Asml Holding N.v.

Asml Netherlands B.v.

Yuxiang Lin

Justin Lloyd Kreuzer

Krishanu Shome

Tamer Mohamed Tawfik Ahmed Mohamed Elazhary

Igor Matheus Petronella Aarts

Joshua Adams

Stephen Roux

Sebastianus Adrianus Goorden

Simon Reinald Huisman

Christopher John Mason

Mohamed Swillam

Irit Tzemah

Kirill Urievich Sobolev

Vu Quang Tran

Gerrit Johannes Nijmeijer

Tamer Mohamed Tawfik Ahmed Elazhary

A system includes a radiation source, first and second phased arrays, and a detector. The first and second phased arrays include optical elements, a plurality of ports, waveguides, and phase modulators. The optical elements radiate radiation waves. The waveguides guide radiation from a port of the plurality of ports to the optical elements. Phase modulators adjust phases of the radiation waves. One or both of the first and second phased arrays form a first beam and/or a second beam of radiation directed toward a target structure based on the port coupled to the radiation source. The detector receives radiation scattered by the target structure and generates a measurement signal based on the received radiation.

Lithographic apparatus, metrology systems, phased array illumination sources and methods thereof

An alignment method includes directing an illumination beam with a first polarization state to form a diffracted beam with a second polarization state from an alignment target, and passing the diffracted beam through a polarization analyzer. The alignment method further includes measuring a polarization state of the diffracted beam and determining a location of the alignment target from the measured polarization state relative to its initial polarization state. The alignment target includes a plurality of diffraction gratings with a single pitch and two or more duty cycles, wherein the pitch is smaller than a wavelength of the illumination beam, and the location of the alignment target corresponds to the duty cycle of the diffraction grating.

Wafer alignment using form birefringence of targets or product

A system () includes an illumination system (), a lens element (), and a detector (). The illumination system generates a beam of radiation () having a first spatial intensity distribution () at a pupil plane () and a second spatial intensity distribution () at a plane of a target (). The first spatial intensity distribution comprises an annular intensity profile () or an intensity profile corresponding to three or more beams. The lens element focuses the beam onto the target. The second spatial intensity distribution is a conjugate of the first intensity distribution and has an intensity profile corresponding to a central beam () and one or more side lobes () that are substantially isolated from the central beam. The central beam has a beam diameter of approximately 20 microns or less at the target. The detector receives radiation scattered by the target and generates a measurement signal based on the received radiation.

Lithographic apparatus, metrology system, and illumination systems with structured illumination

Apparatus for, and method of, measuring a parameter of an alignment mark on a substrate in which an optical system is arranged to receive at least one diffraction order from the alignment mark and the diffraction order is modulated at a pupil or a wafer conjugate plane of the optical system, a solid state optical device is arranged to receive the modulated diffraction order, and a spectrometer is arranged to receive the modulated diffraction order from the solid state optical device and to determine an intensity of one or more spectral components in the modulated diffraction order.

Sensor apparatus and method for lithographic measurements

An alignment sensor apparatus includes an illumination system, a first optical system, a second optical system, a detector system, and a processor. The illumination system is configured to transmit an illumination beam along an illumination path. The first optical system is configured to transmit the illumination beam toward a diffraction target on a substrate. The second optical system includes a first polarizing optic configured to separate and transmit an irradiance distribution. The detector system is configured to measure a center of gravity of the diffraction target based on the irradiance distribution outputted from a first polarization branch and a second polarization branch. The processor is configured to measure a shift in the center of gravity of the diffraction target caused by an asymmetry variation in the diffraction target and determine a sensor response function of the alignment sensor apparatus based on the center of gravity shift.

Alignment sensor apparatus for process sensitivity compensation

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Wilton, CT, United States of America

Yuxiang Lin