Device manufacturing methods

A device manufacturing method, the method comprising:

• obtaining a measurement data time series of a plurality of substrates on which an exposure step and a process step have been performed;
• applying a filter to the measurement data time series to obtain filtered data;
• determining, using the filtered data, a correction to be applied in a subsequent exposure step performed on a subsequent substrate;
• applying a further filter to the measurement data time series to obtain further filtered data;
• and
• determining, using the further filtered data, a further correction to be applied in the subsequent exposure step performed on the subsequent substrate.

A device manufacturing method, the method comprising:

• obtaining a measurement data time series of a plurality of substrates on which an exposure step and a process step have been performed;
• obtaining a status data time series relating to conditions prevailing when the process step was performed on at least some of the plurality of substrates;
• transforming the measurement data time series and the status data time series into frequency space data;
• determining, on the basis of the frequency space data, a filter to be applied to the measurement data time series and/or the status data time series to obtain filtered data;
• applying the filter to the measurement data time series and/or status data time series to obtain filtered data;
• and
• determining, using the filtered data, a correction to be applied in a subsequent exposure step performed on a subsequent substrate.

A device manufacturing method, the method comprising:

• obtaining a measurement data time series of a plurality of substrates on which an exposure step and a process step have been performed;
• obtaining a status data time series relating to conditions prevailing when the process step was performed on at least some of the plurality of substrates;
• transforming the measurement data time series and the status data time series into frequency space data;
• and
• determining, on the basis of the frequency space data, a sampling scheme to be applied to subsequent substrates to generate a measurement data time series.

A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having computer readable code therein, the code, when executed by a processing apparatus, configured to instruct one or more tools to at least:

• obtain a measurement data time series of a plurality of substrates on which an exposure step and a process step have been performed;
• obtain a status data time series relating to conditions prevailing when the process step was performed on at least some of the plurality of substrates;
• apply a filter to the measurement data time series and the status data time series to obtain filtered data;
• and
• determine, using the filtered data, a correction to be applied in a subsequent exposure step performed on a subsequent substrate.

A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having computer readable code therein, the code, when executed by a processing apparatus, configured to instruct one or more tools to at least:

• obtain a measurement data time series of a plurality of substrates on which an exposure step and a process step have been performed;
• apply a filter to the measurement data time series to obtain filtered data;
• determine, using the filtered data, a correction to be applied in a subsequent exposure step performed on a subsequent substrate;
• apply a further filter to the measurement data time series to obtain further filtered data;
• and
• determine, using the further filtered data, a further correction to be applied in the exposure step performed on the subsequent substrate.

A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having computer readable code therein, the code, when executed by a processing apparatus, configured to instruct one or more tools to at least:

• obtain a measurement data time series of a plurality of substrates on which an exposure step and a process step have been performed;
• obtain a status data time series relating to conditions prevailing when the process step was performed on at least some of the plurality of substrates;
• transform the measurement data time series and the status data time series into frequency space data;
• determine, on the basis of the frequency space data, a filter to be applied to the measurement data time series and/or the status data time series to obtain filtered data;
• apply the filter to the measurement data time series and/or status data time series to obtain filtered data;
• and
• determine, using the filtered data, a correction to be applied in a subsequent exposure step performed on a subsequent substrate.

A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having computer readable code therein, the code, when executed by a processing apparatus, configured to instruct one or more tools to at least:

• obtain a measurement data time series of a plurality of substrates on which an exposure step and a process step have been performed;
• obtain a status data time series relating to conditions prevailing when the process step was performed on at least some of the plurality of substrates;
• transform the measurement data time series and the status data time series into frequency space data;
• and
• determine, on the basis of the frequency space data, a sampling scheme to be applied to subsequent substrates to generate a measurement data time series.