yield distribution data including a distribution of a yield parameter across the substrate or part thereof; obtaining sets of metrology data, each set including a spatial variation of a process parameter over the substrate or part thereof corresponding to a different layer of the substrate; comparing the yield distribution data and metrology data based on a similarity metric describing a spatial similarity between the yield distribution data and an individual set out of the sets of the metrology data; and determining a first similar set of metrology data out of the sets of metrology data, being the first set of metrology data in terms of processing order for the corresponding layers, which is determined to be similar to the yield distribution data.

Method for determining root cause affecting yield in a semiconductor manufacturing process

A method for determining a correction for an apparatus used in a process of patterning substrates, the method including: obtaining a group structure associated with a processing history and/or similarity in fingerprint of to be processed substrates; obtaining metrology data associated with a plurality of groups within the group structure, wherein the metrology data is correlated between the groups; and determining the correction for a group out of the plurality of groups by applying a model to the metrology data, the model including at least a group-specific correction component and a common correction component.

Method for determining corrections for lithographic apparatus

A method and associated computer program for predicting an electrical characteristic of a substrate subject to a process. The method includes determining a sensitivity of the electrical characteristic to a process characteristic, based on analysis of electrical metrology data including electrical characteristic measurements from previously processed substrates and of process metrology data including measurements of at least one parameter related to the process characteristic measured from the previously processed substrates; obtaining process metrology data related to the substrate describing the at least one parameter; and predicting the electrical characteristic of the substrate based on the sensitivity and the process metrology data.

Method to predict yield of a device manufacturing process

A method of determining a sampling control scheme and/or a processing control scheme for substrates processed by a device. The method uses a fingerprint model and an evolution model to generate the control scheme. The fingerprint model is based on fingerprint data for a processing parameter of at least one substrate processed by a device, and the evolution model represents variation of the fingerprint data over time. The fingerprint model and the evolution model are analyzed and a sampling and/or processing control scheme is generated using the analysis. The sampling control scheme provides an indication for where and when to take measurements on substrates processed by the device. The processing control scheme provides an indication for how to control the processing of the substrate. Also, there is provided a method of determining which of multiple devices contributed to a fingerprint of a processing parameter.

Methods using fingerprint and evolution analysis

An inspection apparatus () measures asymmetry or other property of target structures (T) formed by a lithographic process on a substrate. For a given set of illumination conditions, accuracy of said measurement is influenced strongly by process variations across the substrate and/or between substrates. The apparatus is arranged to collect radiation scattered by a plurality of structures under two or more variants of said illumination conditions (p&#x2212;, p, p+). A processing system (PU) is arranged to derive the measurement of said property using radiation collected under a different selection or combination of said variants for different ones of said structures. The variants may be for example in wavelength, or in angular distribution, or in any characteristic of the illumination conditions. Selection and/or combination of variants is made with reference to a signal quality (, Q, A) observed in the different variants.

Method of measuring a structure, inspection apparatus, lithographic system and device manufacturing method

Disclosed is a method of determining a characteristic of a target on a substrate and corresponding metrology apparatus and computer program. The method comprises determining a plurality of intensity asymmetry measurements from pairs of complementary pixels comprising a first image pixel in a first image of the target and a second image pixel in a second image of the target. The first image is obtained from first radiation scattered by the target and the second image is obtained from second radiation scattered by the target, the first radiation and second radiation comprising complementary non-zero diffraction orders. The characteristic of the target is then determined from said plurality of intensity asymmetry measurements.

Metrology method, apparatus and computer program

An inspection apparatus () measures asymmetry or other property of target structures (T) formed by a lithographic process on a substrate. For a given set of illumination conditions, accuracy of said measurement is influenced strongly by process variations across the substrate and/or between substrates. The apparatus is arranged to collect radiation scattered by a plurality of structures under two or more variants of said illumination conditions (p1&#x2212;, p1, p1+; &#x3bb;1&#x2212;, &#x3bb;1, &#x3bb;1+). A processing system (PU) is arranged to derive the measurement of said property using radiation collected under a different selection or combination of said variants for different ones of said structures. The variants may be for example in wavelength, or in angular distribution, or in any characteristic of the illumination conditions. Selection and/or combination of variants is made with reference to a signal quality (, Q, A) observed in the different variants.

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Eindhoven, Netherlands

Simon Philip Spencer Hastings