Patent · US Expired

Examining a structure formed on a semiconductor wafer using machine learning systems

US7280229B2 · kind B2 · utility

31Cited by
5References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 3, 2004
Grant dateOct 9, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 18, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG03F7/70625
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A structure formed on a semiconductor wafer is examined by obtaining a first diffraction signal measured from the structure using an optical metrology device. A first profile is obtained from a first machine learning system using the first diffraction signal obtained as an input to the first machine learning system. The first machine learning system is configured to generate a profile as an output for a diffraction signal received as an input. A second profile is obtained from a second machine learning system using the first profile obtained from the first machine learning system as an input to the second machine learning system. The second machine learning system is configured to generate a diffraction signal as an output for a profile received as an input. The first and second profiles include one or more parameters that characterize one or more features of the structure.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.