System and method for process-induced distortion prediction during wafer deposition
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10475712
A system is disclosed. The system includes a tool cluster. The tool cluster includes a first deposition tool configured to deposit a first layer on a wafer. The tool cluster additionally includes an interferometer tool configured to obtain one or more measurements of the wafer. The tool cluster additionally includes a second deposition tool configured to deposit a second layer on the wafer. The tool cluster additionally includes a vacuum assembly. One or more correctables configured to…
System, method and computer program product for inspecting a wafer using a film thickness map generated for the wafer
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10475178
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for inspecting a wafer using a film thickness map generated for the wafer. In use, a plurality of locations on a wafer are determined from a design of the wafer. Additionally, a measured brightness at each of the determined locations on the wafer is obtained. Further, a film thickness map for the wafer is generated from the obtained measurements. The wafer is then inspected using the film thickness map.
Stochastically-aware metrology and fabrication
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10474042
A system for stochastically-aware metrology includes a controller to be communicatively coupled to a fabrication tool. The controller receives a production recipe including at least a pattern of elements to be fabricated on a sample and one or more exposure parameters for exposing the pattern of elements, identifies candidate care areas of the pattern of elements susceptible to stochastic repeaters including fabrication defects predicted to occur stochastically when fabricated according…
Systems and methods for device-correlated overlay metrology
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10474040
An overlay metrology system may measure a first-layer pattern placement distance between a pattern of device features and a pattern of reference features on a first layer of an overlay target on a sample. The system may further measure, subsequent to fabricating a second layer including at least the pattern of device features and the pattern of reference features, a second-layer pattern placement distance between the pattern of device features and the pattern of reference features on the…
Overlay measurements of overlapping target structures based on symmetry of scanning electron beam signals
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10473460
An overlay metrology system includes a particle-beam metrology tool to scan a particle beam across an overlay target on a sample including a first-layer target element and a second-layer target element. The overlay metrology system may further include a controller to receive a scan signal from the particle-beam metrology tool, determine symmetry measurements for the scan signal with respect to symmetry metrics, and generate an overlay measurement between the first layer and the second…
Imaging-based height measurement based on known geometric information
Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number:
10473454
A height mapping system includes a controller configured to generate a height map of a region of interest of a sample with a first optical metrology system having a first numerical aperture, receive images of features having known three-dimensional shapes at selected image plane locations from a second optical metrology system having a second numerical aperture larger than the first numerical aperture, calculate distances between the imaging plane locations and peaks of the features…
Power-conserving clocking for scanning sensors
Granted: November 5, 2019
Patent Number:
10469782
A time delay and integration charge coupled device includes an array of pixels and a clock generator. The array of pixels is distributed in a scan direction and a line direction perpendicular to the scan direction in which at least some of the pixels of the array include three or more gates aligned in the scan direction. The clock generator provides clocking signals to transfer charge along the scan direction between two or more pixel groups including two or more pixels adjacent in the…
Methods and systems for chucking a warped wafer
Granted: November 5, 2019
Patent Number:
10468288
Methods and systems for vacuum mounting a warped, thin substrate onto a flat chuck are presented herein. A vacuum chuck includes three or more collapsible bellows that move above the chuck and into contact with a warped substrate. The bellows seal and vacuum clamp onto the backside surface of the substrate. In some embodiments, the bellows collapse by at least five hundred micrometers while clamping. An extensible sealing element is mounted in a recessed annular channel on the surface of…
System and method for field-by-field overlay process control using measured and estimated field parameters
Granted: November 5, 2019
Patent Number:
10466596
The present disclosure is directed to a method of determining at least one correctable for a process tool. In an embodiment, the method includes the steps of: measuring one or more parameter values at one or more measurement locations of each field of a selection of measured fields of a wafer; estimating one or more parameter values for one or more locations of each field of a selection of unmeasured fields of the wafer; and determining at least one correctable for a process tool based…
Dark-field inspection using a low-noise sensor
Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number:
10462391
An inspection system and methods in which analog image data values (charges) captured by an image sensor are binned (combined) before or while being transmitted as output signals on the image sensor's output sensing nodes (floating diffusions), and in which an ADC is controlled to sequentially generate multiple corresponding digital image data values between each reset of the output sensing nodes. According to an output binning method, the image sensor is driven to sequentially transfer…
Encapsulated instrumented substrate apparatus for acquiring measurement parameters in high temperature process applications
Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number:
10460966
An apparatus includes an instrumented substrate apparatus, a substrate assembly including a bottom and top substrate mechanically coupled, an electronic assembly, a nested enclosure assembly including an outer and inner enclosure wherein the outer enclosure encloses the inner enclosure and the inner enclosure encloses the electronic assembly. An insulating medium between the inner and outer enclosure and a sensor assembly communicatively coupled to the electronic assembly including one…
Backscattered electrons (BSE) imaging using multi-beam tools
Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number:
10460905
Multi-beam scanning electron microscope inspection systems are disclosed. A multi-beam scanning electron microscope inspection system may include an electron source and a beamlet control mechanism. The beamlet control mechanism may be configured to produce a plurality of beamlets utilizing electrons provided by the electron source and deliver one of the plurality of beamlets toward a target at a time instance. The multi-beam scanning electron microscope inspection system may also include…
Method and system for charge control for imaging floating metal structures on non-conducting substrates
Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number:
10460903
A scanning electron microscopy system is disclosed. The system includes a sample stage configured to secure a sample having conducting structures disposed on an insulating substrate. The system includes an electron-optical column including an electron source configured to generate a primary electron beam and a set of electron-optical elements configured to direct at least a portion of the primary electron beam onto a portion of the sample. The system includes a detector assembly…
Model based optical measurements of semiconductor structures with anisotropic dielectric permittivity
Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number:
10458912
Methods and systems for performing optical, model based measurements of a small sized semiconductor structure employing an anisotropic characterization of the optical dispersion properties of one or more materials comprising the structure under measurement are presented herein. This reduces correlations among geometric parameters and results in improved measurement sensitivity, improved measurement accuracy, and enhanced measurement contrast among multiple materials under measurement. In…
Polarization measurements of metrology targets and corresponding target designs
Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number:
10458777
Targets, target elements and target design method are provided, which comprise designing a target structure to have a high contrast above a specific contrast threshold to its background in polarized light while having a low contrast below the specific contrast threshold to its background in non-polarized light. The targets may have details at device feature scale and be compatible with device design rules yet maintain optical contrast when measured with polarized illumination and thus be…
Inspection of photomasks by comparing two photomasks
Granted: October 22, 2019
Patent Number:
10451563
Disclosed are methods and systems for inspecting photolithographic reticles. A first and second reticle that were fabricated with a same design are obtained. A first and second reticle image of the first and second reticles are also obtained. The first reticle image is compared to the second reticle image to output a difference image having a plurality of difference events corresponding to candidate defects on either the first or second reticle. An inspection report of the candidate…
Apparatus and methods for detecting overlay errors using scatterometry
Granted: October 22, 2019
Patent Number:
10451412
Disclosed is a method for determining an overlay error between at least two layers in a multiple layer sample. An imaging optical system is used to measure multiple measured optical signals from multiple periodic targets on the sample, and the targets each have a first structure in a first layer and a second structure in a second layer. There are predefined offsets between the first and second structures A scatterometry overlay technique is used to analyze the measured optical signals of…
Systems and methods for metrology with layer-specific illumination spectra
Granted: October 15, 2019
Patent Number:
10444161
A metrology system includes an image device and a controller. The image device includes a spectrally-tunable illumination device and a detector to generate images of a sample having metrology target elements on two or more sample layers based on radiation emanating from the sample in response to illumination from the spectrally-tunable illumination device. The controller determines layer-specific imaging configurations of the imaging device to image the metrology target elements on the…
Scan strategies to minimize charging effects and radiation damage of charged particle beam metrology system
Granted: October 15, 2019
Patent Number:
10446367
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for performing overlay metrology upon a target having at least two layers formed thereon. A target having a plurality of periodic structures for measuring overlay in at least two overlay directions is provided. A charged particle beam is scanned in a first direction across a plurality of scan swaths of the target and at a first tilt with respect to the target so that each edge of the periodic structures is scanned at an angle. The charged particle beam…
Layer-to-layer feedforward overlay control with alignment corrections
Granted: October 15, 2019
Patent Number:
10444639
A process control system includes a controller configured to generate a reference overlay signature based on one or more overlay reference layers of a sample, extrapolate the reference overlay signature to a set of correctable fields for the exposure of a current layer of the sample to generate a full-field reference overlay signature, identify one or more alignment fields of the set of correctable fields, generate an alignment-correctable signature by modeling alignment corrections for…
