Generating a metrology recipe usable for examination of a semiconductor specimen

A computerized method of generating a metrology recipe usable for examining a semiconductor specimen, the method performed by a processing and memory circuitry (PMC), the method comprising:

• obtaining a first image set comprising a plurality of first images captured by an examination tool, each first image informative of at least one first image structural element (ISE) representing at least one structural element (SE) on the semiconductor specimen;
• obtaining a second image set comprising a plurality of second images, wherein each second image is simulated based on at least one first image and informative of at least one second ISE representing the at least one SE, wherein the at least one second ISE in each second image is resized to a respective scale with reference to the at least one first ISE, and wherein each second image is associated with ground truth data related to the respective scale of the at least one second ISE;
• performing a first test on the first image set, comprising:
• performing a metrology operation on the first image set in accordance with a metrology recipe configured with a first parameter set, giving rise to a plurality of first measurements corresponding to the plurality of first images, and calculating a first score indicative of precision of the metrology recipe based on the plurality of first measurements;
• performing a second test on the second image set, comprising:
• performing the metrology operation on the second image set in accordance with the metrology recipe, giving rise to a plurality of second measurements corresponding to the plurality of second images, and calculating a second score indicative of sensitivity of the metrology recipe based on the plurality of second measurements with respect to the associated ground truth data;
• and
• determining, in response to a predetermined criterion related to the first score and the second score not being met, to select a second parameter set, configure the metrology recipe with the second parameter set, and repeat the first test and the second test in accordance with the metrology recipe configured with the second parameter set.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of generating a metrology recipe usable for examining a semiconductor specimen, the method comprising:

• obtaining a first image set comprising a plurality of first images captured by an examination tool, each first image informative of at least one first image structural element (ISE) representing at least one structural element (SE) on the semiconductor specimen;
• obtaining a second image set comprising a plurality of second images, wherein each second image is simulated based on at least one first image and informative of at least one second ISE representing the at least one SE, wherein the at least one second ISE in each second image is resized to a respective scale with reference to the at least one first ISE, and wherein each second image is associated with ground truth data related to the respective scale of the at least one second ISE;
• performing a first test on the first image set, comprising:
• performing a metrology operation on the first image set in accordance with a metrology recipe configured with a first parameter set, giving rise to a plurality of first measurements corresponding to the plurality of first images, and calculating a first score indicative of precision of the metrology recipe based on the plurality of first measurements;
• performing a second test on the second image set, comprising:
• performing the metrology operation on the second image set in accordance with the metrology recipe, giving rise to a plurality of second measurements corresponding to the plurality of second images, and calculating a second score indicative of sensitivity of the metrology recipe based on the plurality of second measurements with respect to the associated ground truth data;
• and
• determining, in response to a predetermined criterion related to the first score and the second score not being met, to select a second parameter set, configure the metrology recipe with the second parameter set, and repeat the first test and the second test in accordance with the metrology recipe configured with the second parameter set.