Back to results
US 12,591,184 B2Granted
Enhanced alignment for a photolithographic apparatus
AssigneeASML Netherlands B.V.
InventorsSebastianus Adrianus Goorden, Simon Reinald Huisman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is an apparatus for and method of using local alignment position deviation parameters for alignment marks on a semiconductor wafer wherein the parameters are used to generate one or more values indicating a condition of the alignment marks, which values may be used to obtain an wafer grid model having an improved fit.
Claims15
A metrology device comprising:
- an optical system configured to collect radiation that has interacted with an alignment mark on a substrate;
- and
- a processing system configured to receive and derive information from the collected radiation and to determine an aligned position for at least each of a subset of points in the alignment mark therefrom, the processing system being further configured to determine four wafer deformation gradients, the wafer deformation gradient of the alignment mark displacement (APD) with respect to x in the x direction dAPD_x/dx, the wafer deformation gradient of APD with respect to x in the y direction dAPD_x/dy, the wafer deformation gradient of APD with respect to y in the x direction dAPD_y/dx, and the wafer deformation gradient of APD with respect to y in the y direction dAPD_y/dy based on the aligned positions.
A metrology device comprising:
- an optical system configured to collect radiation that has interacted with an alignment mark on a substrate;
- and
- a processing system configured to receive and derive information from the collected radiation and to determine at least two alignment position deviations (APDs) of the alignment mark therefrom, the processing system being further configured to determine at least one of a gradient measurement or a rotation measurement Rz based at least in part on the at least two APDs.
A metrology method comprising:
- causing radiation to interact with at least one alignment mark on a substrate lying substantially in a plane;
- sensing the radiation;
- determining an aligned position for at least each of a subset of points in the alignment mark;
- and
- determining four wafer deformation gradients, the wafer deformation gradient of the alignment mark displacement (APD) with respect to x in the x direction dAPD_x/dx, the wafer deformation gradient of APD with respect to x in the y direction dAPD_x/dy, the wafer deformation gradient of APD with respect to y in the x direction dAPD_y/dx, and the wafer deformation gradient of APD with respect to y in the y direction dAPD_y/dy based on the aligned positions.
2 more elements
A metrology method comprising:
- causing radiation to interact with at least one alignment mark on a substrate lying substantially in a plane;
- sensing the radiation;
- determining at least two alignment position deviations (APDs) of the at least one alignment mark from the radiation;
- and
- determining at least one rotation measurement Rz orthogonal to the plane of the at least one alignment mark based at least in part on the at least two APDs based at least in part on the at least two APDs.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.