Electrically relevant placement of metrology targets using design analysis
Granted: May 28, 2019
Patent Number:
10303839
Methods and systems for determining electrically relevant placement of metrology targets using design analysis are disclosed. The method may include: identifying at least one critical design element of an integrated circuit based on a design of the integrated circuit; determining whether the design of the integrated circuit allows for an insertion of a metrology target in a vicinity of the at least one critical design element; and modifying the design of the integrated circuit by…
Method and apparatus for direct self assembly in target design and production
Granted: May 28, 2019
Patent Number:
10303835
Target designs methods and targets are provided, in which at least some of the differentiation between target elements and their background is carried out by segmenting either of them. Directed self-assembly (DSA) processes are used to generate fine segmentation, and various characteristics of the polymer lines and their guiding lines are used to differentiate target elements from their background. Target designs and design principles are disclosed in relation to the DSA process, as well…
Method and computer program product for controlling the positioning of patterns on a substrate in a manufacturing process
Granted: May 28, 2019
Patent Number:
10303153
In a method for controlling the positioning of patterns on a substrate in a manufacturing process at least one registration measurement is conducted with a registration tool on at least one pattern formed in at least one layer on the substrate by a previous process step of the manufacturing process. From the registration measurement a position of the at least one pattern in a coordinate system is determined. The determined position of the at least one pattern is fed into an automatic…
Multiple pin probes with support for performing parallel measurements
Granted: May 28, 2019
Patent Number:
10302677
Multiple pin probes and methods for controlling such multiple pin probes to support parallel measurements are disclosed. The method may include: establishing electrical contact between a multiple pin probe and a subject of measurement; selecting two pins out of a plurality of pins included in the multiple pin probe as current-carrying pins; selecting more than two additional pins out of the plurality of pins included in the multiple pin probe as voltage-metering pins; injecting a current…
Method and system for detecting and correcting problematic advanced process control parameters
Granted: May 21, 2019
Patent Number:
10295993
The invention may be embodied in a system and method for monitoring and controlling feedback control in a manufacturing process, such as an integrated circuit fabrication process. The process control parameters may include translation, rotation, magnification, dose and focus applied by a photolithographic scanner or stepper operating on silicon wafers. Overlay errors are used to compute measured parameters used in the feedback control process. Statistical parameters are computed,…
System, method and computer program product for calibration of metrology tools
Granted: May 21, 2019
Patent Number:
10295342
A system, method and computer program product are provided for calibrating metrology tools. One or more design-of-experiments wafers is received for calibrating a metrology tool. A set of signals is collected by measuring the one or more wafers utilizing the metrology tool. A first transformation is determined to convert the set of signals to components, and a second transformation is determined to convert a set of reference signals to reference components. The set of reference signals…
Wafer and lot based hierarchical method combining customized metrics with a global classification methodology to monitor process tool condition at extremely high throughput
Granted: May 14, 2019
Patent Number:
10290088
Methods and systems for monitoring process tool conditions are disclosed. The method combines single wafer, multiple wafers within a single lot and multiple lot information together statistically as input to a custom classification engine that can consume single or multiple scan, channel, wafer and lot to determine process tool status.
Instrumented indentation apparatus having indenter punch with flat end surface and instrumented indentation method using the same
Granted: May 14, 2019
Patent Number:
10288540
An instrumented indentation apparatus and instrumented indentation method, for use in instrumented indentation, employ a flat-ended indenter (punch). Force-displacement data of a loading operation, in which a sample is indented using the indenter, and the known value of the effective radius of the end surface of the indenter, are used to calculate values of stress and strain. The entire stress-strain curve for the sample may be produced from these values.
