Patent · US Active

Method of determining a value of a parameter of interest of a target formed by a patterning process

US10585048B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
0References
21Claims
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Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 16, 2019
Grant dateMar 10, 2020
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 16, 2039

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG03F9/7003
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Methods of determining a value of a parameter of interest are disclosed. In one arrangement, a symmetric component and an asymmetric component of a detected pupil representation from illuminating a target are derived. A first metric characterizing the symmetric component and a second metric characterizing the asymmetric component vary non-monotonically as a function of the parameter of interest over a reference range of values of the parameter of interest. A combination of the derived symmetric component and the derived asymmetric component are used to identify a correct value from a plurality of candidate values of the parameter of interest.

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