Critical dimension uniformity monitoring for extreme ultra-violet reticles
Granted: May 14, 2019
Patent Number:
10288415
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for facilitating an inspection of a sample using an inspection tool. An inspection tool is used to obtain an image or signal from an EUV reticle that specifies an intensity variation across the EUV reticle, and this intensity variation is converted to a CD variation that removes a flare correction CD variation so as to generate a critical dimension uniformity (CDU) map without the flare correction CD variation. This removed flare correction CD…
Passivation of nonlinear optical crystals
Granted: May 7, 2019
Patent Number:
10283366
A laser system includes a nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal, wherein the NLO crystal is annealed within a selected temperature range. The NLO crystal is passivated with at least one of hydrogen, deuterium, a hydrogen-containing compound or a deuterium-containing compound to a selected passivation level. The system further includes at least one light source, wherein at least one light source is configured to generate light of a selected wavelength and at least one light source is configured…
Laser sustained plasma light source with graded absorption features
Granted: May 7, 2019
Patent Number:
10283342
A laser-sustained plasma lamp includes a gas containment structure configured to contain a volume of gas. The gas containment structure is configured to receive pump illumination from a pump laser for generating a plasma within the volume of gas. The gas containment structure includes one or more transmissive structures being at least partially transparent to the pump illumination from the pump laser and at least a portion of the broadband radiation emitted by the plasma. The one or more…
Critical dimension measurements with gaseous adsorption
Granted: May 7, 2019
Patent Number:
10281263
Methods and systems for performing optical measurements of geometric structures filled with an adsorbate by a gaseous adsorption process are presented herein. Measurements are performed while the metrology target under measurement is treated with a flow of purge gas that includes a controlled amount of fill material. A portion of the fill material adsorbs onto the structures under measurement and fills openings in the structural features, spaces between structural features, small volumes…
Particle beam inspector with independently-controllable beams
Granted: April 30, 2019
Patent Number:
10276346
A multi-beam inspection system includes one or more particle beam sources to generate two or more particle beams, a set of particle control elements configured to independently direct the two or more particle beams to a sample, one or more detectors positioned to receive particles emanating from the sample in response to the two or more particle beams, and a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more detectors. The controller includes one or more processors to generate two or…
Metrology target for combined imaging and scatterometry metrology
Granted: April 30, 2019
Patent Number:
10274837
Metrology targets, design files, and design and production methods thereof are provided. The targets comprise two or more parallel periodic structures at respective layers, wherein a predetermined offset is introduced between the periodic structures, for example, opposite offsets at different parts of a target. Quality metrics are designed to estimate the unintentional overlay from measurements of a same metrology parameter by two or more alternative measurement algorithms. Target…
Structured illumination for contrast enhancement in overlay metrology
Granted: April 30, 2019
Patent Number:
10274425
Contrast enhancement in a metrology tool may include generating a beam of illumination, directing a portion of the generated beam onto a surface of a spatial light modulator (SLM), directing at least a portion of the generated beam incident on the surface of the SLM through an aperture of an aperture stop and onto one or more target structures of one or more samples, and generating a selected illumination pupil function of the illumination transmitted through the aperture utilizing the…
Anti-reflection layer for back-illuminated sensor
Granted: April 23, 2019
Patent Number:
10269842
An image sensor for short-wavelength light includes a semiconductor membrane, circuit elements formed on one surface of the semiconductor membrane, and a pure boron layer on the other surface of the semiconductor membrane. An anti-reflection or protective layer is formed on top of the pure boron layer. This image sensor has high efficiency and good stability even under continuous use at high flux for multiple years. The image sensor may be fabricated using CCD (charge coupled device) or…
Optimizing training sets used for setting up inspection-related algorithms
Granted: April 23, 2019
Patent Number:
10267748
Methods and systems for training an inspection-related algorithm are provided. One system includes one or more computer subsystems configured for performing an initial training of an inspection-related algorithm with a labeled set of defects thereby generating an initial version of the inspection-related algorithm and applying the initial version of the inspection-related algorithm to an unlabeled set of defects. The computer subsystem(s) are also configured for altering the labeled set…
Automated pattern fidelity measurement plan generation
Granted: April 23, 2019
Patent Number:
10267746
Methods and systems for determining parameter(s) of a metrology process to be performed on a specimen are provided. One system includes one or more computer subsystems configured for automatically generating regions of interest (ROIs) to be measured during a metrology process performed for the specimen with the measurement subsystem based on a design for the specimen. The computer subsystem(s) are also configured for automatically determining parameter(s) of measurement(s) performed in…
Near field metrology
Granted: April 16, 2019
Patent Number:
10261014
Metrology systems and methods are provided herein, which comprise an optical element that is positioned between an objective lens of the system and a target. The optical element is arranged to enhance evanescent modes of radiation reflected by the target. Various configurations are disclosed: the optical element may comprise a solid immersion lens, a combination of Moiré-elements and solid immersion optics, dielectric-metal-dielectric stacks of different designs, and resonating elements…
Method and system for weak pattern quantification
Granted: April 16, 2019
Patent Number:
10262831
A weak pattern identification method includes acquiring inspection data from a set of patterns on a wafer, identifying failing pattern types on the wafer, and grouping like pattern types of the failing pattern types into a set of pattern groups. The weak pattern identification method also includes acquiring image data from multiple varied instances of a first pattern type grouped in a first group, wherein the multiple varied instances of the first pattern type are formed under different…
